Unit 12 — Year Review: A Class Podcast

Track E · Klasse 7 · Niveau E

Template: Activate → Input → Practise → Produce → Reflect.
Niveau: E. class test (“Klassenarbeit”) at Niveau E.
This Unit is the year-review Unit. The Produce step is a class podcast: each student records a 90-second monologue.

Learning objectives Link to heading

  • I can speak for ~90 seconds about something I learned this year using past, present, and future structures.
  • I can use a wide range of grammar from the year (simple past, used to, present perfect, past perfect, futures, modals, passives) in one short text.
  • I can listen to a peer’s 90-second monologue and give one specific piece of feedback.

Bildungsplan alignment Link to heading

  • 3.2.1 Themen — reflection on personal learning.
  • 3.2.3.3 Sprechen – an Gesprächen teilnehmen — peer feedback.
  • 3.2.3.4 Sprechen – zusammenhängendes monologisches Sprechen — short monologue.
  • 3.2.3.5 Schreiben — short reflective text.
  • 3.2.4 Text- und Medienkompetenz — produce a clear, listener- friendly spoken text in a podcast format.

Lead-in story Link to heading

Ms. Reyes set up two microphones in the corner of the classroom. “This is the studio,” she said. “Today, every one of you records ninety seconds. The question on the wall is the question.” On the wall, in big letters, she had written: What is one thing you learned this year that wasn’t on the timetable?

1. Activate Link to heading

Notebook scan. Open your English notebook and find:

  • one page from September,
  • one page from January,
  • one page from this month.

Write down one small change you can see in your own writing or notes. Compare with a partner.

2. Input Link to heading

Listening — Looking Back, Looking Forward Link to heading

Aisha. What’s the one thing you’re proudest of this year?
Ben. I learned to read a short story without being annoyed. Last year I would have given up by page two.
Marius. I used to think I couldn’t speak English in front of anyone. I still get nervous, but I can do it now.
Aisha. Mine is small. I asked a question in class without writing it down first.

The 90-second monologue — structure Link to heading

A clear short monologue has three movements:

  1. Then. Where I was at the start of the year. (1–2 sentences, simple past or used to.)
  2. Now. What changed; what I can do now. (2–3 sentences, present perfect / present simple.)
  3. Forward. One thing I will do or try next. (1 sentence, will / going to / would like to.)

Plus one concrete detail that anchors the piece (a real moment, a real text, a real person).

Sample monologue (Niveau M, ~95 seconds) Link to heading

At the start of Klasse 7 I used to write English with German word order. My sentences sounded translated. I have spent the year doing two things differently: I read one short English text every week — even if it’s only the back of a cereal box — and I have written one paragraph every Friday in my notebook. I’m not perfect — I still mix up tenses when I’m tired — but my writing now sounds like English, not like German wearing an English coat. Next year, I’m going to read one short story a month from Project Gutenberg. I would like the writing to start sounding like me, not just like English in general. That’s the next step.

3. Practise Link to heading

Niveau G — controlled Link to heading

A. Year-review grammar mix. Fill in the correct form.

  1. Last September I __________ (be) nervous about Klasse 7.
  2. I __________ (improve) my listening this year.
  3. I __________ (read) two short stories before the end of the year.
  4. Next year, I __________ (try) public speaking.

Niveau M — productive Link to heading

B. Build the three-movement frame. In your notebook, write three short sentences:

  1. Then. In September, I ___ .
  2. Now. I have ___ .
  3. Forward. Next year, I’ll ___ .

C. Peer-feedback frame. Write one sentence using each frame to give to a partner about their monologue:

  • I noticed that …
  • One thing that worked was …
  • One thing you could try is …
Answer key

Niveau G

A. 1. was, 2. have improved, 3. will read / am going to read, 4. am going to try / will try.

Niveau M

B–C. Open answers; check three-movement structure and that feedback uses one of the three frames.

4. Produce Link to heading

Class podcast — What I Learned That Wasn’t on the Timetable. Each student records a 90-second monologue using the three-movement structure (Then → Now → Forward) plus one concrete detail.

Three rules:

  1. No reading word-for-word from the page. Bullets only.
  2. One concrete detail — a real text, a real person, a real moment.
  3. Listen to a partner’s recording and give one feedback sentence using the I noticed / worked / could try frame.

The teacher collects the recordings into one class file.

For Niveau G: 60 seconds is enough. Provide a printed three-line template with the Then / Now / Forward labels in place.

5. Reflect Link to heading

  • I can speak for 60–90 seconds with a clear three-movement structure.
  • I can give a peer one specific piece of useful feedback.
  • I can name one thing I learned this year that wasn’t on the timetable.

One sentence in your notebook: What is one thing I want to learn next year that won’t be on the timetable either?

Exam example Link to heading

class test ("Klassenarbeit") — Niveau E (45 minutes)

Materials allowed. A monolingual dictionary (Niveau M only).
Time. 45 minutes.
Total. 60 points.

This year-end class test (“Klassenarbeit”) revisits the year’s main grammar (simple past, used to, present perfect, past perfect, futures, modals, passives) in mixed exercises and one integrated speaking task that the teacher records as part of the year-review podcast.

Task 1 — Listening (10 BE) Link to heading

The teacher reads aloud the dialogue Looking Back, Looking Forward. Answer in full sentences.

Aisha. What’s the one thing you’re proudest of this year?
Ben. I learned to read a short story without being annoyed. Last year I would have given up by page two.
Marius. I used to think I couldn’t speak English in front of anyone. I still get nervous, but I can do it now.
Aisha. Mine is small. I asked a question in class without writing it down first.

  1. What is Ben proudest of? (3)
  2. How has Marius changed? (3)
  3. What is Aisha’s “small” achievement, and why is it not actually small? (4)

Task 2 — Use of English (15 BE) Link to heading

Mixed grammar review (15 BE). Choose the correct form.

  1. Last summer Aisha __________ (go) to her grandmother’s village.
  2. Ben __________ (build) a bike ramp before his cousin __________ (arrive).
  3. They __________ (be) at this school since September.
  4. If you __________ (ask), I __________ (help) you.
  5. The pouches __________ (sell) at the office.
  6. Aisha __________ (used to / use to) play the recorder.
  7. Tomorrow we __________ (visit) my grandmother — it’s planned.
  8. We __________ (must / mustn’t) talk during the test.

Task 3 — Mediation (10 BE) Link to heading

Your German friend sends you this message:

“Wir machen am Schuljahresende einen Klassenpodcast. Jeder soll auf Englisch zwei Minuten über das Schuljahr erzählen. Ich weiß nicht, was ich sagen soll.”

Write three sentences in English to your English-speaking exchange partner explaining the situation and giving one suggestion. Do not translate every word.

Task 4 — Writing (25 BE) Link to heading

Write 120–150 words for a class podcast on the question: “What is one thing I learned this year that wasn’t on the timetable?” Use:

  • one present perfect (I have learned …),
  • one used-to comparison (I used to / now I …),
  • one future plan (going to / will),
  • one concrete detail or example.
Expected answer key — class test ("Klassenarbeit")

Task 1 (10 BE).\

  1. He learned to read a short story without giving up; last year he would have stopped by page two. (3)
  2. He used to think he couldn’t speak English in front of anyone; now he can, even if he still gets nervous. (3)
  3. She asked a question in class without writing it down first — small on the surface, but it represents a year of growing confidence. (4)

Task 2 (15 BE).\

  1. went, 2. had built / arrived, 3. have been, 4. ask / will help,
  2. are sold, 6. used to, 7. are visiting, 8. mustn’t.

Task 3 (10 BE). Sample: “At the end of the year my friend’s class is making an English podcast — everyone has to talk for two minutes about their school year. He doesn’t know what to say. I suggested he start with one small thing he didn’t know how to do in September that he can do now.” Award for: gist (4), addressee-fit (2), grammar (4).

Task 4 (25 BE). Inhalt 13 / Sprache 12.

Rubric — grading scale (Notenschlüssel)
Punkte (von 60)Note
56–601
30–394

Downloads Link to heading

**Slide deck timing.** 45 minutes total.
  • Title + Lead-in (3 min). Two-microphones image; the question on the wall.
  • Activate (4 min). Notebook scan — students compare three of their own pages.
  • Input (10 min). Read Looking Back, Looking Forward; walk through the three-movement structure; play the sample monologue if a recording is available, or read it aloud.
  • Practise (8 min). Niveau split: grammar mix for G, frame build for M.
  • Produce — recording (15 min). Pairs at the two microphones. Other students prepare bullets at their desks. Strict 90-second cap.
  • Reflect (5 min). Peer-feedback exchange.

Differentiation. Niveau G: 60 seconds, printed template. Above Niveau M: require one unless-clause and one passive structure inside the monologue.

Year-review note. This Unit is also the implicit celebration Unit. Treat the recordings as a class artefact — keep them, share them with parents, archive them so Klasse 8 can hear how Klasse 7 sounded.

Common pitfalls Link to heading

  • Reading aloud word-for-word. Reduces fluency and makes the recording sound flat. Insist on bullets.
  • Mixed tenses in the Now movement. I have improve → ✗ / I have improved → ✓.
  • Generic claims without detail. I have learned a lot → weak. I have learned to read one short text every week → strong.

Further reading / listening Link to heading

Downloads

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