Dear Grade 2 Parents,
I am thrilled to be working with you children this year! We already had a great class last week…
Last class we:
• Played some fun ice breaker games! (Like “Two Truths & a Lie”)
• Read some pre-written classroom rules…. And wrote some of our own too.
• Briefly discussed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
• Did some worksheets associated with these two holidays.
• Learned what “Rosh Hashanah” means literally in Hebrew. (Rosh= Head, Hashanah= The Year)
• Made fantastic paper bag hats illustrating this literal translation so that we always remember it! (The hat sits on one’s rosh, of course.) At T’filah, Rabbi Franken even called us up to lead a song because of how cool our Rosh Hashanah hats were (and how knowledgeable they made us look).
Curriculum:
The coming year’s curriculum will consist of furthering the students’ knowledge of Hebrew, focusing on letter recognition, reading, and some writing as well. We know that everyone learns differently, so we will be using Stephanie Bernstein’s multi-sensory Hebrew program to supplement our textbook and workbook. This is a great program utilizing visual, aural, and kinesthetic cues to help the students recall the letters, vowels, and their sounds. We might even be doing some Hebrew Yoga!
We will also be continuing to study the Jewish Holidays as well as other aspects of Jewish culture and life.
Homework:
Each week the students will come home with one double-sided homework sheet from their Hebrew books. They should complete this homework and bring it back the following class. A short class once a week is certainly enough to give them the knowledge they need to learn Hebrew, but if they do not practice it throughout the week, then they will not retain it. Each class we will build upon what we did the week before, so simply, if a student does not do their homework, they will not be prepared for the next class, and they will quickly fall behind. This is frustrating for all parties involved- you as the parent, me as the teacher, the rest of the class who has to slow down their lesson, but most importantly, the student. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to do homework consistently.
You can help your child with homework, if he/she needs help whether or not you know Hebrew as there are English instructions. You can also refer to the text’s online counterpart www.tiyulim.torahaura.com and select the lesson. Of course, if your child has further trouble with the assignments, I would be happy to provide help, but the effort has to be there on the student’s part, and your encouragement is vital.
Reading Raffle:
Every week I will send home a reading raffle card. If the student practices Hebrew reading for 5 minutes 5 times during the week, and you sign off on the card each time, then the card can be brought back and added to the drawing. Several times during the year, there will be raffle drawings with awesome prizes. Students can read any Hebrew books you have at home or they may read the Hebrew on their homework sheet.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments!
juliediorio@ymail.com
978-397-5925
Here’s to a great year!
Julie DiOrio
