Sound-to-Print

Building the sound of Hebrew in a child’s head and heart before tackling print serves as the foundation of #OnwardHebrew's approach. Called to sound-to-print (S-2-P) learning, there are four legs to the process:
1) Creating a foundation of Hebrew language for children up through sixth grade;
2) Learning of Hebrew prayers by participating in regularly scheduled Hebrew t’fillah (worship);
3) Building Jewish life vocabulary, i.e., Hebrew words that may be sprinkled comfortably into English conversation (e.g., shofar, mazal tov); and
4) Waiting to teach Hebrew decoding and reading skills until the sounds of Hebrew are deeply embedded, ideally fifth grade or sixth grade.

Just as a tabletop is stablized when balanced on at least three legs, so it is with #OnwardHebrew. Three of the four legs create a strong foundation for 21st Century Hebrew learning. Which might you experiment with? And might your educational program be able to tackle all four?

Resources are linked to the photos and videos below. Click on what interests you!

S-2-P:
Definition
(Start at 5:54 for excerpt)

A booklet especially for decoding/reading teachers

S-2-P:
Hebrew Thru Movem't

S-2-P:
Jewish Life Vocabulary

S-2-P:
Hebrew During T'fillah

S-2-P:
Learning to Decode

S-2-P:
Why Delay Decoding?

Teach Kids When They're Ready (article)

S-2-P:
1-on-1 Learning

S-2-P:
Building Language (HTM), Moving to Print

S-2-P:
The Amidah
(See the Ancestors Silver Challenge, plus others)

The transition to B'nai Mitzvah tutoring
Temple Isaiah, Lafayette, CA
Segment of an ACC webinar; stop at 50:15

A great S2P tool:
Jewish Interactive.
Play the link, above, to see how students hear the sound of the Hebrew and connect it to the print. You can make your own apps on the site.