Hebrew Write the Room

Writing in Kindergarten should be a fun event! Over the past couple months, I've heard a lot about an activity called write-the-room. Basically, write-the-room is a secular activity where students search the room for hidden words and then write them down on a piece of paper using a clipboard.

It sounds like a blast to me! It gets the kids up and moving and also helps them practice their writing skills. 

I decided to create a Hebrew version for my class. I figured that I would make a write-the-room activity for each letter learned. I may not use all of them, but being prepared is never a bad thing. 

For each letter, I created two pages of "Hebrew words." Most of these words are actually nonsense (but some of them are real). I feel that nonsense words are OK for this activity, because the objective is not to learn Hebrew vocabulary but just to practice writing Hebrew. 

Side note: I created these activities with the assumption that the students are learning the Hebrew letters in alphabetic order. For example, the activity for aleph only uses the letter aleph--- yet the activity for tav includes most of the Hebrew letters.  I created the activity this way because I didn't want to overwhelm the students by having them write letters they haven't officially learned yet. 

ACTIVITY SET UP: 

Print out the activity you would like to use and copies of the recording sheet

Cut out the words and tape them around the room

Set up the clipboards and pencils

Enjoy! 

Here is the link to the printable: Hebrew Write the Room

B'ahava,

Elana

Hebrew School Teacher Planner

Sometimes staying organized is a challenge! Staying organized as a teacher is especially challenging, because you have to remember a million things (what to teach, how to teach it, curriculum goals, student progress, volunteers etc...) 

Every shul will have a list of goals or even a full curriculum to follow. My shul in particular has a detailed list of goals, but no curriculum. So it's up to me to keep things straight! 

That is why I created this teacher planner. It helps me break down the yearly goals my shul outlines into manageable chunks. It also helps me keep track of each student's progress. Learning Hebrew is such an important part of a child's religious school education-- so it's super important for the teacher to keep tabs on struggling students so they don't just fall through the cracks. 

In this blog post, I will walk you through the different parts of the planner and how to use each one to it's fullest potential. 

Let's start with the basics. 

Print out your planner. You can punch holes in t it in a binder (super easy), or do something a little fancier. Personally, I prefer the binder. You can slip the cover page into the front cover of the binder. 

The planner starts with basic information. Just plug in the details of your particular shul and your class roster.  

The madrichim and parent volunteer page is really useful! I like to have Jewish holiday parties in my class. I always enlist the help of parent volunteers (for both their time and supplies)! 

It's always nice when your teacher remembers your birthday. This is a great way to keep track! 

The goals page is probably the most useful page. Here you will write the basic goals you have for your class. This should align with the goals your shul gave you! Here is my own personal goal page as an example. The one in the document is blank obviously. 

Next is the student data section. This will help you keep track of which kid learned what. You write the names of your students on the left side, and each skill you teach on the top. For example, you could write letter aleph and sound as a skill. You check off each box as the students demonstrate their mastery of each skill. You can use this page to help you write DETAILED progress reports. The students will benefit greatly if you can say something like, "Josh has mastered the letters aleph, bet, and lammed, but will need additional help on the letter yud. Here are some resources etc..." 

The calendar section will help you figure out when to teach each lesson. This section starts off with a Jewish Holiday Calendar. This will help you plan holiday lessons at the appropriate time! 

The year at a glance page is SUPER helpful. Go back and look at your yearly goals. Pick two or three that you want to tackle on a particular Sunday. For example, you can write: letter gimmel and learn oseh shalom. 

Just write a brief sentence-- something that will remind you WHAT you are going to teach that day. This is not the place to write about how you are going to do it (that comes later). 

Also, if you take the time to plan your entire month (or even year if you want) you'll make sure that you are on track by the end of the year. 

Finally we come to the most detailed part of this planner-- daily lesson plans. 

To use these pages, look back at your year at a glance. Use the sentence you wrote for each date as TODAY'S OBJECTIVE. 

When you figure out HOW you are going to teach/what activities you want to use, you can write them down in the DAILY PLAN section. 

Make sure to also write down any SUPPLIES that you'll need-- and of course BIRTHDAYS

Side note: this planner is designed for teachers who hold their class on Sunday only. If your shul has a two day program (or does not meet on Sunday) no problem! I created a shorter version with no add in dates. Just photocopy/print the lesson pages as many times as you want.  

Download: 

2016-2017 SUNDAY ONLY Hebrew School Teacher Planner 

2016- 2017 TWO DAY PROGRAM Hebrew School Teacher Planner 

B'ahava, 

Elana 

Aleph Bet Twister

When I was a kid, I loved twister. It's like making yourself into a human pretzel--what kid doesn't love that?

The other day I was thinking about the concept of twister itself. The game was designed to help students learn their colors and practice their large motor skills!

I've had many students who love to be active while learning Hebrew. They love playing twister, so I thought I'd try to give it a Hebrew twist.

Here's what I did:
We had just finished learning the letters vuv through tet. My students and I wrote each letter on a different piece of colored paper:

• vuv = red
• zayin = blue
• chet = yellow
• tet = green

We then taped down the letters to their appropriate square and began our game. We used the regular spinner to play.

Before the students could move their body, they had to say the sound of the letter that was on the designated circle. For example, if you were to spin left hand red, the students would need to say the sound the letter vuv makes before moving their body!

It was so much fun. The students also wanted a turn to spin the wheel, so they had me play too :)

Extra challenge: teach the Hebrew words for right, left, hand, and foot.

B'ahava, 

Elana