KS4 · German · Year 11
Was machen sie online? Revisiting vocabulary, describing pictures
Media and technology: Die weite Welt
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/9
Your learning goal
I can use a range of thematic and high-frequency vocabulary and I can describe photos in the context of life online.
1 of 9
Was machen sie online? Revisiting vocabulary, describing pictures: slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
Original teaching resources
The original illustrated PowerPoint is available as well as the IllumED text slides. It retains the publisher’s design and credits.
Download original PowerPoint ↓What you’ll learn
I can use a range of thematic and high-frequency vocabulary and I can describe photos in the context of life online.
Key learning points
- A strong knowledge of vocabulary is key to all language skills. It can be helpful to categorise words by theme.
- When describing a photo, use the acronym PALM. It stands for People, Action, Location, Mood.
- When describing a photo in German, translate the English present continuous with the German simple present.
- To make a photo description more interesting and complex, add your own impressions (opinions, thoughts and reasons).
Words to know
- PALM
- an acronym to summarise what to include in a photo description: People, Action, Location, Mood
- simple present
- describes habitual events in the present: ‘I do’
- present continuous
- describes events happening right now: ‘I am doing’
Common mistakes
We need to use the present continuous in German when describing photos.
There is only one present tense in German. The present continuous in German is the same as the simple present, so 'sie essen' means 'they eat' and 'they are eating'. When translating English present continuous sentences, use the simple present.
For parents, carers and teachers
- Repeating speaking activities such as the photo description immediately, once or more, will help improve fluency and deepen knowledge. Students taking the Edexcel exams only need to describe one of two given photos, whereas AQA requires mention of both photos.