Hebrew Fun Camp 2009-10
Materials - .docs located at http://people.virginia.edu/~leh5m/cbi/
 Cardboard Letters – see cbi_abcutouts.doc
o Aleph-Bet grouped letter sets (2 sets, 8 pieces per set) – ie. a piece would
consist of a row of letters like “aleph bet vet” or “gimmel dalet hey”
o Aleph-Bet Individual, small letter sets (2 sets, 26 letters per set – no final
letters)
o Word construction, large letter sets: letters that change with vowels (2 of
each, 12 total), final letters (1 of each, 6 total), vavs for oh/ooh (6)
o M&M’s / Skittles (1 bag of each)
 Key word cards (25 – can break into 3 sets of 8 by category – prayers, holidays, etc)
 Cookies
o Cookie cutters (6)
o Cookie dough
o Decorating supplies (?)
 Worksheets
o Vowels and Aleph-Bet review chart (cbi_vowelsmatch.doc and
cbi_abchart*.doc)
o Reading worksheets
o Front: Aleph-Bet key words letter fill in; Back: read numbers; dice
o Sounds Like English
o Prayer packets (also make worksheet packets for next week) –
cbi_prayers.pdf and cbi_worksheets.pdf
o Maps worksheet (cbi_homonymns.doc and cbi_homonymns_map.doc),
maps (1 world map, 1 US map); pennies
 Possibilities: Shaving cream? Computer? Aleph-Bet Bingo
Tuesday
Introductory activity – Aleph Bet review – 25 minutes
1. Sing the aleph-bet song with the students.
2. Break students into two groups. Give each team a grouped aleph-bet set. Have the
students order the sets as a race.
3. Give each team the individual letters. Allow the students to keep the grouped
letter sets out, and again race to see who can order the aleph-bet first.
4. Have the students put away the grouped letter sets (such as turning them over off
to the side of the desk, so as to not lose pieces by putting them on the floor), and
see which group can accurately complete the aleph-bet first.
5. Collect the grouped letter sets and the individual small letter sets.
Vowels, Middle Dot Letters and Final Letters review – 30 minutes
1. Give out the word construction, large letter sets. Each student gets 2 letters which
can be altered by adding a dot, 1 final letter, and 1 vav. Tell the students to put the
vav and the final letter to the side for the moment.
2. Give out M&Ms or skittles according to student preference.
3. First: have the students review vowels. Ah, eh, ay, ee, oh, ooh, silent.
4. Next, review vav vowels – have the students incorporate the vav into the middle
of their word (since they only have 2 letters, in the middle of the two letters. IE –
vet – vav – sin). Practice oh vs ooh.
5. Next, review the middle dots – have the students add a dot to their letter(s) which
can change with a dot in the middle.
6. Finally, review the final letters. Have the students add their final letter at the end
of their word (prompt students for where to put their last letter). Practice reading.
7. Have the students read a word a partner comes up with by chooosing their own
vowels and dots to add to their letters.
8. Feel free to have the students switch middle or final letters at any time for more
practice, or to prolong the activity if the kids are really into it.
--Fit in Pizza at appropriate time-Baking Cookies and Key Words review – 45 minutes
1. Go to the kitchen and allow the students to make some Hebrew letters out of
cookies. Allow them to use the letter cutters or to make their own letters. Have the
key word cards out to allow them to see how to spell a key word.
2. While the cookies are baking, play hot potato with the key words cards.
Depending on the number of students, use all of the cards or a subset (ie. – easiest
to hardest – the red holiday key words, the blue prayer key words, or the green
miscellaneous judaic key words), or switch subsets after a few rounds / mix
subsets together to add to difficulty.
3. Eat the cookies.
4. If a student finishes early, have them fill out the Sounds Like English worksheet.
Review activity – Letter and vowel review – 15 minutes
1. Hand out the aleph bet and vowel review chart.
2. Have students fill it out either by themselves or with a partner.
Wednesday
Introductory activity – Aleph-Bet and Numbers review – 25 minutes
1. Hand out the Aleph-Bet and Numbers review worksheet.
2. Have the students fill out the front by themselves.
3. Once students finish the first side, pair them up (upon two students finishing, not
waiting for the whole group) and give them some dice. Have them roll to see
which word they will read. Once the last group has been paired for 3-5 minutes
move on.
4. Next, tell the students to only use 2 dice and flip over. Have them practice reading
the numbers in the same way. If a student rolls over 10, reroll.
Game – Mother May I – 25 minutes
1. Now that the students have reviewed the numbers 1-10, go outside to play Mother
May I.
2. Before going outside, review “Ema Mutar L’lechet…”
--Pizza-Maps – 20 minutes
1. Break the students into 2 groups.
2. One group will first fill out the US cognates side of the worksheet with the aid of
a US map. The other group will fill out the World side of the cognates map
worksheet with the aid of a world map. Students should write the Hebrew or
English name of the city depending on ability compared with the group.
3. Allow students to place a penny on top of cities they have already identified on
the big map.
4. Switch maps after 10 minutes.
More possible activities
Aleph-Bet Bingo
Shaving Cream
Youtube
I Spy
Hangman with key word cards
Red Light, Green Light
Color By Number
Chalk
Concluding activity – Pair Reading – 20 minutes
1. Hand out reading worksheets
2. Pair students up. Partner A reads first part of word, partner B reads second part of
word.
3. Either alternate who reads the complete word, do choral reading, or let the
students piece it together themselves. Whatever works best for each team.
4. Allow students to read at their own pace so some students will get through all four
sets of broken up words while others might only get through a few.
5. If students finish early, allow them to work in the Prayer Packets