Unit 3 — Media in Our Lives

Track G+M · Klasse 7 · Niveau G/M

Template: Activate → Input → Practise → Produce → Reflect.
Niveau: G/M parallel. Practise has G/M variants. class test (“Klassenarbeit”) at Niveau M.

Learning objectives Link to heading

By the end of this Unit, students can:

  • I can listen to a short classroom dialogue about screen time and pick out what someone changed and what happened.
  • I can describe a media habit using the present perfect with for / since.
  • I can write a short text proposing a one-week change to my media habits.

Bildungsplan alignment Link to heading

  • 3.2.1 Soziokulturelles Orientierungswissen / Themen — media habits and their effects, peer-group culture.
  • 3.2.3.1 Hör-/Hörsehverstehen — short dialogue about everyday topic.
  • 3.2.3.5 Schreiben — short personal text.
  • 3.2.3.7 Wortschatz — media-vocabulary cluster.
  • 3.2.3.8 Grammatik — present perfect with for / since; reported requests with asked + to-infinitive.
  • 3.2.4 Text- und Medienkompetenz — recognise the speaker’s attitude in a dialogue.

(Source: https://www.bildungsplaene-bw.de/,Lde/LS/BP2016BW/ALLG/SEK1/E1)

Lead-in story Link to heading

Aisha put her phone in a drawer for one week. The first evening felt like a small earthquake. The kitchen was suddenly very loud: the fridge, the cat, her brother chewing carrots. By Wednesday it was quiet again, in a different way — the kind of quiet you choose, not the kind you escape. She read aloud to her cat, because the cat did not check her grammar. Ben said, “I could not do that,” and Aisha said, “I almost couldn’t either.”

1. Activate Link to heading

One-minute survey. In your notebook write three numbers:

  • Hours of screen time yesterday (your guess).
  • Number of apps you opened before breakfast.
  • The thing you do most with your phone in one word.

Compare with your partner. No judgement. Just notice.

This is a noticing task, not a confession. The point is to make the topic concrete before any vocabulary or grammar arrives.

2. Input Link to heading

Listening dialogue — Three Screens Link to heading

The teacher reads aloud. Listen with closed books.

Aisha. I tried something this week. No phone after dinner. Just for one week.
Ben. Just for one week? That sounds impossible.
Aisha. It was hard for two days. After that, it was kind of nice.
Ms. Reyes. What did you do with the time you would have spent on the phone?
Aisha. I made dinner once. I drew badly. I went to bed earlier. The earlier bed was the biggest change.

Vocabulary cluster — media Link to heading

NounVerb
screen timeto scroll
notificationto swipe
feedto post
messageto message
streamto stream
storyto share
newsto follow / unfollow

Useful phrases.

  • to be on your phone — I’m on my phone too much.
  • to put your phone away — Put your phone away during dinner.
  • to lose track of time — I lost track of time on TikTok.

Language focus — present perfect with for / since Link to heading

Present perfect connects past to now. Use it for actions or states that started in the past and still continue, or for events without a clear past time marker.

  • I have not used my phone for three days. (duration)
  • Aisha has read to her cat since Monday. (start point)
  • We have known Ms. Reyes since September. (start point)
  • Ben has played that game for two months. (duration)

For + a length of time (two days, three weeks, an hour).
Since + a starting point (Monday, my birthday, 2024).

L1 trap. German Perfekt covers many cases where English uses simple past. “Ich habe gestern viel ferngesehen” in English is “I watched a lot of TV yesterday” — simple past, because of yesterday. Reserve present perfect for “still relevant now” contexts.

Language focus — asked + to / not to (reported request) Link to heading

When you tell someone what another person asked, use:

  • Ms. Reyes asked us to put our phones in the box.
  • Aisha asked Ben not to post that picture.

The to-infinitive does not change with tense or person.

3. Practise Link to heading

Niveau G — controlled Link to heading

A. for or since?

  1. I have known my best friend __________ five years.
  2. I have not seen that film __________ 2024.
  3. We have lived in this town __________ a long time.
  4. Ben has been on his phone __________ this morning.

B. Match the verb to the noun.

VerbNoun
1. to scrolla. a story
2. to swipeb. a feed
3. to postc. a message
4. to sendd. a screen

Niveau M — productive Link to heading

C. Build a present perfect sentence with for / since.

  1. Aisha / not use / her phone / two evenings → ___
  2. We / know / Ms. Reyes / September → ___
  3. I / play / this game / a long time → ___

D. Reported requests.

  1. “Please charge my phone,” said Ben. → Ben asked his sister ___ .
  2. “Don’t read my messages,” said Aisha. → Aisha asked her brother ___ .
Answer key

Niveau G

A. 1. for, 2. since, 3. for, 4. since.
B. 1–b, 2–d, 3–a, 4–c.

Niveau M

  1. Aisha hasn’t used her phone for two evenings.\
  2. We have known Ms. Reyes since September.\
  3. I have played this game for a long time.\
  4. … to charge his phone.\
  5. … not to read her messages.

4. Produce Link to heading

Writing task — One Week, One Change. Write a short text proposing one change to your media habits for one week only. Cover three points:

  1. What I would stop or limit.
  2. What I would do instead.
  3. What I think will happen by the end of the week.

Use would and will at least once each, and the present perfect at least once.

Niveau G — 60–80 words.
Niveau M — 100–120 words.

Sample student response (Niveau M, 114 words) Link to heading

For one week I would stop using social media after dinner. I have noticed that I keep scrolling for almost an hour without remembering what I saw, and I always go to bed too late. Instead, I would read at least ten pages of a book, even if the book is boring at first. I would also walk the dog, who has waited for his evening walk for days now. By the end of the week, I think I will sleep better and remember more from school. I will probably miss some group chats, but my friends know where I live.

Strong moves: a small concrete subject (after dinner), a clear substitute (read ten pages, walk the dog), a self-aware closer (my friends know where I live). Improve by replacing and with so or because once.

5. Reflect Link to heading

Tick what you can do now.

  • I can pick out what someone changed in their media habits and what happened.
  • I can describe a habit with present perfect + for / since.
  • I can write a 100-word proposal for a one-week media experiment.

One sentence in your notebook: What is one media habit I am curious to try changing — even just for two days?

Exam example Link to heading

class test ("Klassenarbeit") — Niveau M (45 minutes)
Materials allowed. A monolingual dictionary (Niveau M only).
Time. 45 minutes.
Total. 60 points.

Task 1 — Listening (15 BE) Link to heading

The teacher reads the dialogue Three Screens aloud twice. Answer in full sentences.

Aisha. I tried something this week. No phone after dinner. Just for one week.
Ben. Just for one week? That sounds impossible.
Aisha. It was hard for two days. After that, it was kind of nice. The kitchen got quieter, but my room got louder because I started reading aloud to my cat.
Ben. You read to your cat?
Aisha. She listens. She’s a better audience than my brother.
Ms. Reyes. What did you do with the time you would have spent on the phone?
Aisha. I made dinner once. I drew badly. I went to bed earlier. The earlier bed was the biggest change.

  1. What did Aisha decide not to do for one week? (2)
  2. How long was it hard? (2)
  3. Why did her room get louder? (3)
  4. What three things did Aisha do with her free time? (4)
  5. Which of the changes was the biggest, and why might that be? (4)

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

A. Present perfect with for / since (8 BE). Fill in.

  1. I have not used my phone __________ three days.
  2. Aisha has read to her cat __________ Monday.
  3. Ben has played that game __________ his birthday.
  4. We have known Ms. Reyes __________ September.

B. Reported requests (7 BE). Rewrite using asked + to-infinitive or not to.

  1. “Please put your phones in the box,” said Ms. Reyes. → Ms. Reyes asked us ___ .
  2. “Don’t post that picture without me,” said Aisha. → Aisha asked Ben ___ .
  3. “Please be careful with my charger,” said Ben. → Ben asked his sister ___ .

Task 3 — Mediation (10 BE) Link to heading

Your German aunt forwards you this short Elternbrief from school:

“Liebe Eltern, ab nächster Woche bitten wir Sie, dass Ihre Kinder ihre Handys morgens am Schultor in einer Box abgeben. Die Box wird verschlossen und nach Schulschluss zurückgegeben.”

Write three sentences in English to your English-speaking exchange partner explaining what the new school rule is. Do not translate every word.

Task 4 — Writing (20 BE) Link to heading

Write 100–120 words about one media habit you would like to change for one week. What would you stop or limit, what would you do instead, and what do you think will happen? Use would and will at least once each, and the present perfect at least once.

Expected answer key — class test ("Klassenarbeit")

Task 1 (15 BE).\

  1. She decided not to use her phone after dinner. (2)
  2. It was hard for two days. (2)
  3. Because she started reading aloud to her cat. (3)
  4. She made dinner once, drew badly, and went to bed earlier. (4)
  5. Sample: The earlier bed was the biggest change because sleep affects everything else — mood, school, focus. (4 — accept any reasoned answer.)

Task 2 (15 BE).
A. 1. for, 2. since, 3. since, 4. since.
B. 5. … to put our phones in the box. 6. … not to post that picture without her. 7. … to be careful with his charger.

Task 3 (10 BE). Sample: “Starting next week, our school is asking us to leave our phones in a box at the school gate every morning. The box gets locked. We get the phones back after the last lesson.” Award for: gist (4), addressee-fit (2), correct present simple/passive (4).

Task 4 (20 BE). Inhalt 10 / Sprache 10. See per-Unit rubric.

Rubric — grading scale (Notenschlüssel)
Punkte (von 60)Note
56–601
49–552
40–483
30–394
18–295
0–176

Downloads Link to heading

**Slide deck timing.** 45 minutes total.
  • Title + Lead-in (4 min). Image: a phone in a drawer. Ask students to predict what changed in Aisha’s house.
  • Activate (5 min). The three-number survey. Strict pace.
  • Input — listening + vocab + grammar (15 min). Read Three Screens twice; then walk through the for/since map and the reported-request frame.
  • Practise (10 min). Niveau split, peer-check from collapsed key.
  • Produce (8 min). Silent writing.
  • Reflect (3 min). Tick + one sentence.

Differentiation. For Niveau G: provide a printed for/since flashcard (a clock for for, an arrow + date for since). For learners above Niveau M: ask for one because-clause and one contrast (although / however).

Critical-media note. Avoid moralising. The point is not “phones are bad” but “I can choose to vary the habit and notice what changes.”

Common pitfalls Link to heading

  • I have used my phone yesterday → ✗ (with a clear past time marker, English uses simple past).
  • I have known him since two years → ✗ / for two years → ✓.
  • Ms. Reyes asked us put → ✗ / asked us to put → ✓.
  • Notification (a count noun) — I got two notifications, not two notification.

Further reading / listening Link to heading

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