Bet – Second Year – Tuesday (Rogin)

3/4: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for Tefillah. We looked at the words of the week “marbeem b’simcha” increasing joy in this Hebrew month of Adar.  Rabbi Prass asked us why do we need to increase joy now?  We related that to the gevuorot prayer, and how the ability to increase joy is a strength and super power.
  2. In class, the students completed the checkpoints for chapters 1-6. They did an excellent job! Everyone was volunteering to read and answer the questions. J
  3. We ended Hebrew today with Rabbi Prass leading the students through a practice run for next week’s reading (and recording) of the Megillat Esther, Chapter 1. The students need to be louder, but they know what they are doing. It will be a fun time!

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice reading the words from the Megillat Esther. One way to do this is to write the words down b’Ivrit, but without the Nikkud (vowel markings). Read them out loud to a sibling or parent. Be confident, proud, loud, and enunciate.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

2/25: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the entire school gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for Tefillah. Rabbi Prass asked what is something they like to put on and why?  Students shared some lovely answers.  Then he explained how many Jews like to put on a kippah. Students are still wearing kippot. It’s been a nice thing so see. It might be just me, but I think the tefillot sound louder, and with more feeling.
  2. Today, the students received the words they will be reading from the Megillat Esther. Each student in Kitah Bet received two words to read. We went over the words, and they read them wonderfully! I know there is a bit of hesitation over having to read them without the nikkud/vowel markings, but I showed them that it is easier than they realized.
  3. We started on the second of the checkpoints. Please, encourage your student to complete the remaining checkpoints at home. They are not difficult. We need to move on it the book. Any little home at home really helps our progress.
  4. We ended Hebrew today with Rabbi Prass talking about the Bibas family. Then each student was given an orange balloon and asked to write a message to the Bibas family on the balloon.  While they wrote we listened to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=wId08EiSIkA&fbclid=IwY2xjawIrLKRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbfrppFiMkRySArZU48RRZcNYdfYVec-BYZem5HyjAP8g0l4fzSfre9qNA_aem_N8zMxdioHjMnuvI7GMbn7Q They were given the option of taking their balloon home or releasing it outside.  Ask your student about this.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have your student complete the checkpoints on pages 53 through 55.
    ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***
     

2/18: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for Tefillah. The students will be wearing kippot for the next few weeks. The congregation provides clean kippot, but if your student has a kippah they would like to bring from home, by all means, send it along. (This is on ongoing project) Rabbi Prass explained that one reason why we were asking all to wear kippot is to try something you wouldn’t otherwise try unless the adults requested.  Then he led a conversation around the question, “Why do you wear team swag/logos? What does it say about YOU?”  As always our learners had great things to offer.
  2. Today, we worked on the checkpoints which encompass our work from chapters 1-6. The students worked through the first checkpoint.
  3. The students need to work on trusting their memories. They know more than they give themselves credit for, which I why I am now stressing learning about shoreshim, or word roots.
  4. We ended Hebrew today with Rabbi Prass discussing the most recent release of Israeli hostages. These discussions lead to thoughtful questions. The Rabbi’s talks are never meant to frighten, but to enlighten.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have your student review the checkpoints on pages 53 and 54.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

2/11: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for an all school Tefillah. We asked the students to wear kippot for at least the next few weeks in t’fillot. The congregation provides clean kippot, but if your student has a kippah they would like to bring from home, by all means, send it along.  Rabbi Prass led a discussion about kippot.
  2. Today, we worked completed our work on chapter six. Yay! I heard some excellent reading in Ivrit. Keep up the good work!
  3. Our newest word was avodah, which means work. The newest verb was work (oved and ovedet), which is works (m.s, f.s.). Over the past few of weeks, I have started to introduce the Hebrew word shoresh, or root. The students have been picking up on this fairly well. If one know the shoresh/root of a word, this can help them decipher words they might run across in tefillah, or in other situations.
  4. We ended Hebrew today with the entire school gathering in the sanctuary with Rabbi Prass and discussing recent antisemitic events which happened during the Super Bowl. This led to some very intelligent questions from the students.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have your student review the checkpoints on pages 52 and 53.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

2/4: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We began with an all school t’fillah led by Rabbi Prass. Rabbi Prass asked us who are creators/makers we like/respect and why? He then pointed out that in the Aleinu prayer, we see the words לְיוֹצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית (God, the Creator of all things).  We are praising God because God creates all things.
  2. Today, we worked on the exercises in our sefer. One exercise dealt with the use of the prepositions on, in, and next to ((על, ב, על יד
  3. The second exercise dealt with the verb love אוהב/אוהבת Ask your student to tell you what they love, but in Ivrit. One student wanted to learn about a particular tefillah. These are focused on in Kitah Gimel, but because this tefillah had the word Love in it, I agreed to use the first few words as an example for our lesson. Ask your student if they can remember which tefillah it was.
  4. We ended Hebrew today with Rabbi talked about the upcoming holiday of Tu B’Shevat. (This year it falls on February 13.) Ask your student which trees are now blooming in Eretz Yisrael?

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have your student read the short story on page 50. We will go over the accompanying exercises during class.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

1/28: Today in class we worked on:

  1. School began with Rabbi Prass leading Tefillah. Rabbi always discusses an aspect of one of the prayers we say.  Today we looked at the Aleinu, and how the 4th line uses the word mishpachot as tribes. Rabbi Prass asked us for examples of good and bad mishpachot in our lives.  Then he showed us how the aleinu thanks God for putting us with the good families and tribes.
  2. Today, we learned about the use of the word את. This is a word which designates the direct object in a sentence. Ask your student if they can recall an opening sentence they recite in Tefillah which has the word et (את) in it.
  3. We finished our story about Bar the Mouse, and competed an exercise involving the verb love.
  4. We ended Hebrew today with Rabbi Prass explaining some important facts about Israel, and how perceptions can be misrepresented to fit certain agendas. He then told us about some incorrect displays at Stevenson High School’s World Fair this past weekend which seemed to be ignored by the school’s administration.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have your student review the exercises on pages 48 and 49. We will go over them during class next week.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

1/21: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for a discussion about the hostages who were let go this past Sunday. .  He shared the video in this article which allowed us to witness the happier chapter of the 3 ex-hostages being reunited with their families back in Israel.   There were some interesting questions asked.
  2. We continued our work in chapter 6 in our main sefer, with the story about Bar the Mouse, and his love of Shabbat. This story introduces the direct object marker word את   (et). I will go into more detail about when this word is used.
  3. Please, neatness and ease of use, send only pencils with your student.
  4. Lastly, all class joined together for our weekly Hebrew Thru movement Experience.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have your student review the story on page 46. I encourage each student to read to a family member. It builds reading confidence, and they can show how much they have accomplished so far.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

1/14: Today in class we worked on:

  1. School began with all school Tefillah and with Rabbi Prass asking us “what are some things we have to do?” and then asking us what “Which of those things are actually important?” The students responded with many excellent answers. Rabbi then asked us to look at the Aleinu prayer which literally means “We have to” and gives us a list of things we have to do as Jews.  We had quite an in-depth discussion on this topic.
  2. We our work in chapter 6 in our main sefer. The students completed two work assignments related to the story they read last week.
  3. We began reading a new story involving our book’s character, Bar, the mouse. Each student’s Ivrit reading gets better and better!
  4. Please, neatness and ease of use, send only pencils with your student.
  5. Lastly, all of the classes joined together for our weekly Hebrew Thru Movement.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have your student read the story on page 46. I encourage each student to read to a family member. It builds reading confidence, and they can show how much they have accomplished so far.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

1/7: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for tefillah. Rabbi Prass asked everyone to share, on the count of 3, something special they did over winter break.  Then he asked them to share how they talked about that special thing.  The students shared some lovely answers.  Then we talked about how our prayer the kedusha comes from a story in the Bible where the angels talk about special or holy things.
  2. We began with the introduction to the vocabulary for chapter 6 in our sefer. I know it’s been two weeks without any Ivrit, but I did hear some good reading today.
  3. This was to be finished for today, and signed by a parent. Please have your student work on the handout I sent home with them. These are the vocabulary words through chapter 5. If you do not know Hebrew, ask your student to translate the English words into Hebrew. This should be a fun way to help your student to remember the words. Asking the for English translation is useful, if you or a family member feels comfortable reading Hebrew,
  4. We ended with an all school Hebrew thru movement led by Rabbi Prass.  We added on some new words which we will reinforce for the next few weeks.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

12/17: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for tefillah. He pointed out that at this time of year in Chicago, the amount of sunlight is less and less, and asked the students what they do to feel the light and find the light.  They shared some lovely ideas.  He pointed out that one source of light for all of us is how much the students are able to participate more and more confidently in our t’fillah.
  2. Since this was the day before Winter Break, and out next holiday of Hanukkah, the students learned the difference between the Israeli dreidel, and the dreidels used in the rest of the world. Ask you student to explain the difference.
  3. The class split into two groups for some highly spirited games of dreidel! They used chocolate coins, as opposed to real cesef (money).
  4. The students gathered in the main area for a festive Hanukkah dinner of pizza. A good time was had by all.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please have your student work on the handout I sent home with them. These are the vocabulary words through chapter 5. If you do not know Hebrew, ask your student to translate the English words into Hebrew. This should be a fun way to help your student to remember the words. Asking the for English translation is useful, if you or a family member feels comfortable reading Hebrew,
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

12/10: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for tefillah. Rabbi Prass asked the students about what makes them feel safe, and what they are happy to have, as opposed to wishing for something. We then looked at our prayer avot v’imahot, and how the last line talks about God being the “Shield of Abraham and the Help of Sarah”, or in other words make us feel safe.  We also talked about how the Maccabees fought to make our ancestors feel safe. Ask your student what they thought.
  2. The students took another Alef-Bet assessment quiz. We went over the answers. The daghesh (small dot) in letters like כ ב פ are the letters that seem to cause a bit of confusion.
  3. We closed the session by joining all of the other classes to play Hebrew-Thru-Movement, Chanukah Style, led by Rabbi Prass.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please have your student read the story at the beginning of chapter five on pages 36-37.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

12/3: Today in class we worked on:

  1. School began with an all school Tefillah.  Rabbi Prass asked the students “What is something positive you caused to happen over Thanksgiving?” and “What is something good you did?” The students provided many excellent answers and examples to further our learning.  We then connected this to the gevuorot prayer and specifically the word “mechaye” which means “the one who causes..” and talked about the good things mentioned in the prayer.
  2. We completed chapter four in our sefer, and then began the vocabulary for chapter five. The students are reading very well. Vocabulary retention is as important as reading. Encourage your student to review their vocabulary words.
  3. The students gathered back in the sanctuary for Hebrew Through Movement. Rabbi Prass brought out a hanukkiah, and he explained the difference between that and a menorah. Ask your student what the difference is. We also added on new verbs and vocabulary centered around Chanukah.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please have your student read the story at the beginning of chapter five.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

11/19: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the entire school gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Bellows, for tefillah.
  2. We finished chapter four in our sefer. The students are reading very well. Vocabulary is very important, so please help your student review their vocabulary for chapters 1-4. Each chapter highlights the new words under the section Milon.
  3. The students gathered back in the sanctuary for Hebrew Through Movement. Each kitah (class) had the opportunity to lead. It was a very lively session!
  4. Have a safe, joyous Thanksgiving!

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please have your student read the story on pages 28 and 29 in their sefer.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

11/12: Today in class we worked on:

  1. School began with an all school Tefillah. Rabbi Prass led a discussion, asking the students how the word awesome can have both positive and negative attributes. Our students presented many thoughtful ideas and understood the complexities of the question.  He then pointed out that the word Hanorah, or Awesone One is in the Avot V’imahot prayer, and teaches us to praise those awesome things which are positive, holy, and beautiful.  We also talked about the word of the week, “eezoon” which means balance, and we shared the good and challenging things in our lives which balance our days.
  2. We did a complete vocabulary review for all the words we have learned so far.
  3. We started the reading for chapter 4. Please have your student finish reading the story, on pages 28 & 29, for next week.
  4. Then we joined the entire Hebrew school for Hebrew thru movement, where we reviewed the words we learned last week, the body part words, by playing “Simon Says” and sharing personal “human tricks” in Hebrew to reinforce these words.

*****IMPORTANT***** Please make sure that your student leaves all secular reading books, snacks, etc… at home, or in the car. Thank you so much! Comfort items are fine.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please have your student read the story on pages 28 and 29 in their sefer.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

11/5: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary, with Rabbi Prass, for tefillah. Rabbi Prass explained what the phrase derech eretz means. Ask your student to explain it to you. We all should try to follow this.
  2. We went over the homework. These were the checkpoints for chapters 1-3.
  3. We started the vocabulary for chapter 4. Today had a lot of geshem. Ask you student what geshem means. I heard some great reading in Ivrit.
  4. The students gathered back in the sanctuary for Hebrew Through Movement. Rabbi Prass introduced some new Ivrit vocabulary for body parts.

*****IMPORTANT***** Please make sure that your student leaves all secular reading books, snacks, etc… at home, or in the car. Thank you so much! Comfort items are fine.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please have your student read the story on pages 27 and 28 in their sefer.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flashcards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

10/29: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, all the students gathered in the sanctuary with Rabbi Prass for tefillah. Rabbi Prass explained to the students how you can tell time through tefillah. Ask your student how that is.
  2. We did a vocabulary review for chapters one through three. 
  3. Aleph & Bet students gathered in the sanctuary to see the Torah. Rabbi Prass explained what the Torah is, and how it is read. Students who were interested, got to taste the etrog. Ask your student if it was sweet or sour.
  4. We continued with chapter three in our sefer. I heard some nice reading in Ivrit!

*****IMPORTANT***** Please make sure that your student leaves all secular reading books, snacks, etc… at home, or in the car. Thank you so much! Comfort items are fine.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please have your student complete the Check Points in the book, on pages 26 & 27. If they get stuck, remind them that all the answers are in chapters 1-3.
  2. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flashcards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

10/22: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary with Rabbi Prass for tefillah. Rabbi Prass gave an explanation about the lulav and etrog.  He showed us his ‘collection’ of an etrog from CBA over the last 18 Sukkot.  We also talked about the sounds and sights of sukkot from day 1 – day 8.
  2. We did a vocabulary review for chapter two, did the homework that was due today, and learned the new vocabulary for chapter three.
  3. The students gathered in the sukkah to take turns shaking the lulav while holding the etrog. Ask your student what the lulav sounds like while being shaken.
  4. We began chapter three in our sefer. I heard some good reading in Ivrit!

*****IMPORTANT***** Please make sure that your student leaves all secular reading books a home, or in the car. Thank you so much!

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

10/15: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the students gathered in the sanctuary with Rabbi Prass for tefillah.  We talked about WHY we need to find some moments for joy.  We connected this to our upcoming holiday of Sukkot, which is called our time of joy.
  2. We did a vocabulary review for chapter one and learned the new vocabulary for chapter two.
  3. We began chapter two in our sefer. I heard some very nice reading in Ivrit! 4. Kitah Bet & Kitah Aleph went outside for Hebrew thru movement with Rabbi Prass.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flashcards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***
  2. The students should finish the work on pages 12 & 13 in their main sefer. All the answers can be found in the book. If your student gets stuck. We will go over the homework next session.

10/8: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today, the entire school gathered in the sanctuary with Rabbi Prass for a memorial for the October 7 victims and hostages.
  2. The students had their first official Alef-Bet quiz. I saw some good scores. Please, have your student work with their Alef-Bet flash cards from last year. If you cannot find them, there are some nice ones available from Amazon or we can email you another set which you can have at home.
  3. The students worked on two practice sheets, dealing with the Alef-Bet. To have a strong foundation for learning vocabulary and reading, it is imperative to know the Alef-Bet and Nikkud.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***
  2. The students should finish the work sheets at home.

9/24: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We had a productive day today.
  2. Participated in an all school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass.  We shared ‘noises’ that distract us and things that help us quiet and focus our brains.  We talked about how t’fillah is one Jewish language/tool for quieting and focus.
  3. We started class with a few basic, but very important rules of shva. This is the vowel marking which is either silent, or makes sound like the I in the word hit.
  4. We started reading in our sefer. Ask your student if they remember the word for mouse. (It’s achbar.)
  5. We ended class with the entire Hebrew school coming together for Hebrew Through Movement led by Rabbi Prass, and one of our own Daled students, Ben G.  We also heard the calls of the Shofar in celebration of Elul, the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah and the other High Holy Days.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. ***Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.***

9/17: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We began with an all-school assembly.  The 2 older grades (daled & gimmel) shared 3 things that are helpful to learn Hebrew and 3 things that used to make them nervous about learning Hebrew. 
  2. We had a fun opening session. We introduced ourselves to each other. I explained how I like to have class proceed.
  3. Respect one other and respect your morah. Do not speak when others are speaking.
  4. Remember to bring your Ivrit folder, pencil, and sefer to each session.
  5. Always try to do your best, but remember I am here to help.
  6. I use many Hebrew words while teaching and will always translate in the beginning.
  7. The students took an Alef-Bet and Nikkud quiz. This is just to let me know how much they remembered from last year. It was a long summer.
  8. We ended the session with all school assembly to do Hebrew Thru Movement.  Our kitah daled students helped lead it.  Parents were invited for this first session so they could meet the teachers. It was great to see so many parents and to have almost perfect attendance at Hebrew school! We also sounded the shofar in celebration of this month of Elul.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud (Vowel markings). Your student should have flash cards from last year. Please encourage them to review the Alef-Bet and Nikkud for a few minutes each day.