Unit 3 — Digital Lives at Work

Track G+M · Klasse 10 · Niveau G/M

Template: Activate → Input → Practise → Produce → Reflect.
Niveau: G/M parallel. class test (“Klassenarbeit”) at Niveau M (45 BE).

Learning objectives Link to heading

  • I can read a short text on remote / hybrid work and identify the writer’s stance.
  • I can use gerunds and to-infinitives after verbs of preference.
  • I can write a 150-word opinion piece on remote vs. office work.

curriculum framework (“Bildungsplan”) alignment Link to heading

  • 3.3.1 Soziokulturelles Orientierungswissen / Themen
  • 3.3.3.2 Leseverstehen
  • 3.3.3.5 Schreiben
  • 3.3.3.8 Verfügen über sprachliche Mittel – Grammatik
  • 3.3.4 Text- und Medienkompetenz

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

Lead-in story Link to heading

Maja’s older sister works hybrid: two days at home, three at the office. She enjoys working from her kitchen table — the cat, the smell of coffee, no commute. She also misses being able to walk to a colleague’s desk and ask a small question. Both things are true at the same time, which is, Maja thinks, what hybrid really means.

1. Activate Link to heading

Two-column scan. Board: Remote / In-office. Class fills five honest pros under each.

2. Input Link to heading

Vocabulary — digital workplace Link to heading

remote work, hybrid, on-site, video call, asynchronous, synchronous, time zone, work-life balance, digital fatigue, coworking space, freelance, team channel, deliverable, milestone.

Reading — Hybrid, Honestly Link to heading

Many workers say they enjoy working from home for two reasons: no commute and quieter focus. Many also admit that they miss bumping into colleagues. The common compromise — hybrid — gets defended weakly. Most people prefer hybrid because it minimises the downsides of both options, not because it maximises either.

Grammar — gerund vs. to-infinitive Link to heading

After enjoy, miss, admit, finish, mind, suggest, avoid, recommend, can’t help: gerund (-ing).

  • I enjoy working from home.
  • They miss bumping into colleagues.

After want, plan, decide, choose, hope, refuse, agree, manage, learn: to-infinitive.

  • They chose to work hybrid.
  • He decided to leave the office at 5.

After like, love, hate, prefer, start, begin, continue: both forms with very small meaning shift.

3. Practise Link to heading

Niveau G Link to heading

  1. Choose: gerund or to-infinitive: I enjoy __________ (work) from home. I plan __________ (apply) for a remote job.
  2. Match: enjoy → -ing; want → to-infinitive; admit → -ing.

Niveau M Link to heading

  1. Build 5 sentences using 5 different verbs that take gerund vs. to-infinitive.
Answer key

G. 1. working / to apply. 2. all true.

M. 3. Open.

4. Produce Link to heading

Opinion piece, 150 words. Should young workers look for hybrid jobs? Take a position. Use 2 gerunds + 2 to-infinitives + 1 despite/because of.

Sample Link to heading

Young workers should consider hybrid roles, but not for the obvious reasons. They should choose to look at hybrid because it forces a small discipline: the need to plan working from home so it doesn’t become lonely, and the need to plan office days so they aren’t purely social. Despite the loud debate online, hybrid is rarely either heaven or hell. Most workers admit missing certain things on both sides. I enjoy working alone for long blocks; I also like to overhear ideas I wouldn’t have asked about. I plan to look for a hybrid junior role for my first year of work, then decide based on what I actually feel — not on what the internet thinks I should feel.

5. Reflect Link to heading

  • I can read a remote-work text and find the stance.
  • I can choose gerund or to-infinitive after a verb.
  • I can write a 150-word opinion piece on a workplace topic.

One thing in your notebook: Write one sentence using something you learned in this Unit.

Exam example Link to heading

class test ("Klassenarbeit") — Niveau M (45 minutes)
Time. 45 minutes. Total. 45 points.

Task 1 — Listening (10 BE) Link to heading

Listen twice.

“Many workers enjoy working from home because of the quiet. Most also admit missing the bump-into conversations. Hybrid wins as a weak compromise — minimising the downsides rather than maximising the upsides.”

  1. Pro of remote: ___ . 2. Con: ___ . 3. Hybrid as: ___ . 4. Why: ___ .

Task 2 — Reading (12 BE) Link to heading

Read the Hybrid, Honestly extract above.

  1. Two reasons workers like remote: ___ . 2. What they miss: ___ . 3. Hybrid is defended: ___ . 4. Why most prefer it: ___ .

Task 3 — Use of English (10 BE) Link to heading

Gerund or to-infinitive?

  1. I enjoy __________ (work) from home.
  2. They plan __________ (apply) for a remote role.
  3. He admitted __________ (miss) his colleagues.
  4. We decided __________ (choose) the hybrid option.

Task 4 — Writing (13 BE) Link to heading

Write 150 words: an opinion piece on remote vs. office work. Use 2 gerunds + 2 to-infinitives.

Answer key
T1. quiet; bump-into conversations; weak compromise; minimises downsides. T2. no commute / quieter focus; bumping into colleagues; weakly; it minimises the downsides of both options. T3. working / to apply / missing / to choose. T4. Open.
grading scale (Notenschlüssel) (von 45)
| 42–45 | 1 | 36–41 | 2 | 30–35 | 3 | | 22–29 | 4 | 13–21 | 5 | 0–12 | 6 |

Downloads Link to heading

**Slide deck timing.** 45 minutes total. Lead-in 4 min · Activate 5 min · Input 14 min · Practise 8 min · Produce 11 min · Reflect 3 min.

Differentiation. Niveau G: scaffold card with the key structure. Above Niveau M: extension prompt linking to Klasse 11 (or post-Klasse-10 path).

Common pitfalls Link to heading

  • I enjoy to work → ✗ / I enjoy working → ✓.
  • I want working → ✗ / I want to work → ✓.
  • I miss to play football → ✗ / I miss playing football → ✓.

Further reading / listening Link to heading

  • BBC Worklife — The future of remote work.
  • The Atlantic — accessible essays on the workplace.

Downloads

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