Teaching
As a bilingual Gemeinschaftsschule, we follow the Berlin Framework Curriculum and align our teaching with the Berlin timetable. Our distinctive profile combines two key areas: bilingual education in German and English, and a strong focus on mathematics, science and information technology. We place particular emphasis on the practical application of knowledge in everyday life and future careers.
Our educational approach combines support and challenge with differentiated teaching, team teaching and support teaching. This creates the right learning environment for all students to develop their individual potential and achieve their best possible results.
We use a student-centred and varied approach to teaching, including differentiated learning, small-group work, interdisciplinary projects, partner, group and station work, discussions and presentations, as well as the targeted development of learning, IT and media skills. These approaches are complemented by digital learning and traditional teaching methods, which are used whenever they best support the learning process.
The subject lessons are taught in German and English in roughly equal proportions throughout the primary and secondary school years. The respective proportion may vary in the individual school years, depending on the assignment planning of the colleagues who teach in their respective working language.
How is the day organised?
To make the school day as pleasant as possible for all students and ensure that daily routines run smoothly, lesson, extended-day and break times vary depending on the year group. This allows us to provide calm lunch breaks, relaxed break times outdoors and make optimal use of our specialist rooms.
From secondary school onwards, the school day is somewhat shorter than in primary school: lessons generally start a little later in the morning and finish earlier in the afternoon. This means that from Year 7 onwards, students have enough time for homework, hobbies and other afternoon activities – even without a compulsory study period.
Each class receives its individual timetable at the beginning of the school year. You can find the daily schedule for Years 1–13 here:
Daily Schedule in Years 1 to 13PDF-Datei (35,19 KB)
We meet the natural needs of our students through the regular change of phases, which require higher levels of concentration, with phases of relaxation. Through this rhythmic daily routine, we achieve optimal learning conditions for the children and young people in all subjects and at all times of the day.
Please also visit our Primary or Secondary website for more information on lessons and the timetable.
Questions and Answers on teaching
- Team-Teaching or Support-Teaching
- German as a Second Language (DaZ) for English-speaking students who still need support to improve their German – possible parallel to German lessons, before and after class or during study hours.
- English as an Additional Language (EAL) for German speaking students with integrated support in English, subject teaching and in additional courses.
- A wide range of teaching and learning resources, learning tools, differentiated activities in lessons and differentiated homework
- Study time in primary school
- Consultation in secondary school
- A focus on individual and self-organised learning under the supervision of our teachers and Erzieher*innen through project days, our Work & Travel program and through Co-Curricular Enrichment activities.
- Individual support lessons in the core subjects mathematics, German and English, if necessary, geared to learning needs
- Learning therapy for students with special learning needs, such as dyslexia or dyscalculia.
In Team Teaching, two educators teach together and share responsibility for the lesson. In Support Teaching, one teacher has primary responsibility for the lesson, while another teacher or educator provides targeted support to individual students or learning groups.
Both models enable differentiated teaching with opportunities to support and challenge all students. Depending on the learning objectives, teaching can take place in one shared learning group, in two rooms or in separate learning groups.
Team Teaching and Support Teaching create more opportunities for individual support, a variety of teaching methods and more flexible forms of learning, as well as for projects and excursions. Working with several educators also brings different perspectives into the classroom and combines the teaching of subject content with the development of skills and learning strategies.
We use Team Teaching and Support Teaching particularly in the following subjects:
- German
- English
- Mathematics
- Science & Social Studies (Years 1–4)
- Science (Years 5–6)
- PE, Art and Music (Years 1–6)
This allows us to adapt teaching more closely to our students’ individual learning needs and provide them with the support or challenge they need to achieve their best possible results.
Yes, homework is also part of everyday school life at Platanus Schule. As a full-day school, we place particular emphasis on helping our students develop independent learning skills and take increasing responsibility for organising their own learning.
The type, amount and monitoring of homework depend on the year group, subject, topic and the individual abilities and needs of each student. In Years 1 and 2, there is only a small amount of short practice, mainly focused on reading, writing and maths. As students get older, tasks become more complex and may serve to prepare for, practise or consolidate lesson content.
In Years 1 to 6, homework is mainly completed during study periods. In addition, we offer a voluntary Homework Room every Tuesday and Thursday for students in Years 3 to 10. Students have access to a quiet place to work, with a teacher available to provide support if needed. This allows students to choose whether they prefer to complete their homework at school or at home.
Homework is reviewed in different ways depending on the task and learning objective, for example through class discussions, presentations, peer or teacher feedback. Students are responsible for recording their homework as well as dates for tests and assessments in their homework planners.
Parents can best support their children by regularly talking, reading, writing and doing maths with them in their home language and, as students get older, by providing a suitable environment for independent learning at home.
As a general rule, there are no cancelled lessons at our school in Years 1 to 10. Thanks to our team of teachers and educators on standby, we can respond quickly and flexibly when a staff member is absent and provide appropriate cover for the lessons.
In Years 11 to 13, lessons are no longer covered when a teacher is absent due to illness. Instead, subject teachers provide tasks and learning materials via MS Teams, which students work on independently.
A close and trusting partnership with parents is very important to us. Regular parent meetings, Class Forecasts, several parent newsletters per school year and information evenings keep parents up to date on current topics, activities and opportunities. At our parent-teacher conferences, held twice a year, parents can also discuss their child’s individual learning and development with the class leadership team or class teacher and subject teachers.
We also value and encourage active parent involvement in school life – at class and school events, as parent representatives on the General Parents’ Committee (GEV) and School Conference, in working groups or through our parent’s association, Platanus & Friends. We are always happy to welcome committed parents who would like to contribute their ideas, time and skills and help shape our school community.