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