This is the level that is preparing students for the Middle School program — more emphasis on conversation, vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and interactive usage of Hebrew. For those students not in the advanced Hebrew sectioning, this is a year to reinforce and build upon Hebrew skills taught in 3 rd Grade, while still preparing students for the more challenging program through the Middle School. Throughout the Middle School Hebr ew program, the school’s emphasis on teaching students at their appropriate level of readiness is realized through two different Hebrew Language programs: the Bishvil HaIvrit which is for the middle level and advanced students, and the B’Sod HaIvrit for th e beginner or on-level student. Thus, there are typically three different leveled sections per each grade level in the Middle School. The Bishvil HaIvrit program makes sophisticated use of technology to provide for interactive learning alongside a comprehensive learning management system to help instructors organize lessons and assess student work. The range of Hebrew language is as thorough as can be imagined, from ancient rabbinic literature to modern day rap music lyrics. Throughout Middle School, students are engaged in all branches of language learning in the Hebrew classroom — listening, speaking, reading and writing. The Bishvil HaIvrit program includes a robust line-up of annual professional development experiences for teachers. Meanwhile, the B’Sod Ha Ivrit program is capable of addressing the needs of the beginning to the recently-started Hebrew learner, as well as those who are still in need of reinforcement and more foundational language instruction in the Middle School years. In 8 th Grade, the school made a recent switch so that all students can work together in a program called “Israel, It’s Complicated,” which combines Hebrew knowledge with contemporary issues in Israel, all designed to prepare students for their annual Israel Mission experience for three weeks in the spring months, prior to graduation. Hebrew Culture at Levine — Hebrew Beyond the Curriculum Much of the school’s celebrations, weekly Shabbat services, Jewish holidays, and of course our school’s seven middot (Jewish values) are also a means to inculcate the community in Hebrew culture, so that the language is heard, spoken, recited, and seen numerous times throughout every school week all year long. Our prayer services are frequently an opportunity to focus on a word or phrase, in order to elucidate its meaning and relevance for students in their lives today. We have an annual Hebrew Spelling Bee, which is a very festive and spirited occasion when students in the Middle School root on their selected classmates representing their grade in a competition full of fun and learning. There is no question that daily prayer services are always an opportunity for students to read from their siddur (prayer books) which is always a reinforcement of language acquisition. Hallways and many classrooms are festooned with Hebrew language in the form of student-created artworks; student writings; and student depictions of characters in their story readings and in Torah studies.
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