German-English Vocabulary and Glossary/Dictionary, Level 1

This book is intended for beginning students of German and introduces over 1,000 basic words and phrases, divided into 40 lists of 25 items each. It covers most of the A1 Level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) / Novice Low Level (ACTFL) Vocabulary. In addition to the lists, a German-English and English-German glossary is provided, which can also be used as a basic student dictionary.

You can use it as a hard copy, either by printing/binding the entire book, or by selecting the pages you want to use, upload some or all pages to your virtual classroom, or use the Snapshot Tool in Acrobat Reader to cut and paste pages into virtual notebooks.

Each list includes information on usage, basic grammar, and/or culture relating to the words, as well as a picture (most were taken in Germany and Austria). Lists are sorted by theme (e.g. numbers, family, body parts) and types of words (e.g. nouns, regular verbs, verbs with stem vowel change) so that you can use them in an order that fits your curriculum and needs, and utilize them to introduce grammatical concepts in context. For example, any list with nouns (school supplies, family, etc.) can be used to explain and practice gender, definite/indefinite articles, accusative, dative, plural, etc.

While the book was written for teenage students, most of the vocabulary applies to older and younger students as well, so it can be used with any age group.

Of course, this book is not comprehensive. Some basic vocabulary, for example places in the city, is not included; it will be in the German 2 book I am currently working on. (Most students begin their second year still on an A1 / Novice Low level and transition to A2 / Novice Mid level during the year.) Some words may be more important to a student or community than others; for instance, my school has a wrestling and a drama program, so those words are included in the sports and arts lists, but for some schools, those words may not be used often.

For that reason, four blank lists are included, which allow students to enter vocabulary that is relevant to them, either teacher-guided or individualized. (Of course, you can make additional copies of those lists.) The blank lists can also be used for students to hand-copy the master lists if desired. The book is in color, which you may like for virtual use, but I have printed it in black and white on our school's laser printer, and it came out fine, so the B/W version should be fine for hard copies.

There are two title pages for your to choose from; one has pictures on it, the other only words, in case you want students to illustrate their own covers.

I developed these lists based on my 14 years of teaching high school German and studying dozens of textbooks and vocabulary books, as well as on student requests about words they want to know. I spent all summer on this and just got it done. I proofread a few times, but here are probably still some formatting and typing errors in it. I am publishing it now, because for most of us, school has already started or will start, and you might need this resource now. However, I am offering it at a discount for now, and if you buy it, you will get any updated version for free. I hope this helps with your planning, especially if you cannot use textbooks online due to publisher's copyrights. (That's my situation, so I am creating a lot of my own materials now.)

I am working on additional vocabulary books for German 2 to 5 (AP), up to a B1 / Intermediate/ Low level, and also on sound files for these lists so students can listen to the words. Another project is some vocabulary exercises for each list. So please check back often!

Have a great school year! Alles Gute!