The Ji Alef-Bet series, produced in partnership with the Michael Goulston Educational Foundation, is a developing full curriculum to teach young children how to read Hebrew.
We have developed 5 of the series so far – watch out for the next additions!
Ji Alef-Bet: A Curriculum for Teaching Hebrew Reading
Stage 1
Hebrew Letters
Stage 1a
Mish Mash Letters
Stage 2
Simple Stories
Stage 2a
Vowels & Symbols
Stage 3
Prefixes & Suffixes
Goal
Learn Hebrew letters and simple words
Differentiate commonly confused letters
Initial reading exercises in Hebrew
Recap the Hebrew vowels and symbols
Learn about a shoresh, prefixes and suffixes
Grade/Year
Preschool/Reception
Preschool/Reception
1
2-5
2
Number of Hebrew words
170
27
154
58
Number of Units
24
6
22
5
11
Course links
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Description
In Stage 1, each letter starts with an animation of the current letter interacting with Kivi, our guide through the series. Where possible, we have integrated an activity within the animation, where the learner can interact with the letter. The lesson then has puzzles, reading exercises and a section to learn Hebrew words with that letter. By the end of the series, children could learn up to 170 new Hebrew words!
This Mish Mash series is designed as a remedial course to help students who confuse the similarly-shaped letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The stories emphasize the differences between the letters, and the exercises that follow the story provide practice in recognizing and discriminating between the commonly confused letters.
In Stage 2, we begin with initial reading exercises in Hebrew. We have produced a story on each letter, trying to incorporate many Hebrew words with that target letter. The animations are in simple Hebrew, and the child progresses from watching animations to reading the story independently from a virtual book. Much care was taken in the design of the book to give the child the feeling of a Hebrew book, reading from right to left.
Before starting Stage 3, where Tefilot and Biblical texts are used to teach 6 prefixes and 3 suffixes, students may need to make sure they know how to pronounce all their vowels. This series recaps all the vowels, symbols and sounds, and also teaches the vowel combinations at the end of words: Oy, Aye and Av.
In Stage 3, we introduce the concept of the shoresh (using the root גדל), God’s name and the Hebrew word for God, prefixes ה, ו, ב, כ, ל, מ and suffixes י.,ךְ, ךָ . For reading practice, children read selected prayers and texts from the Tanach. We visually divide syllables to help with the reading, use images to reinforce the understanding of words, and give the full English translations and ‘karaoke’ songs.
Printables
Ji Alef-Bet: A Curriculum for Teaching Hebrew Reading
The Ji Alef-Bet series, produced in partnership with the Michael Goulston Educational Foundation, is a developing full curriculum to teach young children how to read Hebrew.
We have developed 5 of the series so far – watch out for the next additions!
