by Ilse Romahn
(07.01.2021) Newly designed format enables language education to be promoted at home. A project of the Polytechnic Society Foundation in cooperation with the Department for Integration and Education of the City of Frankfurt am Main, the State Education Office for the City of Frankfurt am Main, the Adult Education Center Frankfurt am Main and the Medienzentrum Frankfurt e. V.
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The last week of the regular Christmas holidays has something very special in store for 70 primary school students in Frankfurt: they can practice and deepen their German skills on the “final spurt” until January 8, 2021. The project developed by the Polytechnic Society Foundation is aimed specifically at fourth graders with increased language support needs. It will take place for the twelfth time in 2021. Due to the corona pandemic and the associated current contact restrictions, the concept for this year’s round was converted into a digital format for participation from home.
“Especially in the current situation, which is particularly challenging for families, we want to continue our diverse educational initiatives undaunted. By offering a digitally guided final spurt, we can provide support with language training for all registered children and offer something for the time at home”, says Prof . Dr. Roland Kaehlbrandt, Chairman of the Board of the Polytechnic Society Foundation.
Most of the total of 70 children registered for this year’s project run had already taken part in the “German Summer” or “German Summer in Autumn” run by the Polytechnic Society Foundation. During the “Holidays that make you smart”, they had playful German and theater lessons in small groups and solved creative home game tasks. The concept of the German summer now forms the basis for the final spurt. From January 4 to 8, 2021, the children will build on what they have learned in the German summer and deepen their knowledge. Shortly before the recommendation to switch to a secondary school, the primary school students are once again specifically supported and encouraged in their language and personality development.
Concept and content of the final spurt in 2021
The final spurt children are looked after by three educational specialists per group in reference groups of between ten and 15 pupils during the holiday offer to promote language skills. At the start of the final sprint, each child received a “treasure chest” with material for home game tasks; it contains, among other things, worksheets for language training, an audio and reading book, handicraft utensils and material for language games. In chat groups and by phone, the children are given tasks that they can solve at home, individually or together with their families. The children are supported and accompanied by the educators who supervise them by telephone and messenger service. They also helped the families in advance with the installation of the messenger service and handed the children their treasure chests personally at the front door before the project started. Every final sprint day is opened digitally in the morning, either via video conference or via chat. If children do not have the necessary digital devices, they will be looked after over the phone. The pedagogical staff are available by phone and chat during the holiday offer every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Friday there are specialist days on the individual disciplines of the final spurt, which are instructed pedagogically: Wednesday is dedicated to socio-educational tasks. On Thursday there are exercises on German as a second language on the program. The literary basis is Astrid Lindgren’s classic children’s book “Ronja the robber’s daughter”, which offers numerous points of contact for lively language and theater lessons. On Friday the focus is on educational theater content. At the end of the final spurt, all participating children receive final documentation.
“Endspurt” is a project of the Polytechnic Society Foundation in cooperation with the Department for Integration and Education of the City of Frankfurt am Main, the State Education Office for the City of Frankfurt am Main, the Adult Education Center Frankfurt am Main and the Medienzentrum Frankfurt e. V.
Since 2007, 2,271 children and their families have already been reached in Frankfurt alone via the German summer and the final spurt that followed.
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