Write the names of family relationships on the board or on paper strips on a word wall. Provide the students with the names of different relatives in the family in German. Start with My Family-Mien Stammbaum as the title. Add the terms grandmother-Großmutter (or Oma) and grandfather--Großvater (or Opa). Then list mother--Mutter and father--Vater below the grandparents. Continue to introduce the words son--Sohn and daughter--Tochter. Point out the similarities of the German terms for family with English. This will give students confidence as you continue with names of the members of the extended family. Write niece--Nichte and nephew--Neffe on your list. Additional family members can be added at teacher discretion. Consult an English-German dictionary for terms such as son-in-law, cousin and brother-in-law.
Begin mapping out on the overhead or on the board the eldest known family members on both sides of the family. At the top left side, write a circle with your maternal Grandma Ann and Grandpa Paul, whose names in German are Großmutter Ann and Großvater Paul. Repeat the process with the right side of the page for your father's side of the family.
Draw a horizontal line between Großmutter Ann and Großvater Paul. Then make a vertical line down from the line connecting the grandparents up above. Here add two circles or squares and write the names Mother-Mutter and Father-Vater.
Draw another horizontal line connecting your parents, Mother-Mutter Julia and Father-Vater Andrew.
Draw a vertical line down from them and add circles or boxes to write the names of you and your brothers and sisters, and add the appropriate vocabulary to each box from your list of family terms.
The students' family trees can make an attractive bulletin board and serve as a resource to help them learn the vocabulary.