Megan Everhart

Student Teaching Internship

Winter 2019
Student Learning Analysis
I. Overview:
a. Subject/ Level: German 3
b. Grade: 10th grade
c. Unit: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
d. Throughout my student teaching internship at Rochester Adams High School, I worked with levels 3, 4,
and AP in German. This analysis focuses on the comparative and superlative unit, which I taught to my
German 3 students. During this unit my students learned how to change adjectives to make them
comparative or superlative. They also learned how the grammatical structure is different in German in
comparison to English. I wanted to learn of my students’ prior knowledge before the unit and check their
understanding and growth after teaching them the grammar structure.
e. Learning Goals:
i. Students will be able to make adjectives comparative and superlative without using more or most.
ii. Students will be able to write sentences using comparative and superlative adjectives.
f. State/District Standards:
i. 4.1.N.b Identify basic differences and similarities in grammatical structures between one’s own
language and the target
ii. 4.1.M.b Select grammatical structures recognizing that meaning is not always conveyed through
direct word-for-word translation from one’s own language to the target language
II. Pre-Assessment:
a. Blank Pre-Assessment
b. Student Examples and Data
i. When I was going through my students’ pre-tests I focused only on how they formed the
adjectives. There are a few patterns which I found in my students’ pre-tests. Pattern 1: The
student(s) put the German word for more in front of an adjective to make it comparative and most
in front of an adjective to make it superlative. Pattern 2: The student(s) put the wrong ending on
the adjective. Pattern 3: The student(s) put the right ending but didn’t put an umlaut. Pattern 4:
The students put the correct comparative or superlative adjective.

Pre-Test Data
25

20

15

10

0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8

More/Most Wrong Ending Right Ending without Umlaut Correct

c. I will be using questions 2, 3, and 5 to show examples of the different patterns.

 i. Example of pattern 1: Student 3, Student 4, Student 5, Student 6
ii. Example of pattern 2: Student 2, Student 3, Student 4, Student 5
iii. Example of pattern 3: Student 1, Student 3, Student 4, Student 6
iv. Example of pattern 4: Student 1
v. All Student Pre-Tests
III. Analysis:
a. Based on the data from my students’ pre-tests, I could see that the students had 3 types of false pre-
conceptions. The first pattern shows that they wanted to translate each word from English into German.
They did not understand that the German language doesn’t use more or most in front of the adjective. The
second pattern showed that the students did not know the endings for the comparative and superlative
adjectives. They tried to use the same endings that we have in English or didn’t have an ending. The third
pattern showed that students did not know when an adjective received an umlaut. The fourth pattern
showed that they could correctly write the adjective in the comparative or superlative form.
IV. Instruction:
a. Based on my analysis of my students’ pre-tests, I planned my instruction to focus on those 3 major
concepts. I began by having a small discussion with my students about what comparative and superlative
adjectives are in English. The students discussed examples such as, “smarter/smartest” and “more
intelligent/most intelligent”. I then began teaching them the explicit rules of comparative and superlative
adjectives. I first explicitly stated that the German language does not use more or most to make their
adjectives comparative and superlative. I then explained the endings for the two types of adjectives. Next
I went through which adjectives receive an umlaut. Finally I discussed adjectives that are exceptions to
the rules. I explained that in English and German we have exceptions to the grammar rules. I went
through multiple examples of adjectives having the students turn them into comparative and superlative.
We then practiced writing the comparative and superlative adjectives in full sentences. The students
translated sentences and created their own sentences.
V. Post-Assessment:
a. Blank Post-Assessment
b. Student Examples
i. When I was going through my students’ post-tests I focused only on how they formed the
adjectives. I looked for the same patterns as in the pre-test to see if the students had grown in their
learning. Pattern 1: The student(s) put the German word for more in front of an adjective to
make it comparative and most in front of an adjective to make it superlative. Pattern 2: The
student(s) put the wrong ending on the adjective. Pattern 3: The student(s) put the right ending
but didn’t put an umlaut. Pattern 4: The students put the correct comparative or superlative
adjective.

Post-Test Data
25

20

15

10

0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8

More/Most Wrong Ending Right Ending without Umlaut Correct

 c. I will be using questions 2, 3, and 5 to show examples of the different patterns.
i. Example of pattern 1: Student 3, Student 6
ii. Example of pattern 2: Student 6, Student 8
iii. Example of pattern 3: Student 6, Student 7
iv. Example of pattern 4: Student 3, Student 4, Student 5, Student 7
v. All Student Post-Tests
VI. Conclusion:
a. Throughout the year my students have been using adjectives in their German speaking, writing, listening,
and reading. The students have encountered comparative and superlative adjectives without understanding
how to form the adjectives. My students showed through their pre-tests, that they had false prior
knowledge about comparative and superlative adjectives. I then taught my students about the explicit
rules of changing adjectives to be comparative and superlative. We practiced using these adjectives in full
sentences comparing two objects and stating which object is the most or least of an adjective. After
learning about the rules and practicing writing the full sentences my students took the post-test. Based on
the data from the post-test, I can see that overall my students have learned how to create comparative and
superlative adjectives. I noticed that I need to review when comparative adjectives receive an umlaut. I
will be creating an activity to help my students sort which adjectives receive an umlaut. This analysis has
shown me where my students have grown and where they can continue to grow in their learning.