Self Study Report on Hebrew Language Instruction
Hebrew Curriculum Overview While Hebrew is actually introduced to our early childhood students by way of engaging students in simple weekly prayers, blessings, and Shabbat rituals, in addition to standard conversational and directive phrases in the classroom, the formal study of Heb rew begins in Kindergarten through a program called Chalav u’Dvash. This is a new, innovative Hebrew language instruction program designed for children aged three to six and includes a broad range of developmentally appropriate activities and interactive teaching aids. The Kindergarten Hebrew program imparts a basic knowledge of spoken Hebrew that will also build a foundation for future study of the language. The program develops a child ’s ability to communicate in Hebrew, by providing him/her with a variety of opportunities and incentives to use the linguistic patterns and vocabulary acquired in the program, connects Hebrew to everyday social situations related to the child ’s experiences in the home, at school, in encounters with friends and holiday celebrations, and makes Hebrew a source of pleasure for children and involves the entire family in the learning experience. Our 1 st and 2 nd Grade Hebrew program is drawn from the widely accepted and recognized iTaLAM program. The iTaLAM program activates learning in all frames of mind by utilizing a wide range of activities for all modes of communication, integrating Hebrew Language acquisition, the development of Jewish concepts and values, and reading and writing skills. The curriculum offers a variety of stories, Jewish sources, prayers and blessings, as well as age-appropriate songs, recitations and plays. The program is structured around a Virtual Classroom comprised of diverse students, each demonstrating how s/he learns. These virtual students grow and develop together with the students, serving as models for the construction of a learning community. Currently, our 3 rd Grade Hebrew program follows the Chaveri m B’Ivrit program, which includes Jewish source texts and tefilla, but most importantly the program transfers and applies learning in new contexts and situations. The Chaveri m B’Ivrit program employs active language production in children by making instruction child-centered and embraces concepts beyond the classroom and needs of students. At this level, multiple genres are introduced, including stories, conversations, poems, songs, albums, journals, and bulletin board notices. It is adaptable to different learners; at the same time, the sectioning for this grade level of Hebrew will be intentionally designed to address the needs of different levels of Hebrew learners, sections created for the novice learner to the highly competent and Hebrew-as-first-language students. More so in this grade than in earlier grades of foundational Hebrew, foreign language instruction in the 3 rd grade will embrace Hebrew as a living language. In 4 th Grade, there is a mix of Hebrew programs, designed to meet the needs of the range of foreign language learners at this grade level. The school employs Yesh Va'Yesh for the advanced students, while a continuation of Chaverim B ’Ivrit is used for on-level students. There is a grammar text for all students, which is Yesodot Halashon.
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