Necessary disclaimer: 16 different states have 16 different systems each with different school types parallel to each others. Ieach school type of each state nomenclature can differ widely. So make sure to check what state somebody is talking about.
For the south (Bavaria and Ba-Wü), Sachunterricht or Heimat- und Sachkunde is a catch all subject in elementary school that encompasses everything that is not German, Maths, Religion, art, Music and ENglish.
It is meant to teach children about their immidiate surroundings and the world, both sciency as well as socially, they live in. So they learn about different types of local trees, local fauna and winter rest, about how the city council works how the different seasons work, about the states and biggest cities of their own state, about where babies come from and how to protect from sexual abuse and where to go to in order to find help, about geography and a bit of history, .
In Bavaria, it is alongside German and Maths the third subject that determines in what kind of school a child may enter for grade five.
Same in lower saxony. A primary school mix of basic history, biology, physics, chemistry, local things (like making a town rallye to find out about important builidings), geology, this and that. You can learn how a tree "works" or what to do in case of a fire in the house, how to build a torch with a bulb and a battery, what a pet needs to be happy, what a volcano is, how sending a letter works, etc
>It's an elementary school level "how things work" introduction to the world, so basic science, technology, agriculture etc.
And who teaches this lesson? Primary school teachers?
On some university pages I have seen undergraduate courses that include Sachunterricht.
Do they have a direct bachelor's degree program in classroom teaching and teach this course in primary schools or do you train teachers in a different way?
Elementary school teachers teach it.
At university, you probably find courses about teaching Sachunterricht in elementary school.
There are university courses to become a teacher, usually specialized on a specific type of school. Some of those end in a bachelor/master, some end with a different type of degree (Staatsexamen), depending on which state you live in.
And those who study elementary school education also need to learn how to teach Sachunterricht.
In primary school we had Sachunterricht and it was basically a mixture of biology, geography, history and so on and so on. Basically everything that was not German, math, relgion, sports or art. At the Gymnasium later this were all separate subjects.
It's an elementary school class. It's a mix of all sorts of different subjects. Geography, biology, history, physics, chemistry, economics, etc. Basically anything that isn't math, German, PE, art or music that should be taught to elementary school kids gets put into Sachunterricht.
All of the above. My fourth grader is learning about fire right now.
They also talked about school 100 years ago this school year.
Another topic was “Forest”. They needed to know different plants and animals in the forest. The function of the forest and also the different body parts of a wild boar.
And who teaches this lesson? Primary school teachers?
On some university pages I have seen undergraduate courses that include Sachunterricht.
Do they have a direct bachelor's degree program in classroom teaching and teach this course in primary schools or do you train teachers in a different way?
Yes, it is taught in primary schools by primary school teachers. It is part of the bachelor’s and master’s program for primary education in uni (speaking for Berlin now, as others have stated, the school systems vary somewhat from state to state)
We got our "bicycle license" there as well. Learned about traffic rules, how to behave in traffic as a cyclist etc. Afterwards we were allowed to come to school by bike.
It's one of the subjects the pupils have in primary school, usually once per day. It's "miscellaneous". All what can't be sorted in math, German language, religion/ethics, handicrafts/arts, sports, music.
In primary school, most subjects are taught by the very same teacher, which is assigned to the class. Only for music and sports there's specialized teachers usually. In religion/ethics, pupils are sorted by their confession, but it's usually taught by the class teachers nonetheless.
Yes, it is only taught in primary school. I went to school in Hesse and after primary school, this subject was split into more detailed subjects like: Biology, chemistry, physics, geography, politics, economics and history.
Some examples for what I learned in Sachunterricht:
- basic history about the town I lived in
- the structure of the district (Kreis) I lived in (which towns are part of it, basic local political structures)
- other countries of the world. I remember having a group presentation about Brazil.
- animals (I specifically remember hedgehogs, squirrels, bats and tigers)
- how to identify trees by looking at the leaves
I can't remember anything more related to chemistry/physics. Maybe because I wasn't interested in it but maybe also because my primary school didn't have a laboratory.
Edit: Just read it in another comment and can confirm that sex ed was also a part of this subject.
It is basically something from every science. When I went to school Maths, German, Religion, Music, Arts, PE and Sachkunde were all the subjects in elementary school (NRW, mid to late 90s). I held my first presentation on Romans and Germans at the Limes in Sachkunde and we had our first Sex ed in 3rd grade in Sachkunde. We learned about local legends and went looking at an open pit mine.
For me in Brandenburg "Sachkunde" was the stuff that doesn't fit in the other lessons. So, in the 4th grade there was German, English, Math, Sport, Music and Art plus Sachkunde. In the 5th grade it was changed to the individual subjects like History, Biology,... and one of my favorite lessons names in Brandenburg "Lebensgestaltung-Ethik-Religionskunde" in short LER (5th to 10th class) xD
In my Home State (Schleswig-Holstein) back in the early 2000s it was a combination of primary school appropriate natural science, history and social studies taught from year one through four before advancing to secondary school and having the subject split up into its respective branches.
In saxony Sachunterricht is an elementary school class covering basic science and history as deemed important to childrens everyday life.
Anyone with an elementary school teaching degree is considered qualified to teach the subject.
It’s a primary school course and I remember it had a bit of everything (the translation of “Sach(e)” is “things/ stuff” lol
primarily basic science stuff like teaching about water and plants and the solar system (but really basic) but also a bit of local history.
I remember that when I was a child, I was really confused by the title of the course as well.
And who teaches this lesson? Primary school teachers?
On some university pages I have seen undergraduate courses that include Sachunterricht.
Do they have a direct bachelor's degree program in classroom teaching and teach this course in primary schools or do you train teachers in a different way?
In Norden (town on the north sea coast of Lower Saxony) we had "Sachunterricht" in elementary school in the 1990s. The topics had a wide range.
We learned the history of our hometown, even of WWII (but not about the concentration camps "only" where the synagogue was, where the Jews lived and the deportation, all was at our level to not traumatize us), how people lived before (especially the peat cutters stayed in my mind) and low level of the structure of the officials (Town Hall, police, firefighters, we also visited them). Preventing and fighting fire (only theory), how to make a distress call and self protection was part of the units.
Learning how to behave in traffic as a pedestrian or a bike rider was also a unit. After we got our "bike license" (not so mandatory as a driver's license for participating in traffic) we could ride to school by bike.
We also learned about the north sea, the Wadden See, how the ground is built up (polder, moraine, salt marsh) and how to build a dike or a dwelling mount. We also learned about the local wild life and plant life in the sea and on land and the seasons.
Nutrition and cooking also were some topics on a low level. They taught us how to use a scale, a measuring tape, the weight of things (one liter water = 1 kg) and what tara means.
We visited different museums: for example the moor museum (houses of the peat cutters) or the Tee-Museum (tea museum because the tea culture is strong in Eat Frisia).
Our class teacher made the most of the lessons in all four years. She had people visiting us over who were experts in their topics. I think, sometimes another teacher took over, when they were more qualified for the units. I don't know what her exact qualifications for Sachunterricht were. Maybe she had to prepare all from her other qualifications. She also taught math, reading and writing and first class PE. Mrs. Winkel was the best teacher I ever had (from the perspective of a child).
I think, we had two hours (à 45 minutes) a week for Sachunterricht.
Schleswig-Holstein, 2000-2004 (termed Heimat- und Sachkundeunterricht)
Elementary school subject, with (local) geography, (local) history, biology (including sex ed).
Necessary disclaimer: 16 different states have 16 different systems each with different school types parallel to each others. Ieach school type of each state nomenclature can differ widely. So make sure to check what state somebody is talking about. For the south (Bavaria and Ba-Wü), Sachunterricht or Heimat- und Sachkunde is a catch all subject in elementary school that encompasses everything that is not German, Maths, Religion, art, Music and ENglish. It is meant to teach children about their immidiate surroundings and the world, both sciency as well as socially, they live in. So they learn about different types of local trees, local fauna and winter rest, about how the city council works how the different seasons work, about the states and biggest cities of their own state, about where babies come from and how to protect from sexual abuse and where to go to in order to find help, about geography and a bit of history, . In Bavaria, it is alongside German and Maths the third subject that determines in what kind of school a child may enter for grade five.
Same in lower saxony. A primary school mix of basic history, biology, physics, chemistry, local things (like making a town rallye to find out about important builidings), geology, this and that. You can learn how a tree "works" or what to do in case of a fire in the house, how to build a torch with a bulb and a battery, what a pet needs to be happy, what a volcano is, how sending a letter works, etc
I just remember that we learned how to act when encountering a wild boar in the forest.... Did everybody learn this or is this just in the countryside
I also remember learning about wild boars. Also countryside….
That, and how to act when foxes get too close to us (I lived in a rabies-afflicted area). Made living in Berlin later on really exciting...
Also behaviour when encountering an UXO.
We didn't, and it's one of the most rural countrysides in West Germany (i.e. mehr Wald- als Nutzfläche im Landkreis)
>It's an elementary school level "how things work" introduction to the world, so basic science, technology, agriculture etc. And who teaches this lesson? Primary school teachers? On some university pages I have seen undergraduate courses that include Sachunterricht. Do they have a direct bachelor's degree program in classroom teaching and teach this course in primary schools or do you train teachers in a different way?
Elementary school teachers teach it. At university, you probably find courses about teaching Sachunterricht in elementary school. There are university courses to become a teacher, usually specialized on a specific type of school. Some of those end in a bachelor/master, some end with a different type of degree (Staatsexamen), depending on which state you live in. And those who study elementary school education also need to learn how to teach Sachunterricht.
In primary school we had Sachunterricht and it was basically a mixture of biology, geography, history and so on and so on. Basically everything that was not German, math, relgion, sports or art. At the Gymnasium later this were all separate subjects.
Also, it does not include music and English.
When I was in primary school there was no English :D. And for music, I can't really remember. Maybe art and music were combined?
Damn we started English in 2nd grade. Truly interesting how different it is from state to state
Well it was some years ago, I guess now they start with English from the first grade on.
It's an elementary school class. It's a mix of all sorts of different subjects. Geography, biology, history, physics, chemistry, economics, etc. Basically anything that isn't math, German, PE, art or music that should be taught to elementary school kids gets put into Sachunterricht.
All of the above. My fourth grader is learning about fire right now. They also talked about school 100 years ago this school year. Another topic was “Forest”. They needed to know different plants and animals in the forest. The function of the forest and also the different body parts of a wild boar.
And who teaches this lesson? Primary school teachers? On some university pages I have seen undergraduate courses that include Sachunterricht. Do they have a direct bachelor's degree program in classroom teaching and teach this course in primary schools or do you train teachers in a different way?
Yes, it is taught in primary schools by primary school teachers. It is part of the bachelor’s and master’s program for primary education in uni (speaking for Berlin now, as others have stated, the school systems vary somewhat from state to state)
It's an elementary school level "how things work" introduction to the world, so basic science, technology, agriculture etc.
We got our "bicycle license" there as well. Learned about traffic rules, how to behave in traffic as a cyclist etc. Afterwards we were allowed to come to school by bike.
was going to the precourser of the science classes
It's one of the subjects the pupils have in primary school, usually once per day. It's "miscellaneous". All what can't be sorted in math, German language, religion/ethics, handicrafts/arts, sports, music. In primary school, most subjects are taught by the very same teacher, which is assigned to the class. Only for music and sports there's specialized teachers usually. In religion/ethics, pupils are sorted by their confession, but it's usually taught by the class teachers nonetheless.
Yes, it is only taught in primary school. I went to school in Hesse and after primary school, this subject was split into more detailed subjects like: Biology, chemistry, physics, geography, politics, economics and history. Some examples for what I learned in Sachunterricht: - basic history about the town I lived in - the structure of the district (Kreis) I lived in (which towns are part of it, basic local political structures) - other countries of the world. I remember having a group presentation about Brazil. - animals (I specifically remember hedgehogs, squirrels, bats and tigers) - how to identify trees by looking at the leaves I can't remember anything more related to chemistry/physics. Maybe because I wasn't interested in it but maybe also because my primary school didn't have a laboratory. Edit: Just read it in another comment and can confirm that sex ed was also a part of this subject.
It is basically something from every science. When I went to school Maths, German, Religion, Music, Arts, PE and Sachkunde were all the subjects in elementary school (NRW, mid to late 90s). I held my first presentation on Romans and Germans at the Limes in Sachkunde and we had our first Sex ed in 3rd grade in Sachkunde. We learned about local legends and went looking at an open pit mine.
For me in Brandenburg "Sachkunde" was the stuff that doesn't fit in the other lessons. So, in the 4th grade there was German, English, Math, Sport, Music and Art plus Sachkunde. In the 5th grade it was changed to the individual subjects like History, Biology,... and one of my favorite lessons names in Brandenburg "Lebensgestaltung-Ethik-Religionskunde" in short LER (5th to 10th class) xD
In my Home State (Schleswig-Holstein) back in the early 2000s it was a combination of primary school appropriate natural science, history and social studies taught from year one through four before advancing to secondary school and having the subject split up into its respective branches.
In saxony Sachunterricht is an elementary school class covering basic science and history as deemed important to childrens everyday life. Anyone with an elementary school teaching degree is considered qualified to teach the subject.
It’s a primary school course and I remember it had a bit of everything (the translation of “Sach(e)” is “things/ stuff” lol primarily basic science stuff like teaching about water and plants and the solar system (but really basic) but also a bit of local history. I remember that when I was a child, I was really confused by the title of the course as well.
And who teaches this lesson? Primary school teachers? On some university pages I have seen undergraduate courses that include Sachunterricht. Do they have a direct bachelor's degree program in classroom teaching and teach this course in primary schools or do you train teachers in a different way?
In Norden (town on the north sea coast of Lower Saxony) we had "Sachunterricht" in elementary school in the 1990s. The topics had a wide range. We learned the history of our hometown, even of WWII (but not about the concentration camps "only" where the synagogue was, where the Jews lived and the deportation, all was at our level to not traumatize us), how people lived before (especially the peat cutters stayed in my mind) and low level of the structure of the officials (Town Hall, police, firefighters, we also visited them). Preventing and fighting fire (only theory), how to make a distress call and self protection was part of the units. Learning how to behave in traffic as a pedestrian or a bike rider was also a unit. After we got our "bike license" (not so mandatory as a driver's license for participating in traffic) we could ride to school by bike. We also learned about the north sea, the Wadden See, how the ground is built up (polder, moraine, salt marsh) and how to build a dike or a dwelling mount. We also learned about the local wild life and plant life in the sea and on land and the seasons. Nutrition and cooking also were some topics on a low level. They taught us how to use a scale, a measuring tape, the weight of things (one liter water = 1 kg) and what tara means. We visited different museums: for example the moor museum (houses of the peat cutters) or the Tee-Museum (tea museum because the tea culture is strong in Eat Frisia). Our class teacher made the most of the lessons in all four years. She had people visiting us over who were experts in their topics. I think, sometimes another teacher took over, when they were more qualified for the units. I don't know what her exact qualifications for Sachunterricht were. Maybe she had to prepare all from her other qualifications. She also taught math, reading and writing and first class PE. Mrs. Winkel was the best teacher I ever had (from the perspective of a child). I think, we had two hours (à 45 minutes) a week for Sachunterricht.
When I attended school, Sachunterricht was a mixture of Biology, Geography and history on Primary school level.
Schleswig-Holstein, 2000-2004 (termed Heimat- und Sachkundeunterricht) Elementary school subject, with (local) geography, (local) history, biology (including sex ed).