Unit 12 — Year Review: Graduation Exam Prep

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 compile a graduation portfolio with 5 representative pieces.
  • I can write a 250-word year reflection demonstrating a wide grammar range.
  • I can deliver a 3-minute graduation talk with one quote from my own writing.

curriculum framework (“Bildungsplan”) alignment Link to heading

  • 3.3.1 Soziokulturelles Orientierungswissen / Themen
  • 3.3.3.4 Sprechen – zusammenhängendes monologisches Sprechen
  • 3.3.3.5 Schreiben
  • 3.3.4 Text- und Medienkompetenz

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

Lead-in story Link to heading

Mr. Yilmaz wrote on the board: one folder, five pieces, three hundred days. The class understood it without explanation — the year was nearly over, and the graduation portfolio was due. Maja had already started. Sam had a rough table of contents written on the back of an envelope from a forest ranger he had never met.

1. Activate Link to heading

Pick-five scan. Open your folder. Pick five pieces. Label each: proudest / surprised me / didn’t work / would rewrite / connects to my next step.

2. Input Link to heading

Portfolio structure (Klasse 10) Link to heading

  1. Cover sheet (name, year, theme).
  2. Five pieces (one-line label each).
  3. Reflection (250 words: arc of the year, one moment of progress, one disappointment, one connection to the next step).
  4. Talk (3 minutes; one quote from your own writing).
  5. Forward letter (200 words to your future Klasse-11 / apprenticeship self).

Reflection — useful frames Link to heading

At the start of Klasse 10 I … / By Christmas I had started to … / The piece that surprised me was … / The piece that didn’t work taught me that … / The thread I want to keep going is … / If I had known in September what I know now, I would have …

3. Practise Link to heading

Niveau G Link to heading

  1. Build the five labels for your own folder.

Niveau M Link to heading

  1. Build a 6-line reflection draft using mixed tenses (past simple, past perfect, present perfect, future perfect).
Answer key

G. Open.

M. Open.

4. Produce Link to heading

Portfolio + 250-word reflection + 3-minute talk + 200-word forward letter. Each student submits the portfolio and delivers a 3-minute graduation talk to the class. Audience gives one feedback sentence.

Sample Link to heading

At the start of Klasse 10 I wrote in three modes: translated, formal, and quietly imitating other people. By Christmas I had started to write in a fourth mode that I would call paying attention. The piece I am proudest of is my Mühlstraße bus-stop presentation: it taught me that small civic English is mostly about saying what specifically should change. The piece that didn’t work was my first draft of the Slow Lane essay — I summarised the plot instead of analysing it. If I had known in September that the slow lanes were where the work happened, I would have spent more time on small editing rather than on first drafts. By 2027, I will have completed either an apprenticeship or a year of FOS. The thread I want to keep going is small repeated public asking — the thing I learned from the Glasgow Garden founder. Whichever path I take, it is honestly the most useful thing I have read this year. Moreover, it works in my own language too.

5. Reflect Link to heading

  • I can compile a 5-piece graduation portfolio.
  • I can write a 250-word year reflection.
  • I can deliver a 3-minute graduation talk.

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 to a graduation talk.

“At the start of Klasse 10 I wrote in three modes: translated, formal, and imitating others. By Christmas I had started to write in a fourth mode I’d call paying attention. The piece I’m proudest of is the Mühlstraße bus-stop presentation. By 2027, I will have completed either an apprenticeship or a year of FOS.”

  1. Three September modes: ___ . 2. Christmas change: ___ . 3. Proudest piece: ___ . 4. By 2027: ___ .

Task 2 — Reading (12 BE) Link to heading

Read the reflection sample above.

  1. Four writing modes: ___ . 2. Proudest piece: ___ . 3. Lesson learnt: ___ . 4. Future plan: ___ .

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

Mixed grammar review.

  1. By Christmas I __________ (start) to write differently. (past perfect)
  2. If I __________ (know) earlier, I __________ (spend) more time on editing. (third conditional)
  3. By 2027, I __________ (complete) my training. (future perfect)
  4. The piece __________ (write / passive) in March.

Task 4 — Writing (13 BE) Link to heading

Write a 250-word year-review reflection. Use 5 grammar points from Klasse 9 + 10.

Answer key
T1. translated / formal / imitating; paying attention; Mühlstraße bus-stop presentation; either apprenticeship or year of FOS. T2. translated, formal, imitating, paying attention; Mühlstraße bus-stop presentation; small civic English is mostly what specifically should change; complete apprenticeship or FOS year by 2027. T3. had started / had known-would have spent / will have completed / was written. 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

  • Reading the talk verbatim.
  • Generic claims (I learned a lot) — give one specific example.
  • Picking only your best five — the didn’t-work slot matters.

Further reading / listening Link to heading

  • BBC Bitesize — Reflective writing.
  • British Council — Self-evaluation tips for upper secondary.

Downloads

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