Engage Your Students with a Catchy Hebrew Song and Dance Beat!

 

Hey fellow educators!

I recently stumbled upon a fantastic way to bring energy and excitement into my Hebrew classes – a catchy tune with a dance beat that gets students out of their seats and into dance mode! Not only is it a blast, but it's also an excellent way to reinforce Hebrew language skills.

The song, titled אִלּוּ יְהוּדִי הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ (If Only a a Jew knew), features easy-to-understand Hebrew words that students are already familiar with. The repetition of phrases like "תּוֹדָה רַבָּה!" (Thank you very much) adds a positive and grateful tone to the song.

1. Personal Touch: There's even a section where students can add their own line about what makes them excited to be Jewish. This personal touch fosters creativity and a sense of connection to their cultural identity.

Feel free to give it a try in your classroom, and let the joy of music and movement enhance your Hebrew lessons. I can't wait to hear how your students respond to this lively and educational experience!

Wishing you a harmonious and dance-filled learning journey!

Introducing Torah Top Trumps! Print it or make it your own!

Shalom, fellow educators! Today, I am thrilled to share a delightful educational game that has added a unique spark to my teaching toolkit: Torah Top Trumps. This engaging card game not only imparts valuable knowledge but also encourages creativity and collaboration. In the spirit of sharing, I invite you to adopt this game and empower your students to craft their own Torah-themed masterpieces. Let's dive into the world of Torah Top Trumps and discover how it can transform your classroom experience!

The Genesis of Torah Top Trumps:

Torah Top Trumps is more than just a game; it's a creative journey into the heart of Jewish teachings. Inspired by the classic Top Trumps card game, I saw an opportunity to infuse the rich narratives of the Torah into an interactive and enjoyable learning experience. The result? A captivating game that sparks curiosity and brings the timeless wisdom of the Torah to life.

How It Works:

Just like the traditional Top Trumps game, Torah Top Trumps is a card game that challenges players to compare different attributes. In this case, each card features a Torah character, story, or concept, with various attributes such as wisdom, courage, and historical significance. Players engage in friendly competition, comparing attributes and strategizing to win rounds.

Encouraging Student Involvement:

The beauty of Torah Top Trumps lies in its adaptability. I encourage you to bring your students into the creative process. Imagine the excitement as they research, discuss, and carefully choose attributes for their own Torah cards. This not only deepens their understanding of the Torah but also nurtures a sense of ownership and pride in their creation.

Why Torah Top Trumps?

1. **Interactive Learning:** The game actively involves students in exploring Torah narratives, fostering a deeper connection to the teachings.

2. **Critical Thinking:** Players analyze and compare attributes, promoting critical thinking skills and strategic decision-making.

3. **Creative Expression:** Crafting their own Torah Top Trumps cards allows students to express their creativity and personalize their learning experience.

4. **Collaboration:** Encourage group activities where students collaborate to create a comprehensive set of Torah cards, promoting teamwork and shared knowledge.

Sharing the Joy:

I am delighted to extend an invitation to fellow educators and enthusiasts to adopt Torah Top Trumps in their classrooms. The game is a powerful tool for making Torah studies not only informative but also enjoyable. Feel free to use the template, adapt it to suit your curriculum, and witness the transformative impact it can have on your students.

 Happy playing and learning!

Elevate Your Hebrew Conversations at Home with a Fun Game!

Shalom, language enthusiasts! If you've ever found yourself struggling to maintain Hebrew conversations at home, fret not! I've discovered an exciting and engaging way to boost your language skills, all while having a blast. As an educator passionate about promoting Hebrew language learning, I've incorporated a unique weekly assignment for my students: a Hebrew conversation game. What's more, with the help of Canva's AI tool, I've effortlessly translated and customized the game to cater to our linguistic needs. 

In my quest to make Hebrew learning enjoyable and practical, I stumbled upon a fantastic feature on Canva. The AI tool not only simplifies the translation process but also preserves the formatting, making it a game-changer for language educators like myself. The ease of use has allowed me to take an existing English game and transform it into a Hebrew game with just a few clicks. Customizing the Game: One particular game caught my eye, and with a creative twist, I've turned it into the perfect tool to encourage Hebrew conversations at home. The game, originally in English, is now a platform for my students to practice their language skills playfully. Whether it's vocabulary building, sentence formation, or engaging in casual dialogues, this game covers it all.

Bring the HQ Trivia Craze to your classroom!

My students, my children, and my friends were all talking about HQ.  If I create an HQ game for my students with questions which are relevant to the learning, I knew that II will have buy-in!

HQ Trivia, the  live trivia game show with cash prizes in which anyone can win if they stay in until the very end! For the first Torah Champs event, I prepared a HQ Game and the energy was amazing! The kids were playing using paper  "score slides" with the questions being presented on the TV screens with me trying to impersonate the comedian Scott Rogowski, the famous HQ host.

Here is the HQ Presentation I had on the screen. 

I downloaded the Google slides presentation into Power Point and I printed 3 slides on a page with the question number and only the answers. that way students need to wait to hear the question.

The students knew the material really well so almost everyone made it to the end!

Learn Trop on Quizlet

My 4th grade students are ready to learn Torah with trop. I prepared this Quizlet course to help them master the טעמי המקרא the most common notes and combinations. With Quizlet Teacher I am able to add a voice recording so that student can see the term a picture of the music note and hear a recording of  the note being sung.
https://quizlet.com/_4hawbt
https://quizlet.com/_4hawbt

Basketball In Hebrew

Recess is what is on the minds of so many students while sitting at their desks waiting and dreaming of the opportunity to get up and run around. What if some of the learning can be done more effectively by having the students  run around? Well, in an article in The New York Times, titled: 

How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language, the article presents:

 that working out during a language class amplifies people’s ability to memorize, retain and understand new vocabulary. The findings provide more evidence that to engage our minds, we should move our bodies.

The article then laments that movement isn't always practicle because schools don't have the budget to provide stationary bikes for all the students.

Well, my school has beautiful basketball courts and leaving the indoor classroom to the great outdoors on the rare warm day in February was  a real treat. We played a 5 on 5 for 30 min with designated callers to remind everyone of the new basketball vocabulary and the students stayed in the target language throughout. We played basketball in Hebrew!

Here is the sheet I prepared:

Hebrew Twister

I added a game to my Ulpan game box:משחק פלונטר Plonter-Hebrew Twister.
Learn the colors, body, directions and emotions. Just print the card add a spinner to it and students can independently play with each other giving Hebrew instructions. Advanced players can add emotions: יד ימין על אדום עם פנים כועסות (the player has to make the face while playing).

Game to learn Directions: הפרה העיוורת

Student's have a blast playing this challenging game! In pairs, players  find tickets and Hershey kisses dispersed all over the field. One player is blindfolded and the other player is the guide. The guide is NOT allowed to pick anything up, the guide can only give instruction to his or her blindfolded pair. The guide uses the direction terms we learned in class (the "cheat" sheet I prepared for them can also be used.) 

החיים שלנו תותים! Rewriting the song

My students have rewritten Chanan Ben Ari’s hit to express the challenges in their own life and try to reframe it by saying “thanks” for all the good things. I prepared this sheet to help the students reflect.

Playing War in Hebrew: New Playcard

War is my go to entry-level game to help students learn how to converse in Hebrew. They already know the rules! Between each turn they need to use one of the phrases on the sheet. They also practice their numbers in Hebrew. I upgraded my old play-card:

Quizlet Diagrams

Quizlet added a diagram future (to create your own you diagrams  need a paid account: $35 a year and well worth the cost if you want to track your students progress on Quizlet).

I have been using this diagrams as a way to connect my students to the Avar/Atid posters on the walls of my classroom:

Avar:

Atid:

Uno game for switching between Zmanim

For the past two years I have been creating for my students play sheets  with the Hebrew words necessary to play  familiar games in Hebrew. The goal was to help my students express themselves in Hebrew. Following the learning at the Institute of Play, I started thinking about how can I have my students continue to play in Hebrew while learning and reviewing areas of learning the students might find confusing and  tedious.

The Uno game, which my students were already playing in Hebrew, seemed to be a good game to modify. (the colors were in-line with the colors I have been using in my classroom. I went through many modifications. at first, I put in all the possible combinations of prefixes and suffixes but it became to difficult to find a set. At this stage I am limiting it to only אני/אתה this makes it easy enough to find a set but still challenging.

 

Goal: Students  work on building words in the different tenses. 
Students become familiar with the location of prefixes and suffixes depending on the tense. 
Students collaborate by helping each other build words. 
Students speak in Hebrew while playing the game

Rules: 
Follow the basic Rules of Uno with some modifications:

1. Players lay out their cards for all players to see. 
2. On your turn: you can put down any set of the current color being played. 
for example: if the starting color is red=עבר you can put down a full set (3 cards)
card 1: אני
card 2: any Shoresh/פעיל card
card 3: the suffix: תי
3. If you don't have a full set you can take cards from other players decks to help build your set (therby helping yourself and the other player)
4. You can change the color by having a matching number or action card.

5. Action cards are played the same as in regular Uno (draw 2, skip, draw 4, wild, reverse)

6. The three colors played are: Yellow: הווה Red: עבר Blue: עתיד
Green are the verb cards which are used to create the sets. (every set has a verb card but green is never played as its own color)

 

Core Mechanics: 

Space: Classroom or at home

Components: Brain power, recall, Uno cards, stickers for the cards, a color coded chart to help students with difficulty recalling

Stickers: Here is a link to my google folder with all the stickers.

 

Ulpan station-

I recently added a station in my blended learning station rotation classroom with a focus on Ulpan-Hebrew conversation for the everyday interactions. Students learn new words and they immediately integrate the words in Hebrew conversation.

I created an Ulpan course on quizlet for my students to keep track of the new words being learned. Once a new word is introduced I activate the word in my classroom by using it in as many different contexts as possible.

Playing Heads-Up Headbands as a unit review

Headbandz is a really fun and easy game to play.  I wanted my students to review the people, places and things which we learned in class this year while practicing their interpersonal Hebrew skills. I prepared sets of 50 cards. (אברהם, יצחק יעקב, לבן, חרן, חברון, כתונת פסים etc. ) The students then played in small groups. When it's your turn you can only ask Yes or No questions:
?האם הכרטיס  בן אדם

?האם הכרטיס איש או אשה

Interpersonal Hebrew Worksheets

I was inspired by Second Language Blogger Senor Howard to try an activity he prepared for his Spanish class adapted to Hebrew for my Students. I adapted it as a post vacation activity where students get up and converse in Hebrew with their classmates about their vacation. You can follow all the instructions given on his blog for this Hebrew activity. Here are the links to my sheets: Student's questionnaire and Student's Data Collection Sheet

Senor Howard's blog: Tuesday's Tips For Staying in The Target Language is an outstanding resource 

for finding  interpersonal activities which can be applied to 

Open snack time: helping my students pick fresh fruit over the empty calorie snack

As a parent, I am often left frustrated when the snacks I send with my kids to school return home untouched. I usually send a fruit or vegetable as well as a processed  bagged snack. Sadly, the chips and pretzels get eaten while the apple or strawberries sit in the bag until they rot. As a teacher I found a way to insure that my students first eat their healthy snack by giving them more freedom and agency! A small change has improved the diet of so many students. 

The designated time for snack in school is 10:00am. Many of the students are not eating a proper breakfast and they are preoccupied with the question: "is it time for snack yet?" This question is usually asked in the same tone children who are stuck on a long car ride ask: "Are we there yet?".

 In my class, snack can be eaten at anytime if it is an unprocessed fruit or vegetable. Sugar loaded Yo Crunch or granola bars are not a fruit or vegetable! The students quickly embraced this change. Students are bringing in bags of carrots and cucumbers. They are eating all their fruit first thing in the morning and if they  still have room for the processed food they can enjoy the official snack time at 10:00am. 

Instead of trying to convince my students to "eat the frog" first. I give them the freedom to eat healthy during class and the students are more engaged in the learning: nurturing their souls while they are taking care of their bodies. 

I have not found the healthy eating a distraction. When one kid takes out an apple the worst thing that can happen is that another kid pulls out his apple. When a student pops open a bag of Doritos his father brought back from Israel the students around him may start salivating and start imagining when he can send his father to Israel to bring back a bag of Doritos. 

When we get to eating fruits and vegetables our bodies learn to seek out those tastes again. My hope is that the students get their morning fruit and later in the day when they feel hungry they will keep heading to the fruit basket. 

For most children the issue isn't a lack of food: it is the lack of nutrient rich food making its way into the children's stomach. we want our children to eat a nutritious breakfast but they often choose the item which will bring the quickest sugar rush and not the food with the highest nutritional density. Making it easier for the students to eat the fruit and vegetables helps give the healthy food a chance of being consumed!

Yom Yerushalayim: PBL

PBL in Hebrew! My students creativity and hard work produced this great display of the history of Jerusalem throughout the ages. In groups students researched and wrote a report on their  assigned time period. They designed and created a diorama and explained what we can learn from their assigned period. I am grateful to the outstanding Tal AM instructors for their guidance!

Breakout EDU Box: Pesach puzzles

 

We reviewed our Haggadah learning by playing a Breakout game. The students had to solve puzzles and crack codes to open 6 different locks to be able to open the box (which had pretzels and chocolate chips which was turned into hot fudge). directional locks, number locks and key locks. This was an engaging educational fun activity for all the boys.

Jteach created a series of interactive puzzles based on the popular breakout.edu model. I modified most of it so that my students can complete it in Hebrew. 


I also added a scavenger hunt component. Students had to find the keys by following clues and finding invisible ink using an UltraViolet Blacklight
which led them to one of the keys.

My favorite activity was the "Which Way Did They Go?" puzzle, using the directional lock where the students had to learn the pessukim which describes the travels of the Bnei Yisrael in the dessert and map out the directions. They then had to follow the same pattern on the lock.

Quizlet Live! A Great Collaborative Game

Quizlet has been my go to flash card platform until I discovered memrise.com. I abandoned quizlet because I wanted my students to keep reviewing beyond the test. Memrise follows what we know from memory science about long term retention of information. Memrise is a paced memorization system which gamifies the learning and puts a higher value on reviewing. – the longer you’ve known something, the deeper its roots are planted in your mind. Once I discovered Quizlet Live, I am back using quizlet to give my students this fast paced social game to help them review and collaborate with each other. 

Quizlet Live is easy to use, you just need to click a button and it automatically creates the game for you from your quizlet study set. it's free and compatible in Hebrew.



https://quizlet.com/196464927/flash-cards/
Introducing Quizlet Live from Quizlet on Vimeo.

Flipped Classroom with Nearpod using Audio Visuals

Nearpod has been my go-to app for teaching and reviewing content with my students. I have now discovered that I can use Nearpod as a good way to pre-teach or flip my classroom. It is very similar to using Educanon/Zaption to have students stop and answer questions while they are learning. I like using Nearpod because of the flexibility it gives. I have the option to use it as a flipped  classroom activity as well as an in-class activity.

Here is a Mishna (Hebrew)I prepared:

(Note the play button on each content slide)

Here is a Gemara I prepared: Kiddushin 6
(I started with Rabbi Avi Wasser's Power Point and I added the questions and audio)