Neue Umwelt: das Ruhrgebiet
Overview:
In Thema 10 of your textbook, you learned about the environment and the Germans' attitude toward the environment. This multimedia unit will introduce you to the Ruhrgebiet, an area of Germany that has undergone a remarkable environmental and economic transition in the last 40 years. The Ruhrgebiet is a vibrant region, in which the environment, the economy, and culture have intertwined to create a truly unique identity.
Part 1: Strukturwandel
Before you come to class, complete the following tasks as homework. Be ready to discuss what you have learned.
1. Your first task is to read a poem written about the Ruhrgebiet in 1901. Pay close attention to the imagery the author uses to describe the environment.
2. Now view a slide show about the Industrial Culture Route, a network of historical and cultural sites that traverses the entirety of the Ruhrgebiet. Once again, concentrate on the imagery used to describe the region.
3. Clearly, much has changed in the Ruhrgebiet from 1901 to today. What happened? What were the forces behind the change? In the next task, you will watch a video that explains the Ruhrgebiet's remarkable transformation.
4. Complete the next activity in order to learn how to say some of the key terms from the video in German.
5. Write a short (5-7 sentence) summary of what you have learned in Part 1. Please use this link to e-mail your summary to your instructor no later than 1 hour before class. Be prepared to share your summary with your instructor and classmates.
Part 2: Das Ruhrgebiet und die Route der Industriekultur
In-class tasks:
1. You've learned about the structural changes the Ruhrgebiet has undergone in the last few decades. In your next task, you'll learn about the Ruhrgebiet, itself. Where in Germany is it? How big is it? What is it like? Do the old stereotypes (see Aufgabe 1) still persist?
2. Now that you know a little more about the Ruhrgebiet, let's revisit the Industrial Culture Route - this time, in German. You're going to learn about several of the sites on the Route.
3. You've already encountered a lot of passive voice constructions in your readings. Do you remember how the passive voice works? Test yourself with the next activity.
4. Discussion of tasks 5, 6, and 7, relating them to the theme Umwelt.
Part 3: Der Emscher Landschaftspark
Homework tasks:
1. Now you're going to learn about an environmental project in the Ruhrgebiet that is closely related to the Industrial Culture Route, the Emscher Landschaftspark. First, find out what it is:
2. Now that you know what the Emscher Landschaftspark is, find out some of the specifics. This activity requires a lot of reading, so be patient.
3. More passive voice. Yeah! These sentences were taken directly from the Emscher Landschaftspark Web site you visited. After you've put the sentences in order, click the "=>" button to complete the next sentence.
4. Write a short (5-7 sentence) summary of what you've learned about the Emscher Landschaftspark. Use this link to e-mail your summary to your instructor no later than 1 hour before class. Also, brainstorm a list of things in the US (or in your country, if you're not from the US) that are similar to the Industrial Culture Route and the Emscher Landschaftspark. Be prepared to discuss both in class.
Part 4: Projekt Ruhrgebiet
Your instructor will assign you to a group. Each group will design a multimedia instructional tool on an aspect of something you've learned in this unit. Futute students will use your projects to learn about the environment and the Ruhrgebiet, so take your task seriously. Here are the requirements:
Content
1. Your project should present NEW information on the Ruhrgebiet, the Industrial Culture Route, or the Emscher Landschaftspark.
2. Your project should include at least THREE Hot Potatoes activities:
*one should focus on content (a Web site, online audio/video link, slide show, etc).
*one should focus on vocabulary that appears in the "content" activity.
*one should focus on an aspect of grammar that appears in the "content" activity.
RELAX! We'll work on this during the next few class periods, so I can help you with ideas. You have all already created Web pages and used Hot Potatoes to create quizzes, so you know the basics of what you have to do. If any of you want to do something special (e.g., scan pictures, create your own audio files, etc), I can help you.