Chemicals in the Home

Properties, Functions, Labelling

Baking, washing up, cleaning, – quite ordinary activities in the household. For these purposes we mostly use various aids such as baking and cleaning agents. However, we are often not aware of the chemical reactions involved.

States of Aggregation

Solid, Liquid, Gaseous

The solid, liquid and gaseous states are the three classic aggregate states. We encounter the interplay between water vapour, liquid water and ice in many situations.

Continents

A Journey around the World

Continents are continuous expanses of land that are clearly separated from each other by oceans.

Genetic Code Sun

Deciphering the Code of Life

Life on Earth assumes a large variety of shapes. There is plant life and animal life. Protozoa live alongside human beings, ants alongside fish and elephants, a blowball alongside a cactus.

Desert

Types, Vegetation, Fauna

Deserts and semi-deserts cover roughly a third of the entire landmass of the Earth. A huge area of our planet is thus defined as an arid region.

Climate Phenomena

Impact of El Nino on the Weather

Weather, atmospheric condition and climate must be clearly distinguished. Weather describes the current state of the atmosphere surrounding us in a certain place.

Hansa

League of Towns and Economic Power

Since the 11th century the population in Europe was growing. The reason for it was, among other things, an increase in agricultural production due to a good climate.

Freight Traffic

How do Trade Flows Work?

Most of us have probably ordered goods on the Internet at some point since online trade is perpetually booming.

Healthy Diet

Carbohydrates, Proteins, Vitamins

For a healthy, balanced and vitamin-rich diet it is essential to know what basic ingredients are contained in our food. Let us take a look at the carbohydrates first. These are contained in bread but also in pasta, rice, potatoes and also in fruit such as bananas.

Joints

Structure and Function

To begin with, we distinguish between so-called “real“ and “fake” joints.

Conditioning

Pavlovian Dog and Skinner-box

The theory of classical conditioning is one of several learning theories which explains how behaviours can result from stimulation without, however, taking into consideration the processes in the brain (black box).

Intolerances

Lactose, Gluten, Fructose

We humans are so-called “omnivores“, that means we eat everything. We are not restricted in our diet. We tolerate meat, fish and vegetables, cereals and dairy products. Everything agrees with us.

Franks

Empire in the Early Middle Ages

The Franks presumably arose from various western Germanic tribes originally living between the Rhine and Weser rivers. In the beginning, they were not a unified tribe yet but consisted of several bands under their own leaders.

Rights and Obligations

Youth Protection, Compulsory Schooling, Driving Licence

Three girls of different ages: Anna is 17, Paula 15 and Lena 13. Before the law, their respective ages have consequences – because children and adolescents have different rights and also obligations.

Catholic and Protestant Baptism

Common Features and Differences

As an important ritual of the Christian faith, baptism is closely connected with the traditional stories of the prophet John the Baptist, who is said to have lived in Jesus’ lifetime.

Celts

History and Culture

The term “Celts“ refers to a great number of different ethnic groups. So we do not speak of one “Celtic people”, at any rate not according to modern ethnic criteria, but rather of tribes within the circle of Celtic culture.

Plastic

Production, Use, Recycling

Plastic has been around for not longer than roughly 100 years, and the synthetic material is a brilliant invention. Its production is cheap, it can take almost any possible form, it is light-weight, versatile and, above all, inexpensive.

World Trade

Conditions, Opportunities, Conflicts

Many of the goods we use every day come from foreign countries and have to be imported into Germany. Without a functioning world trade our range of products would be very limited. Often goods are transported over long distances from A to B before we can use them.

Recycling

separating, sorting, reusing

The best waste is the one that never arises in the first place or that can be avoided.

Domestic Cat

Breeds and Behaviour

Nobody has actually counted all of them but it is estimated that there are about 200 million domestic cats in the world.

The European Central Bank (ECB)

Tasks and Functions

Central banks, which are also referred to as banks of issue, have a controlling function in the monetary economy.

Lignite

Formation, Deposits and Mining

Lignite, or brown coal, is an important energy carrier for providing Germany with electric power.

Chinese State Capitalism

Challenge to the West

The economy of a state can be organised along different lines.

Monetary System

Currency, Foreign Exchange and Central Bank

For many hundreds of years, means of payment have been used for the exchange of goods.

Hydrological Cycle

Precipitation, Drinking Water, Sewage Plant

Water is the source of life because life on our Earth originated in, more precisely, under the water.

Leonardo da Vinci

Artist and Scientist

Some refer to him as the greatest universal genius of all time. His paintings are considered the most beautiful works of art of the Renaissance.

Biogas

Use and Risks

In our modern lives, we are dependent on a regular supply of energy.

Schiller’s The Robbers

A Drama of the Sturm und Drang

“The Robbers“ by Friedrich Schiller begins with a wicked intrigue.

Economic Cycles

Fluctuations of the Economy

„Growth isn‘t everything, that‘s true. But without growth everything is nothing.

Crane

Lifting, Rotating, Moving

Even though all cranes are lifting equipment – type and appearance of a crane can be quite different.

Baroque

Architecture, Art, Music, Painting

Pompous buildings, impressive parklands, extravagant parties and unimaginable luxury.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Rise and Fall

Napoleon Bonaparte shaped France and Europe like no other.

Solutions, Emulsions and Mixtures of Substances

Properties and Uses

Be it milk in a cereal bowl, tea in a glass or the air around us. We constantly come across mixtures of substances in our everyday lives. As the name suggests, they are mixtures – mixtures of several so-called pure substances.

Freedom of Speech

A Fundamental Right

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) protects the right of all human beings to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to impart their opinion and to hear the opinions of others.

Responsible Consumption

Effect of Packaging and Advertising

What do “consumption“ and “consume“ actually mean? This is what the child reporter Ferdinand wants to find out today. That much is for sure: often it has something to do with money.

Staatssymbole

Flag, Anthem, Coat of Arms

Currently There are 194 countries or states on our earth. Every state has its own state emblem, for example, a national flag. It is a symbol of the history of a country, of its situation or its culture.

Thirty Years’ War

Causes, Development, Consequences

For thirty years war was waged in an area where Germany and Austria are located today.

Fluids and Viscosity

Liquids and their Properties

Be it the honey on our breakfast toast, the water from the tap or the air surrounding us – they all have one thing in common: in a physical sense they are fluids.

The Bible

from Its Origins until Today

It is big and small. Thick and thin. Old and new.

Learning How to Write Properly

Pressure, Speed, Form and Rhythm

Learning to write is at the beginning of the pupils' school career. It is quite a long way from the acquisition of motor skills and their refinement in the areas of pressure, tempo, form and rhythm to individual handwriting.

Early Capitalism

Banking System and Founding of Dynasties

Today we live in a capitalist society. The economy is based on free competition and private ownership of capital.

Hesse

The Federal States of Germany

The federal state of Hesse is located in the centre of Germany and borders on the federal states of Lower Saxony, Thuringia, Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.

From Antiquity to the Modern Era

How Europe Has Become What It Is Today

A lot of things we take for granted are actually the result of a long struggle. We live in a democracy and determine our government with elections.

Mediaeval Towns

Buildings, Population, Organisation

The mediaeval town was a fortified place where people lived who most of all engaged in commerce and trade.

Brandenburg

The Federal States of Germany

The federal state of Brandenburg is located in eastern Germany and encloses the federal capital Berlin in its centre.

Coasts

Shapes and Formation

The border area of the ecosystems of land and sea, which influence each other, is referred to as coast.

Medieval Castle

Design, Function, Everyday Life, Fight

In the thousand years of the Middle Ages – approximately between the 6th and 16th centuries after Christ, there must have been 20,000 or maybe even more castles in the area covered today by Germany and Austria.

Germanic Tribes

Beliefs, Everyday Life and Customs

When the Romans deliberately encountered the Germanic tribes in the 2nd century BC, they knew almost nothing about their soon-to-be most dangerous enemies and even today, much is still obscure as the Germanic tribes, unlike the Romans, did not leave behind large stone edifices but built their houses from wood – and this is ephemeral.

Nathan the Wise

Lessing‘s Play on Tolerance

Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing is considered one of the most important dramas of German literary history still today, 235 years after its premiere in Berlin on April 17, 1783.

Invertebrates

Snails, Worms, Insects and Spiders

The term “invertebrates” was coined by the French zoologist and botanist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck in the early 19th century. He was the first to address the classification of the then so-called “lower animals” and divided them into different categories and classes.

Cattle

Origin, Anatomy, Farming

Cattle have been of vital importance for humanity due to both their spread all over the world and presence throughout almost all of human history.

Starling

Bird of the Year

In general, male and female starlings look very much alike. In spring, starlings assume their nuptial plumage, in autumn, after moulting, they wear their eclipse plumage.

Theatre

Effects with Language, Light and Scenery

The Munich Kammerspiele, commissioned by the Riemerschmid family as a new theatre in the city of Munich in 1899.

Media in Everyday Life

Television, Smartphone, Computer

Media are part of our everyday lives. Children already used media in the past, however, it was not called that back then.

The Wheel

Invention and Development

One of the inventions that have brought humanity forward is the wheel.

Bridges

Construction, Types, Statics

Bridges are structures designed to overcome obstacles. These obstacles may be of a natural kind, such as rivers or canyons, but also artificially built, for instance motorways or railway lines.

Jesus Christ

Walking in His Footsteps

Long hair, a beard and a slender figure.

The Making of a Law

How Government and Parliament Work

Laws determine the lives and interrelationships of people and ensure that both rights and duties are distributed in a just way in society.

Egypt

Pharaohs and Pyramids

Roughly from 3100 to 322 BC, one of the greatest and most powerful cultures of antiquity flourished in the Nile Valley.

Fairy Tales

Grimm, Andersen, Literary Tales

Helga Josefa Sophie loves fairy tales. When she was little, her mother read her the ancient stories. Later her children and then her grandson Janik listened spellbound when she read from the fairy tale kingdom between reality and the magical world.

Renaissance

Art, Science, Architecture

While large parts of Europe still lived in the Dark Middle Ages and huge cathedrals dominated the cities, a new consciousness blossomed in Florence, Italy at the beginning of the 15th century.

Artificial Intelligence

Application and Opportunities

Intelligent machines not only carry out predefined work steps but also learn from experience thus developing their own problem solving strategies.

Gothic Architecture

Pointed Arch, Ribbed Vault and Buttress

At the beginning of the 12th century, a new building style suddenly appeared in France and revolutionised the dark Middle Ages – the Gothic style.

First Communion

Sacrament of the Eucharist

This is Annabelle with her family. It is a special day for her because she is celebrating her Holy First Communion today.

Rome

Traces of Ancient Heritage

In its heyday, ancient Rome was the most imposing city of the known world and centre of one of the largest empires of all times but most of the more than one million residents viewed the metropolis as a foul juggernaut.

Programming

Coding with Bee-Bot, Scratch and Robotics

There are a lot of things in the world whose functioning and appearance were determined even before they are perceived or before they occur.

Alexander

Explorer and Conqueror

Without doubt, after Alexander the Great, the world was not the same as before. During his reign of only elven years, he founded the largest world empire in the history of antiquity.

Saint Martin

Sharing and Why We Celebrate It

Every year on November 11, Saint Martin’s Day is celebrated. This church festival is also referred to as Saint Martin’s Feast.

The River as a Lifeline

Nile, Amazon, Mississippi

From source to mouth our rivers are constantly on the move. They count among the most dynamic biospheres on Earth and are vital connections for numerous plants and animals between otherwise separate habitats.

Kamishibai

Japanese Narrating Theatre

We spend a large part of our lives telling stories. Stories we read, listen to, watch – or tell others ourselves.

Rome

Capital of Italy

On the Tiber, in the centre of Italy, there lies the Italian capital of Rome.

Colours

Mixing, Effect, Symbolism

Colour is something ordinary. But colours determine nature and our life fundamentally.

Federal President

Highest Office in the State

The Federal President holds the highest office in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Vikings

Seafarers, Traders, Warriors

The Vikings – did not only raid monasteries mainly in England and Ireland, but pillaged and looted also along the coasts and rivers of Europe.

Natural Gas

Reserves, Extraction, Use

It provides heat for radiators and for cooking, generates electricity and even drives cars: natural gas is an important energy resource – worldwide, and also here in Germany.

Lake Constance

Living by the Water

Lake Constance is not only beautifully situated at the foot of the Alps, surrounded by a fertile countryside – you can also tell many stories about it, and thus learn something about its history and the people who live there.

The Limes

Boundary Wall of the Roman Empire

The limes – the northern borderline of the Roman Empire stretched from Britannia to the Black Sea.

Expressionism

In Art

The expression of a painting is meant to depict the artist’s inner world and bring it out.

Expressionism in Literature

Poetry, Prose, Drama

The term Expressionism is made up of the two words “ex“ and “premere“, the Latin word for “ to press”. So Expressionism is the art of expressing oneself.

The Making of a Children’s Book

From Idea to Print

Every year thousands of new books are published. You can get a notion of that vast number at the large book fairs in Frankfurt or Leipzig.

Animals in Winter

Migratory Birds, Hibernators and Winter-active Ones

It is winter. If you are dressed warmly in thick jackets, scarves, caps, gloves and lined boots, the cold does not bother you. For many animals, however, winter is a hard time. The reasons for this are low temperatures and the short food supply. The soil is frozen hard and partly covered in snow, the deciduous trees are bare. For all those who move outside now the struggle for survival begins. Our native wild animals defy these adverse conditions with very different survival strategies: some by being active, others hole up and others flee...

Petroleum

Deposits, Extraction, Use

Petroleum – a resource without which our modern industrial society is hardly conceivable. It serves as a basis for the fuel of almost all means of transport, but also for generating heat and electricity.

Financial Investment I

Interest, Savings Book and Shares

Money, money, money. The desire of humans to own more money is as old as money itself.

Urbanisation

The Emergence of Metropolises

Cities, that is, concentrations of culture areas, existed already in ancient times, but the spread of metropolises worldwide, the so-called metropolisation.

Galileo Galilei

Researcher and Explorer

Galileo Galilei, ingenious inventor and researcher whose findings changed the whole world.

Hands-on Biology

School Garden and Germination Experiment

To perform the experiment with beans you need first of all the seeds, of course. Runner beans are well suited for it. Watch out!

Muslim Festivals

Holidays and Rituals

Meryem and Rabia at midday prayer with their parents.

Riparian Forest

Biotope on the Water

A large area of Europe is covered by woodland. In Germany alone, the number of trees is estimated at about 90 billion at present. That means, in Germany there are more than 1,000 trees per inhabitant.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Pupils Discover Classical Music

Johann Sebastian Bach. He is considered one of the greatest and most important composers in the entire history of music.

Bones

Structure and Function

Berlin

The Federal States of Germany

Berlin is located in Eastern Germany, surrounded by the federal state of Brandenburg. The city can look back on an eventful history: as capital of Prussia, of the Empire, of the Weimar Republic and during the period of National Socialism. Due to the partition of Germany after the Second World War, the eastern part of Berlin became the capital of the GDR while West Berlin had the political status of an island right in the centre of the GDR until the German reunification. Today Berlin is a federal state, the largest city in Germany and capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the undisputed centre of its region, the federal state of Brandenburg, which surrounds the city.

Magnetism

The invisible force

You cannot smell, see, hear or feel magnetic force itself.

Enzymes

Chemical Reactions

Almost every biochemical reaction in living organisms is regulated and controlled by enzymes. Without enzymes we could not breathe, digest food and the hereditary information in our cells could not be repaired and copied.

Art of Building

Eras of Architecture

If you want to tell the story of architecture, you have to go back to the very beginning of humanity. To the so-called Neolithic Age, which was around 5500 BC. Instead of constantly roaming the country and stopping where is was convenient, people became sedentary and began to build primal habitations to be protected from cold, rain and wild animals.

Informatics interdisciplinary

Creative learning with Minecraft

The video game Minecraft is one of today’s most popular games. At the same time, it is one of the few video games that are used in lessons worldwide.

Hamburg

The Federal States of Germany

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and is located in the North German Plain at the lower course of the Elbe. As a federal city state, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is both a municipality and a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. The greater Hamburg area is the economic centre of North Germany. The port, its gateway to the world, is the centre of the dynamic economic metropolis.

Electricity

From Turbine to Socket

You realise how important and self-evident electricity has become in our everyday lives only when it is no longer there. At home, household appliances run by electricity would not work anymore. The refrigerator would not cool anymore, the heater would not heat anymore. No washing machine, no telephone, no television, no game consoles – and, of course, we would suddenly be plunged into darkness if the light went out. Even a flashlight would not help because it works with electricity as well even though this electricity does not come from the socket but from a battery. Without electricity we would actually be in the dark.

Safety on the Way to School

Beware of Road Traffic

You go to school to learn. But actually, learning starts earlier, namely on the way to school. When you set out from home on your way to school, you become a road user – just like all other pedestrians, cyclists, cars, lorries or buses. And all road users must take care that no accidents happen on the roads or pavements. As a road user you must be attentive and, if possible, always keep an overview of where you are standing, going or driving – and of what other road users are doing or maybe planning to do. You have to be careful and always take into consideration that perhaps another traffic participant is not being attentive. Thus you can avoid accidents. And eventually you must show consideration for other people using the road or pavement.

Zoo Learning

Brown Bear, Wolf and Eagle Owl

Seeing animals close up on a trip right in the middle of the city – this is possible on a visit to the zoo. There we can see many animals that cannot be found in the wild around here as a rule. From small to large, dangerous animals, harmless animals, and some you can stroke. Animals that attract attention through their outward appearance and those that are difficult to see in their environment.

The Blue Rider

The Dawning of the Modern Era

The Blue Rider – this is the name a group of artists chose for themselves when they joined forces just over 100 years ago to exhibit their works together.

Bremen

Federal States

The federal state of Bremen is located in the northwest of Germany and entirely surrounded by the federal state of Lower Saxony. As one of the three city states the federal state of Bremen is not only the smallest German federal state but comprises two cities, the city of Bremen and the city of Bremerhaven. Thus Bremen is a two-city state which is unique in this form in the Federal Republic. The probably best-known landmarks of the Hanseatic city are the Town Musicians of Bremen – after the world famous fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm – and the Bremen Roland, declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. The relatively young port city of Bremerhaven owes its rise to become a world-famous overseas port above all to the about 8 million emigrants who left Europe via Bremen from 1832 to 1974.

Periodic Table

System of the Elements

With the help of the periodic system chemists can predict properties of chemical elements and derive chemical reactions. But you need not be a chemist to understand the periodic system.

Bundestag and Bundesrat

Legislative Institutions

“I think politicians should by all means be responsible for the representation of interests, they should, so to speak, represent the people and make possible what the people wants in order to provide the greatest possible wealth and satisfaction in society. That should be their goal.“

The Green Paradox

Why the Earth Gets Warmer

Carbon dioxide is a nontoxic gas. It is formed in our bodies and in nature in the combustion of carbons. These are contained in all organic materials.

Stomach

Structure and Function

Parties today

Intermediary between citizen and state

Bronze Age

A New Material is Discovered

With the use of bronze as a working material a new historical era started at about 2200 BC. Why was this particular metal so important for the development of humankind?

Accounting

Basics and application

Ms. Köller is a director at a small carpentry, which she has inherited from her parents. As the boss of her firm Ms. Köller also takes care of the accounting.

Social Behaviour

Communication and Respect

Every child is unique and has talents and strengths it can use to advantage in a community, for example in a class community.

Ideals of Beauty

What Is Beautiful

Bundestag Elections

Procedures and Implementation

There is no democracy without regular elections.

Elections

Protest Voters, Manipulation, Referendum

There is no democracy without regular elections. Elections are the citizen’s most important means of actively shaping the politics of his or her state.

3D Printing

Methods, Materials, Future Prospects

Layer by layer, a three-dimensional form is being created here – a chess piece. Just like that, from a printer – however, a special one: a 3D printer. Thus, the dream of being able to manufacture three-dimensional pieces yourself at home becomes reality.

Muscles

Structure, Function, Training

When we talk about muscles, we mostly think of those we can see. These are the arm, chest, abdominal and leg muscles.

Robots

Helpers of Man

They carry out hard work without complaining, tirelessly and precise in their performance. They explore dangerous territory for us, help us with household chores or are just playmates.

Elephants

Anatomy, Sense, Behavior

Elephants belong to the order of Proboscidea. On the one hand they are classed with the highly developed mammals, on the other hand we consider them quite primeval animals. Which is not too far out because a near relation, the mammoth, still lived during the last ice age.

Hidden Sugar

Avoid the Sweet Trap!

Sugar is ever-present in our lives. It is an important supplier of energy, but too much sugar poses a threat to our health.

Typical Boy, Typical Girl

Innate and Acquired

QUOTE girl: "Lots of girls play with Barbie dolls." QUOTE boy: "Typical boys, that’s rather ... more football and more fighting ..."

Alkali Metals

Properties, Examples, Relationship

What do lithium batteries, table salt and firework rockets have in common? All of them contain compounds of alkali metals. Alkali metals are members of the first group of the periodic table of the elements. The metals in this group are lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium and francium.

Fossils

Formation and Places of Discovery

Is it possible for a stone to tell us a story about what animals and plants used to be there in former times? And “former times” does not mean a few centuries but millions of years.

Ancient Greece

Roots of Our Culture

The age of antiquity ended over a thousand years ago, and yet, it surrounds us almost every day. The Greek temples have been imitated over and over, and they represent masterly achievements of architecture even today – grandeur and beauty formed by stone.

Equilibrium

Maintaining a Balance

All things have weight. Some things are heavy. Others are light. Often you would like to strike a balance. What is light should get heavier and what is heavy should get lighter. When bodies, substances or conditions are balanced, we call it equilibrium.

Greek Mythology

Gods, Goddesses, Mythical Figures

The search for the origin and meaning of our existence has always been an integral part of the history of mankind.

Human Brain

Structure and Function

Every organism, no matter whether it is an earthworm, a snail, a fish or a human being, takes in information from the environment through differently structured sensory organs.

Economic Cycles

Fluctuations of the Economy

Economic growth is on everybody’s lips and almost every day we come across the notion – assessed both positively and negatively – in the news from the worlds of politics and business.

Photography II

Creative Picture Design

Anyone who is able to master the technology of his camera can expose a photo correctly, knows how to handle exposure time and aperture – but only those who can design their photos, compose their pictures properly, know how to direct the viewer’s attention and are able to lend a message to their pictures, truly master photography.

Materials and Substances of Everyday Life

Properties and Behaviour

Hearing these words, you first think of the materials our clothing is made of. But all objects surrounding us in everyday life consist of one or several materials.

Jewish Life

Festivals, Holidays, Rites

This is Noam. With his twin brothers Ron and Dan, his little sister Lia and, of course, his parents Esther and Alexis. Just a normal family.

Blackbirds

Features and Behaviour

The blackbird is one of our most common and best-known songbirds. The nice thing about the blackbird is that it cannot be confused with many other bird species.

Single-cell Organisms

Biodiversity on a Small Scale

The Earth is the only planet known to us where liquid water ─ the source of life ─ exists. Every creature has its own metabolism, which is controlled via an information carrier – the genome.

Common European Adder

Habitat and Mode of Life

The common (European) adder is extremely wide-spread across the globe. The common adder owes its German name “Kreuzotter” (“cross adder”) to the broad zigzagged band on its back, or so-called “cross” in German.

The Weimar Republic

The First Democracy in Germany

In the heart of the federal state of Thuringia, there is the small town of Weimar, in which the cultural histories of Germany and Europe are blended together in a confined space.

Hamsters

Characteristics, Mode of Life, Protection

Hamsters are small rodents that have four sharp incisors. They are related to mice. With their small beady eyes and the constantly sniffing nose the crepuscular and nocturnal animals look cute.

Genetics

Introduction to Genetic Theory

Genetics means something like genealogy, origin and, in contemporary terminology, also the study of inheritance.

Paris - the Megacity

Savoir Vivre

Paris is the capital of France and located in the heart of Europe. France is virtually the only Western European country where life is so strongly oriented towards the capital.

Hygiene

Preventing Disease, Promoting Health

Epidemics such as the cholera or the plague and diseases like the Spanish flu were the causes of the deaths of many people throughout the centuries.

Hare and Rabbit

Similarities and Differences

How do we distinguish between a hare and a rabbit? At first sight, both look confusingly alike for both have long ears and a stumpy tail.

Saxony-Anhalt

The Federal States of Germany

The federal state of Saxony-Anhalt is not only abundant with natural beauty but also boasts a diverse landscape of castles, palaces and churches, some of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Menstrual Cycle

First Period

Sex education seminar at a girls’ school, 5th-year class. The girls here are 10, 11 years old. Topic: “menstrual cycle and first period“.

Values and Norms in Germany

Animationfilm

Video Course I

Equipment, Preparation, Camera Work

It is a lot of fun to make your own films. People who love telling or writing stories and/or taking pictures or making films have come to the right place.

Slow Worm

Characteristics, Adjustment, Behaviour

The slow worm is a small, completely harmless lizard, which – contrary to its German name “Blindschleiche”– is perfectly able to see and is often mistaken for a snake because it has no legs and an elongated body.

What Is the Blues?

History, Instruments, Attitude towards

Well, the Blues is what you go through when you wake up in the morning, and when you go to sleep, and you know, the Blues follows you, wherever you go.

Our Solar System

Planets

Looking up at the cloudless night sky is something special. It is a spectacle that we are offered free of charge every clear night.

Human Liver

Structure and Function

Normally you do not feel it, it does not beat like the heart, neither can we feel it like the lungs when we breathe in and out – nevertheless, it is one of our most important organs: the liver.

Northrine-Westphalia

The Federal States of Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia unites many contrasting mentalities and forms of life and landscape. It is a land of low mountain ranges, lowlands and vibrant metropolises.

Values and Norms in Germany

By and with Refugees

O-Ton M. Ozbak (Afghanistan): „Both with regard to household chores and with tasks in public, women and men are equal.“

Photography

Basics and Picture Design

“I would always choose this profession again. It gives you so much and there is so much you can do in this job. You are not tied down but there are plenty of possibilities, all kinds of fields are open to you. In my case, it is portrait photography. There are photographers who work in completely different areas. This profession is not a one-way street but the longer you do it, the more possibilities you see.

Ducks

Appearance, Behaviours, Species

Ducks are our best-known water birds. You can watch them on almost any large body of water. Although we come across them frequently, most of us know very little about the lives of ducks. But it is worth our while to look at them more closely.

Eye

Structure and Function

The eye is one of our most important sense organs. It provides direct access to the world. We perceive most information we are flooded with and which has an impact on us via our visual sense.

Neanderthal Man

History of Mankind

For 250,000 years the Neanderthal dominated Europe during the last glacial period until he died out about 30,000 years ago.

Light

Properties and Experiments

"At night all cats are black." – all of you will probably know this figure of speech. Light is involved or rather a situation where little light is available.

Big Data

Big Chance – Big Risk

Original soundtrack young woman: “Big data? Well, I suppose this is just a huge amount of data ... Big and data ... so it’s a large amount of data!”

Fuel Cell

Energy of the Future?

A smartphone offers a lot of opportunities nowadays. The numerous apps and applications may enrich your daily life but cost a lot of electricity. It is particularly annoying when the device fails at the most inconvenient moments.

Pike

Underwater Predator

The pike is one of our largest native predatory fish. Its mouth is studded with razor-sharp teeth. Its elongated streamlined body makes it as fast as an arrow. The pike is the perfect underwater hunter. At the same time, however, it is prey to a lot of other animals and a popular food fish.

Human Lung

Structure and Function

Only rarely do we notice that we need them: our lungs. Mostly, we breathe unconsciously and shallowly – especially if we have a sitting job.

Capitalism

A Critical Analysis

Capitalism is a global economic and social order, in which the means of production such as, for instance, buildings, farmland or technical facilities are in private ownership, and the control of economic activities is effected by the market.

Chickens

Behaviour, Races and Breeding

In the story of “Max and Moritz“it says: To most people who have leisure Raising poultry gives great pleasure;

The Human Heart

Structure and Functioning

Our life is determined by our heart. In reality as well as symbolically. When we love someone, we lose our heart to that person. When we are courageous, we stand up for something with all our heart. But when we are frightened, our hearts may well be in our boots now and then.

25 Years of German Unity

What Has It Done for Us?

After four decades of separation in the course of the East-West conflict, the unity of Germany was constitutionally restored on October 3, 1990. The Peaceful Revolution in the GDR and the willingness of the victorious powers of the Second World War enabled reunification.

Geese

Domestic Geese and Wild Geese

“They’re gabbling like geese”, “she’s such a stupid goose” or “silly goose”– those are commonly known sayings. But geese are neither stupid nor chatty, gabbling is their language.

Globalisation

Change through Trade

A visit to the weekly market. Here they lie peacefully side by side: pears and apples from local regions next to exotic fruits such as kiwi, lychee, papaya and mango.

High-tech Locations

Innovation Secures the Future

The satellite dishes of the first terrestrial communications site on German ground in Raisting near the Ammersee have been a symbol of high-tech in Bavaria for decades. The very first satellite dish was still protected from all weathers by an air hall. Today it is an industrial monument.

Thuringia

The Federal States of Germany

"My name is Bodo Ramelow. I am Prime Minister of the Free State of Thuringia. It is a beautiful country. Its abundance of nature and environmental beauty, its wealth of art and culture, wonderful cities and history are truly exciting. We have so much to offer and I’m always glad about Thuringia’s wide diversity."

Genocide of the Third Reich

Shoah

Germany, 14th July 1933: Six months after Hitler’s so-called rise to power all parties were banned with the exception of the National Socialist German Labour Party. Now the total forcible coordination of political life in Germany was completed. The new political model was based on the Führer cult, an emotional relationship between the Führer and the masses.

Old Crafts

Traditional Trades in Former Times

Crafts have existed for centuries. Some old craftsmen’s trades have almost disappeared over time. In order to keep up the traditions of the crafts, old handicrafts are presented at traditional festivals or on markets.

Animals in the Forest

Fox, Raccoon, Deer and Others

The forest is home to many animals.

Biotechnology III

Between Progress and Responsibility

Biotechnological knowledge and applications can be divided into several subareas. For easy orientation and distinction, the respective fields have been assigned a specific colour.

Sticklebacks

Change in Males during Spawning Time

More than fifty fish species live in our lakes and rivers. The sticklebacks count among the smallest native freshwater fish.

Sacraments

Companions in Faith

The Sacraments – they are the visible and audible signs of the invisible workings of God on man. Often they occur at transitions and significant life events such as birth, admission into the community of Christians, growing up. These are the Sacraments of Initiation.

Allergies

Development and Therapy

The flowering spring meadow, the cute cat from the neighbour’s garden or the bowl with strawberries are a source of joy to most people.

Fire and Flame

Development and Fire-fighting Methods

Fire – one of the most important human discoveries. It gives us warmth and light, conveys security and fascinates us with its dancing flames.

Blogging

What Is That?

The weblog or blog, for short, as a medium is not much older than this century. Blogs came into being in the World Wide Web as ’messages from below’, as web pages from web creators who wanted to share their view of the world with the world. They are short notes, long texts, pictures, videos, which are posted loosely and at random intervals to the world for an undefined public.

Doctrine of Maps

Spatial Orientation

..... But how does a compass work? The answer is: by magnetic force. When you place a magnet amidst metal filings, you can see how these filings are pulled to the magnet. And when you take a closer look, you can see that the filings arrange themselves in specific directions at the magnet. This way, you can see where the field lines of the magnet run. The horseshoe magnet has a north pole and a south pole like the Earth. The direction of the cuttings tells you where the field lines along these poles are.

Mary

Images throughhout the Time

Mary is the major female figure in the Bible. She is the saint, the patron saint of entire countries and nations. Countless are the prayers people have been directing to her for centuries and countless the people who put themselves under her protection.

Europe

From Ancient Civilisations to the EU

We Europeans belong to many different countries with diverse cultures, languages and beliefs. These differences, as also our similarities, are based on history.

Earthquakes

Origin and Consequences

For millennia, people have been afraid of earthquakes. A force of nature that regularly devastates whole regions and claims thousands of lives

Children’s Rights in Germany

Projects of Pupils

In Germany there are many groups of children who fight for children's rights to be respected. Again and again, these groups organise activities where they point out children's rights. The groups are supported by UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund..

Romans

Life in Ancient Rome

Augsburg, Cologne, Trier – perhaps you have already heard about these cities. But did you also know that all these cities were built by the Romans?

Salt

An Indispensable Mineral

The soup has no taste at all today – why? Ah – there is no salt in the soup! It is the salt that gives real flavour to the food.

Carnivorous Plants

Carnivores

Up to the middle of the 19th century it was believed that plants exclusively served as a nutritional staple to be eaten by herbivorous primary consumers.

Refugees

On Leaving and Arriving

Faizullah and Pamodou are two of about 500,000 refugees who fled to Germany from the crisis areas of the world between 2013 and the summer of 2015 and applied for asylum here

Young Inventors

Implementing Their Own Ideas

Inventions are part of our lives. We do not even notice many of these revolutionary inventions in our daily routines. But without them, we would have to sit in dark caves and explore the world on foot.

The Garden throughout the Year

And Its Creatures

You surely know a few gardens, maybe you even have one yourself. Have you ever taken a closer look at it? A garden is not only a great place for playing – you can also cultivate and harvest fruits or vegetables there, and when you take a good look, you will see that it is brimming with life.

Politics of the USA

Electoral System and Distribution of Power

The United States of America. The nation’s political power is centred around the Capitol in the capital Washington D.C. This block encompasses the most important government buildings. Under the dome of Congress, both parliaments of the federal government are housed.

Lower Saxony

The Federal States of Germany

Between the North Sea and the Harz, Ems and Elbe, stretches one of Germany’s federal states in which, according to legend, once the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Till Eulenspiegel and the lying Baron Munchhausen did their mischief.

Silicon Valley

Location for the IT and High-tech Industry

The famous Golden Gate Bridge runs across the San Francisco Bay into one of the most beautiful cities of America. And into one of the world’s richest regions. Around the bay, the headquarters of the leading global corporations of the digital era are located. The cable cars lend an air of nostalgia to the city with its hilly and winding streets. In the bay, the state-of-the-art companies of the world are successful. Here, everything is about bits and bytes, the Internet and social media.

X-Radiation

Discovery, Properties and Applications

They are enormously rich in energy and easily penetrate the body but in spite of this, we can neither see nor feel them: X-rays work in secret.

Israel

Between Tradition, High-tech and Conflicts

The territory of present-day Israel is one of the oldest cultural regions on Earth. It is the Holy Land of three world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Snails and Their Habitats

Biodiversity and Survival Strategies

They are slow, really slow ... they are soft, they are slimy ...and greedy. Most of us look at them with disgust. But snails and their relatives are fascinating, useful animals and true survivors.

Train to Auschwitz

Journey into the Past

»They had better look out… one day our patience will be at an end and then these impudent and hypocritical Jews will be reduced to silence.«

What Is Jazz?

History and Music Genres

Lucia Martinez: “Jazz is spontaneity, technique and listening.” Lorenzo Panico: “Sax, live instruments and great people!” Bill Evans: “Innovation, creativity, future.”

Metabolic Disorder Diabetes

Regulation of the Blood Glucose Level

Big break in the school yard of the Freiherr vom Stein school. The pupils are talking or playing. Amidst them is Felix, twelve years old. He is always with them.

Islam

Muslim Worship

Like Christians and Jews, Muslims believe in only one God. Today about four million Muslims live in Germany alone. Islam has its origins in Arabia.

Pupils Practise Inclusion

Making a Mark

When people come together, no matter under what concomitant circumstances – ultimately, it is about how these people meet and how openly they interact with one another.

Tolerance

For a Respectful Coexistence

“Tolerance means being generous and kind to other people and helping them, too.”

The Ear

Structure, Function and Care

Large or small, narrow or broad, round or angular. Our ears may be of a variety of shapes.

Resuscitation

Saving a Life

It can happen to anyone – of any age, in any place, at any time. Sudden cardiac arrest may quickly prove fatal. Immediate action is called for!

Picture Analysis

Basics

Picture analysis is a reliable method of revealing the secrets of works of art. Let us take for example the portrait of a child. There would have been innumerable ways of depicting the child but the painter painted it specifically the way he did and not otherwise.

Save a Life

Anesthesiologists in action

Operations are performed under anaesthesia. There are different kinds of procedures, ranging from general anaesthesia to regional or local anaesthesia. Paula: "That was my first operation under general anaesthesia and I was quite afraid. But still, it was interesting to see how it all works." The specialist for anaesthesia – in short anaesthetist – is responsible for the narcosis.

Mobile Learning II

Active Media Work with iPads

Oh, what’s that? Original soundtrack Thissen: “As our children grow up in a media world and naturally handle the media, they should also be a topic in school.“

Active Classroom

Exercise Breaks

Movement is healthy! It furthers activation or relaxation, strengthens the muscles and improves coordination. Often a few minutes are enough when during lessons you have short breaks for action units in the classroom.

Martin Luther King

“I didn’t want to just look on“

Martin Luther King, born and raised in the household of a pastor, was one of the privileged blacks. He saw and experienced the injustice of social oppression and racism, which were particularly pronounced in the Southern States of the USA, and some of which are still lingering today. He called for demonstrations and civil disobedience and became the spokesman for the Civil Rights Movement of the USA: ”But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.“

Podcasting

What Is It? - Modern Teaching

Today, the use of new media has become a matter of course not only in everyday life – schools and teaching, too, benefit from the new technologies and methods, which support active and independent learning.

Copyright

Basic Principles

Copyright is subject to constant change to keep up with technological advances. This film enables the viewer to grasp the basic principles of this extremely intricate matter. By way of introduction, the film defines what an author is, what kinds of works there are and how long a work is protected on principle.Then the fundamental rights of an author are cited and it is shown how these are exploited in our times.

Interactive Whiteboards

Teaching – Creating – Presenting

Although the computer found its way into school some time ago already, it has mostly led a marginal existence so far, banished to extra practice rooms or to the side of the classroom.

Mobile Learning I

iPads

Increasing mobility is a dominant characteristic of the present age. Here the school just follows a general social trend. But with growing mobility not only new devices are coming to the fore but also new concepts of learning are being developed as well as new ways of cooperation between pupils and pupils and pupils and teachers. By now the iPad has established itself as one of the most frequently used mobile learning devices.

Healthy Diet

Stay Healthy and Fit!

No matter whether we write, read, sleep or move, we always use up energy. Imagine your body is like a car. It needs petrol to be able to move.

Your Teeth

Structure and Care

This DVD demonstrates that a regular and thorough brushing of your teeth is the foremost condition for their lifelong health. At the same time, pupils learn that food that doesn‘t damage their teeth is decisive, too, in keeping them healthy.

My Body

Structure and Sexual Characteristics

All human beings in the whole world have the same physique. However, we differ from each other in sex, height and weight as well as in skin and hair colour. The way we move, too, is different with each individual person.

Sex Education

Fertilisation, Pregnancy, Birth

The creation of a new human being is a miracle. Children are interested in where they come from. They want to know how a baby gets into the mother’s womb, how it develops inside and is finally born. The film answers questions about fertilisation, pregnancy and birth.

Children Have Rights

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Every human being has rights. Children have children’s rights. Since 1946 the UN – the United Nations – has been working to safeguard these rights. On 20th November 1989 it was adopted: the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Contraception

Love and Responsibility

In view of a considerable number of teenage pregnancies and commencement of sexual activities at an average age of 15, the topic of contraception is extremely important in lower secondary school.

Aids

A Temporary Life

AIDS is an issue that remains critical in view of the globally increasing infection rates. This DVD informs pupils on the immune deficiency disease and the ways in which the infection is passed on, it shows the scale of the pandemic and tries to make the young viewers aware of the difficult situation of those afflicted by it.

Ticks

Dangerous Pests

Already the dinosaurs, which populated the Earth some 90 million years ago, were familiar with the tiny, dangerous pests, and the Greek poet Homer attributed healing and potency-enhancing effects to them in the late 8th century BC – however, only in pulverised form.

Hormones

Hidden Messengers

Hormones influence our lives. Just like our nervous system, they transmit information in our bodies. When our hormonal balance is disrupted, our behaviour changes and we may fall ill. But what are hormones? Why have they got such a big influence? Where are they produced? And how do they work? The film leads us inside the human body – into the world of hormones.

School Caching

Digital scavenger hunt

A treasure hunt in nature… and with GPS devices! Geocaching has been a real trend with lovers of nature for long and now more and more schools discover that pupils can be encouraged to head out into nature and, moreover, that learning content can be communicated creatively in this way.

Infections

Prevention and Therapies

’Health isn’t everything but everything is nothing without health.‘ – This clever sentence comes from the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.

Make up Your Mind!

Doping in Sport

Eventually he wants to be as good as his acknowledged role model the Ukrainian boxer Vladimir Klitschko. He vehemently rejects the idea that Klitschko could dope. The world champion trains his stamina every day by swimming. Then why dope?

Mayor(ess)

Tasks of the Municipality

Gauting is a municipality southwest of the city of Munich in Bavaria. About 20,000 people live in the municipality. But who actually ensures that such a system works?

India

Culture and History

India – in official language also called Republic of India, is a state in South Asia. Its national territory has an extension of about 3,287,263 km2, and is inhabited by 1.3 billion people

Vaccination

Why? For What Reason? Against What?

It is only in recent years that a vaccination has existed that is supposed to lower the risk of getting cervical cancer. This vaccination can protect against specific, sexually transmitted human papillomaviruses that are considered one of the causes for cervical cancer. Even though we consider our high health status as a matter of course in Germany today, it is not so very long ago that in Europe, too, many people died of diseases such as smallpox or typhus or had to suffer from the after-effects of diseases like poliomyelitis...

Opera

Planning, Staging, Performance

As soon as the audience has taken their seats, the conductor enters the orchestra pit. When he lifts the baton, the magic ritual of enchantment through music, play and light in an illusory world, which is to true nonetheless, begins. But what is opera, anyway? Let us dare a look behind the scenes!