Hey everyone!

This week we caught up after a long winter break (both the 5th grade and mine combined with a snow day last week.) We reviewed material done for homework and with substitute ARS teachers. After discussing plans for the forthcoming reformatted class, we read in small groups while I rotated through listening to each group's reading skills.

After, the class broke into interest groups, reviewing with flashcards, timing themselves to speed up their reading skills, compiling vocabulary lists to talk Hebrew like the most verbose Israelis, or practiced writing words read aloud onto the white board.

In the next few weeks we'll be changing how the class works, combining both the current curriculum from Journeys Through the Siddur: Shabbat Morning with each student's personal goals. It's going to be thrilling, that's for sure!

For homework: please continue to practice reading every week, filling out Reading Raffle cards which require Adom students to read for 5 minutes 5 times a week. 25 minutes a week is the minimal amount, of course more is encouraged. Sent home also is a supplemental worksheet that reinforces concepts in class, concentrating on suffixes. Pages to read for practice are circled in your child's copy of Journeys.

Thanks, and have a great week!
Ariana

10/27/10

This week we finished our studies of Yotzer Or, by popcorn reading around the room, and playing Across the Sea. Students would roll my special Hebrew dice that say אחת, שתים, שלוש, ארבע, חמש, שיש (one, two, three, four, five, six) and read as many words as proscribed by the dice. If they read them correctly, the could travel one spot across the sea to the other side of the room--first person to reach the other side won that round! We also started learning about the Ahavah Rabah prayer, that directly precedes the Shema.

For homework, please practice reading pages 15 and 16 for reading practice (which also counts for the Reading Raffle!), complete page 18 if you haven't done so already, learn about the Shema on page 22, and get ready for reading it in class on page 23 (some more Reading Raffle potential!)

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. My email is katz.ariana@gmail.com.

10/19/10

This week in Adom Hebrew we reviewed look-alike letters and vowels, played with my fabulous Hebrew dice, and finished reading the Yotzer Or blessing. We started studying the Ahavah Rabah, and considered the shoresh, or root word, of the word ahavah, "to love."

For homework this week, please read pages 15 and 16 for weekly Hebrew reading practice. Please complete pages 18 and 19 for homework in "Journeys Through the Siddur."

Ariana

Class on 10/5, Homework for 10/12, and a Shameless Plug for Reading Raffle!

Last week we focused on letter recognition, as we continue to refresh our memories from the last school year.

This week we started working in our new textbooks, Journeys Through the Siddur, Shabbat Morning. We read the Barcu and Yotzer Or prayers (p. 5 and 8) in relay races and learned about root words (p.4 and 9). We played a look-alike letter board game, played Milchama ("War") with Hebrew phrases, and used the new white boards in our classroom to practice writing.

For homework this week, please read the midrash (stories) on pages 3 and 12, complete the translation on page 11 using the vocab guide at the top of the page, and practice reading page 8 and 10 for your reading raffle.

Reading raffle is our monthly prize drawing to reward

our fabulous ARS students who read Hebrew every week. Just read 5 minutes every night for 5 nights, and get someone to listen to you and sign the card. Make sure you date it, and bring it in the next class. We have drawings within our reading group each month, and the winner can pick from Shari's famous prize selection. There's also the ARS-wide drawing where all the classes put their Reading Raffle cards together, and the prize is a pizza or ice cream party. If you read for an hour and a half every week, that's 25 minutes for every week night, you can fill out 5 Reading Raffle cards. You'd learn SO MUCH Hebrew, and up your chances at a delicious party in school! How can you go wrong? I require at least one Reading Raffle card a week, but you can submit as many as you like.

This week I'll upload a scan of a reading raffle card in case you read so much you need more cards, or loose a few. I'll accept a printed out reading raffle card with the signature of whomever listened to you read.

See you next week!

Ariana