Das Länderlied (Song)

Are you having trouble teaching your German students the main German-speaking countries and their capitals? Are you getting answers like Sweden instead of Switzerland and Australia instead of Austria?

I did, and since explaining that there are no kangaroos in the Alps yielded no results, I wrote a song set to the melodie of "Schön ist ein Zylinderhut".

The attached file features the song text, including both the German and the English names of the countries and capitals along with some extra information. Each country has its own stanza, so you can teach the song in one lesson or spread it out to match your curriculum.

The document includes a vocabulary chart (three versions: German-English, German with space, lines only), a table to fill out with the names of the countries and capitals, as well as a lot of blank space for students to add notes.

The directions feature teaching suggestions, links to the sheet music, and links to videos of the original folk song (choir and instrumental versions).