ad/info posters - banks, department stores, other businesses
ad/travel posters (Deutsche Bahn, Lufthansa, etc.) - airports, travel agencies, train stations
arrival/departure posters - train stations
Tip: You'll be surprised at how much you can get for free just by saying you're a teacher of German!
auto rental materials (buttons, brochures, maps) - Autovermietung
bank and other biz posters - banks, stores, businesses
board games in German (Monopoly, etc.) - department stores, Spielwaren
calendars in German style - stationery shops, Amazon.de
CDs of German artists/groups - Music stores, Amazon.de
Christmas cards, items and decorations - Käthe Wollfahrt (in Germany and online), Teacher's Discovery
Tip: Save cards you receive from German friends and relatives
DVDs of German movies or Hollywood movies in German - stores, Videotheken, Amazon.de
Tip: See our German DVD and Video page. Ask for older German DVDs (and posters!) at a German video rental store; you can often get them for free or little cost.
euro bills and coins - your own wallet, purse, pocket
Tip: Put aside some fresh euro bills and coins to take back home. Don't forget, the Swiss still use their francs and "Rappen"!
flags - tourist shops, local flag store, online, Teacher's Discovery
food items and packaging (empty or dry) - grocery stores, friends, Trader Joe's (US)
Tips: Items such as cereal boxes, cans, and other packaging can be used for shopping simulations as well as decoration. Carefully flatten items such as cereal boxes for packing. If you have a Trader Joe's store in your area (in the US), you can often find imported items from Germany.
greeting cards in German - card shops, department stores
Tip: Save cards you receive from German friends and relatives
magazines/newspapers in German - newsstands
Tip: Cheaper in Europe, but can also be purchased at some locations in the US or your home country)
money - See "euro" above.
movie and celebrity posters - Kinos, Videotheken, online
WWW > German-Hollywood Movie Posters (posters/photos)
WWW > Cinemaxx.de (Kinos)
WWW > Cinema.de (German film mag)
place mats (photos, McDonald's, etc.) - almost anywhere
playing cards (Spielkarten) - department stores, Spielwaren
Tip: German playing cards have B (Bube) instead of Jack, D (Dame) rather than Queen. There are also special Skat cards with the old symbols (bell, Eichel, etc.)
product catalogs/mailers - various stores, supermarkets
Tip: Get a classroom set of such catalogs or mailers from a German supermarket, WalMart or other chain store that has stacks of them near the entrance.
restaurant menus - restaurants, Gasthäuser
Tip: Restaurants are reluctant to give away expensive menus, but you can get old 'daily special' sheets or other outdated materials; get one menu for duplication; take photos of menus, including outdoor menu display usually found in Europe.
rubber stamps (Stempel) - department stores, local stamp shop, online, Teacher's Discovery
signs, stickers (Aufkleber) (small everyday signs in German) - department stores (Autozubehör), hardware stores (Eisenwaren), sign shops
Tips: Examples include: WC, road/traffic signs (plastic duplicates!), warning signs (Nicht rauchen! ..verboten!)
Tempo Taschentücher (German "Kleenex") - Drogerie (drugstore)
Tip: Teachers like to use these as a fun (and authentic) way to bring a bit of Germany into the classroom.
TV recordings from German TV - friends with a VCR or DVD burner
Tip: Record from German (or Austrian/Swiss) TV while you're there or request recordings from friends in Europe. (Even if you pay for tapes and shipping it's cheaper than just one $45 video of "German Commercials" from Teacher's Discovery.) Also see our article on German TV in the US and Canada.
FOTO-WETTBEWERB
2004 German classroom Photo Contest winners!
GERMAN MATERIALS - ONLINE SOURCES and INFORMATION
Books, cultural materials, realia, media for German
- Teacher's Discovery - Foreign Languages
- Goethe Institute
- Nacell (UK)
- Langenscheidt
- German - EL Easton
- Nancy Thuleen - U of Wisc
- LLAS (UK)
- Deutsche Kultur International
- Teacher Resources - B Zahn
- Material for Sale CD-ROM - K Munro
- 'Teacher Stuff' for German