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English, French and Spanish all call the school subject by its Greek name. German has the Greek word too, but it isn't what appears on a German school timetable.
Once a learner can see what 'Erdkunde' is made of, the meaning can be worked out instead of memorised. The same pieces also settle a grammar question for a whole group of German school subjects.
What's included
The word sum. A classroom panel taking 'Erdkunde' apart into the two everyday German words it's built from.
The gender pattern. A timetable panel showing why a set of German school subjects all share one gender.
Words built on 'Erdkunde'. What German calls the geography teacher and the lesson.
The word's history. The older German names for the subject, with a date at each stage the record gives.
A sources page and a short guide for the adult.
For personal use in home education and tutoring only.
Who it's for
KS3 and KS4 German learners
Home-educated children doing German
Anyone who likes working out how German builds long words from short ones
Specialist tuition students, including dyslexic learners
Parents learning German next to their child
Adults coming back to German
The timetable panel expects the learner to know already that 'der', 'die' and 'das' mark gender. A child who hasn't met gender yet will follow the word sum but not the grammar point.
Why this exists
Nothing in 'Erdkunde' looks like 'geography', so a learner can't lean on English to remember it. Taking the word apart changes that, and answers a gender question for a whole group of subjects at the same time.
Originally created for my dyslexic son.
How it prints
The PDF gives you two things to print. The first is a set of large cards, one idea each. Laminated and hole-punched onto a ring, they make a deck to keep in a bag or spread out at the dinner table. The deck doesn't come ready-made; laminating, trimming and binding are yours to do. The second is a single sheet at the end, which needs nothing doing to it once printed. You'll need a printer, and for the deck a laminator and a binder ring.
Available now as a PDF download.
A German child uses one word for the history of a country, for a bedtime story and for a spilt bowl of cereal. That word is 'Geschichte', and it is one of the first a learner meets on a German timetable.
What's included
The etymology comic: black-and-white illustrated panels, one idea each, with short captions. The school subject, the bedtime story and 'mach keine Geschichten!' appear side by side, so the three living meanings are seen as one word.
A word-history breakdown from Old High German to modern German, with a century at every stage the record allows.
English words that look related and are not - 'history', 'story' and 'happen' - drawn as a panel of their own, since this word has no everyday English relative.
A gender picture for 'die Geschichte', built on the word's own '-e' ending.
Pronunciation respellings with IPA, a sources page, and a short guide for the adult.
How it prints
The file prints two ways. The large pages, one idea to each, can be printed single-sided, laminated, trimmed and clipped onto a binder ring, and then it becomes a deck a child turns over at the kitchen table. You put the deck together yourself: you'll need a printer, a laminator and a ring. The last page has the whole word on one sheet, which needs no laminating and can go straight on the fridge.
For personal use in home education and tutoring only.
Who it's for
It suits a wide range of learners:
KS3 and KS4 German learners, and anyone meeting 'Geschichte' on a timetable for the first time
home-educated children learning German
children in specialist tuition, including dyslexic learners and those with weak working memory
parents learning German alongside their child
adults coming back to German after school
anyone who likes to know where a word came from
It isn't a first-lessons resource. It assumes the learner can already read a short German sentence aloud, such as 'Wir haben heute Geschichte', even if they need help with what it means.
Why this exists
A learner who has met 'Geschichte' on a timetable hears a German parent say 'Mach keine Geschichten!' and assumes they misheard. They didn't. The word has three meanings - history, a story, and a bit of trouble - and this puts all three in front of the child at once, so they meet one word rather than three.
I made these for my son when he had a German test coming up.
A further detail
German once had another word on the same root, 'schiht', meaning an event or a stroke of chance. It sounded exactly like the mining word 'Schicht', a layer or a work shift, which comes from somewhere else entirely. The event word died out around 1700; the mining word is still in everyday use.
Related resources
The rest of this set is built on the same word: the verb 'geschehen', 'to happen'; the adjective 'geschichtlich', 'historical'; the compounds 'Geschichtsbuch', 'Geschichtsunterricht', 'Kurzgeschichte', 'Lebensgeschichte', 'Vorgeschichte' and 'Weltgeschichte'; and the phrases 'Geschichte machen', 'mach keine Geschichten!' and 'die unendliche Geschichte'.
Available now as a PDF download.
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Curious to try my resources? Start here.
This little set of ‘test’ themed resources is a gentle way to try out how I teach spelling, morphology and vocabulary, without committing to full price.
Each one is 75% off for a limited time and works well as a standalone activity or as a taster before diving into the other packs.
Ideal for: home educators, 11+ candidates and anyone wanting a low cost starting point.
This downloadable pack explores the root ‘test’ (from Latin testari, meaning to witness or affirm). It includes a clear set of printable word cards designed for spelling, reading, and vocabulary practice – with a focus on how words are built.
All words in this set contain the root ‘test’ (e.g. attest, protestation, testimony, untestable), and are organised for ease of printing. These cards are not flashcards in the traditional sense – they’re designed to be used within play-based, sensory-rich tasks. Check out a scroll-through of the resource.
Included in the pack:
✅ 36 word cards featuring the root ‘test’
✅ A simple tracker to monitor blending and reading fluency
✅ 40+ activity suggestions using tactile, oral, visual, and movement-based approaches
Examples include:
• Writing with window pens or tracing in salt
• Playing Snakes and Ladders with a word per turn
• Echo reading, silly sentences, and morpheme matching
• Body spelling, hopscotch games, and torchlight hunts
These activities are especially supportive for learners who benefit from movement, repetition, and meaning-driven reading. The tracking sheet allows you to note when a word can be blended or read automatically – helpful for both planning and celebrating progress.
Decode big words like ‘testament’ and ‘protester’ — morpheme by morpheme.
This downloadable literacy pack helps children explore the morpheme ‘test’ (meaning to witness or to examine), using a Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) approach. Through colour-coded cards, clear explanations, and hands-on activities, learners discover how complex words are built — and what they really mean.
Inside the pack:
A complete set of morpheme cards (in both colour-coded and neutral green versions)
A parent guide that explains word parts clearly — including what a linking vowel is and when to drop the ‘e’
A progress tracking table for blending and reading
10+ multi-sensory word-building games and puzzles
Examples of real ‘test’ word families (e.g. testify, protest, testimony, untested, countertestimony)
Check out a scroll-through video of the resource.
Activities include:
Missing morpheme puzzles
Snap! word family edition
Build-your-own definition games
Word wall creation
Card sorting and classification
Designed by a qualified dyslexia and literacy specialist, this pack supports:
Home educators
Learners who thrive on pattern and logic
Spelling confidence through morphology
Older learners revisiting tricky words with purpose
📎 Part of the How Words Workcollection | ✏️ 75% Off | 🎞️ Scroll-through video included
This sample resource introdu ces learners to vocabulary built from the Latin root “testari”, meaning to bear witness. It’s part of my wider How Words Work: Root Study & Vocabulary collection — a series of tools for building spelling confidence and deeper word understanding.
This pack includes structured grids for exploring words like testify, protest, attest, and testimonial, using:
Clear definitions
Synonyms
Sentence prompts
Etymology (word origins)
The word contest is fully modelled as an example, and suggested answers are provided at the end to support independent learning. Illustrating the words is encouraged, particularly for visual memory or neurodivergent learners.
This sample is ideal for:
🟊 Home educators exploring root-based learning
🟊 Children preparing for 11+ exams
🟊 Learners who benefit from structured vocabulary work
🟊 Anyone curious about how words connect
🎞️ A scroll-through video shows the full resource before purchase
💸 Download it for 75% off as part of the test word collection
📄 Pairs well with my Test spelling sheets and word cards
A ready-to-use set of spelling and decoding grids exploring the root test (to bear witness or show evidence).
From test and attest to testimony, protest, and intestacy, this pack offers structured practice with over 30 derived words — all carefully segmented for reading, spelling, and meaning.
Each sheet supports multi-sensory learning, encouraging children to:
▪️ Explore the sounds
▪️ Create the word
▪️ Read, Spell, and Use it in a sentence
Also includes a page of hands-on activity ideas — from tracing and air-writing to chalk play and morpheme sorting.
Perfect for learners exploring morphemes, building vocabulary, or strengthening reading and spelling fluency.
🟩 You’ll get:
• Three printable spelling grids
• Word lists split by morpheme
• Sentence-writing prompts
• Multi-sensory activity suggestions
• Colour-coded versions to support visual memory
Check out the resource on this video.
Designed for home learning or 1:1 support.
Pairs well with the matching “test” jigsaw word cards.