Magnetic Letters

One of the centers that I have in my classroom is called TUBS. Basically it is a collection of 16 different aleph bet activities that my Kindergarteners can do independently. They pick a tub, find a quiet spot in the room, and complete the activity. Then, when they're done-- they put the tub back where it belongs. 

One of my favorite tub activities is called magnet letters. 

It was so simple and inexpensive to make. 

I bought a $1.00 baking tray from the dollar store and drew the Hebrew letters on it. 

Then, my students match the Hebrew Letter magnets to the letters written on the baking tray. I found these magnets in the supply closet at my shul. If you don't have them-- you can buy them here. 

As I said in the beginning of this post, this activity is placed inside a tub for easy access

If you want to add a label to your tub like I did, you can print and laminate this picture. I used double sided tape to stick the label my bin! 

B'shalom, 

Elana 

Hebrew Letter Playdough

Some  of my kids are naturally drawn towards building structures. When giving a choice between doing an art/craft project, reading, writing, or building something---these kids will choose building every time.

It doesn't matter if it's Legos, lincoln logs, magnetic connectors or pipe cleaners-- the "builders" of your class will LOVE a structural challenge.

One of the main objectives we have for our Kindergarten class is learning each Hebrew letter and its corresponding sound.

How can my builders work on this objective?

Playdough. 

It's a pretty obvious solution. Playdough is malleable, and therefore lends itself well towards creating both rounded and angular letters. Obviously working with playdough helps students recognize/identify Hebrew letters.

But how can teachers use playdough to encourage students to recognize a letter's SOUND?

After thinking this problem through-- I finally came up an idea. I decided to create a year-long playdough binder that students can use week to week. On each page of the binder is both the Hebrew letter and a corresponding picture (beginning with the same sound as that letter).

For example, the letter bet is paired with a basketball, reinforcing that bet makes the sound /b/.
And so on....

It actually was a pretty easy fix.

While the students are making their play dough creations, prompt them to think of more words that begin with the designated letter.

Here is the resource I created: Hebrew Letter Playdough 

Basically, I put the packet in a binder and prop it up like so:

In terms of the actual center itself, I found a super cool playdough workshop at our local Goodwill.

 The inside of the workshop has these tools the kids can experiment around with!

Every week, I flip the page of the binder--so that the picture corresponds with the letter we are learning.

My builders love it :)

Side note: Varying materials is always a good thing.  Instead of only using playdough, I also use this resource when the students build with magnetic connectors and pipe-cleaners. Basically, this binder is useful for any manipulative material you want to use!

B'shalom, 
Elana 

Authentic Reading

On the first day of Hebrew school, I asked my students why it's important to read Hebrew.
Here are the answers we came up with:

• Our prayers are in Hebrew
• Praying helps us connect to G-d
• We can understand things around the synagogue
• Our parents and siblings can read Hebrew

After that conversation, the kindergartners wanted to skip the practice and just READ Hebrew already. They understood why it was important. And they wanted to do it ASAP. 

Only, how can a kindergartner (who is just starting Religious School) actually read Hebrew? At our shul, the kindergartners only learn the letters and their corresponding sounds. The vowels are taught next year, in first grade. 

But I was determined to find a way! 

 I wanted my students to feel like they really were reading Hebrew, even though they hadn't learned the vowels yet. 

So I created a resource for my independent reading center. I made two copies so that two kids can use it at the same time! 

This resource can be used all throughout the year. Basically, this resource helps students "read" Hebrew by giving them the opportunity to practice the Hebrew letters out loud. 

For example, let's say you just learned the letter Kaf. You would flip the book to the letter Kaf section. The first page has the Hebrew letter and two picture reminders of letter's sound (car and cat).  Then, the student practices reading the letter (and letters learned previously) on the following pages. 

The student keeps his/her place with a Popsicle stick with a googly eye attached to the end.

To keep the students organized, I used two dividers (one green and one red). The students know to start with the pages after the green divider and stop when you get to the red. You don't have to use those colors, but make sure the students know which color represents begin and stop.

I store my Popsicle stick in the inside pocket of the binder!

 Here is what you need to put it together. I used only materials I found stashed in my basement :) 

 A Binder

My binder was only 1 inch. 

A printed copy of my resource (entitled I can Read Hebrew)

The document is about 90 pages in length  

 A Popsicle stick and a googly eye

The student can use this Popsicle stick to keep their place while reading. They move the stick from letter to letter as they read. 

Page Protectors

Keeps the pages nice and kid friendly.  

Two plastic dividers  

I used green for start and red for stop.

Here is the link to download the resource: 

Hebrew Independent Reading Book


Have a great day,
Elana