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General education's "science of reading" research offers a number of teaching strategies and resources that have the potential to improve Hebrew teaching in part-time/synagogue settings. Many have been tested by educators working with #OnwardHebrew's 2023-2024 "Decoding Think Tank" and its 2024-2025 "educator experimenters."
Want details? CHECK OUT the "Conquering the Challenge of Hebrew Decoding" guide. The webpage of the same name (linked here) offers other resources especially (but not exclusively) for education directors and clergy. THIS "Decoding Resources" webpage has been set up especially for Hebrew teachers and tutors. It offers a sampling of the strategies in the "Conquering the Challenge" guide for which we created specific resources. Scroll down to find what you want to try with your learners, but be sure to open the guide, itself, to learn much much more! |
alef-bet strategies & resources
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STRATEGY: Students write Hebrew letters from memory.
Supplies: Teacher/tutor supplied. More info: Found on pages 22 and 67-68 in the Conquering the Challenge of Hebrew Decoding guide. |
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STRATEGY: Learners identify the key characteristic(s) of Hebrew letters (for example, "What makes a Tet a Tet?").
This strategy may also be used with two potentially confusing letters (for example, Resh and Dalet). Supplies: Click for an already-made packet of each of the Hebrew letters, each with 7 different fonts. More info: Found on pages 23 and 29 in the Conquering the Challenge of Hebrew Decoding guide. |
ABOVE: A lively AlefBet song that focuses on the 22 letters. From Jewish Interactive (Jigzi).
ABOVE: "Vowel Karate" - a movement based way to learn the names of the Hebrew vowel signs.
Above: "Vowel Karate" slowed down and the motions explained.
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DECODING STRATEGIES & RESOURCES
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STRATEGY: "Word cards", which clear away the distractions of all the other Hebrew on a page. Spend time helping the learner look carefully at the "inside details" of the given word.
Supplies: Teacher-made word cards taken from current work. The t'fillah pages in the T'fillah section below (scroll down) may also be used, as well as materials from textbooks or workbooks (word cards offered as supplementary materials, or cut from pages of text). More info: Multiple places in the Conquering the Challenge of Hebrew Decoding guide (for example, pages 27, 30-31 and 66). |
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STRATEGY: Segmenting Hebrew words, a process that helps learners focus on the letters & vowel signs within.
Supplies: Teacher-made word cards OR words found on prayer/blessing pages (see the T'fillah section, below, or in your textbook). More info: Appendix A (pages 57-58 in the Conquering the Challenge of Hebrew Decoding guide). |
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Resource: Offers materials to easily apply sound-to-print strategies to the learning of Mah Nishtanah including: a large-font well-spaced page of the ritual, posters, word cards and links to the Hebrew Through Movement Four Questions lessons and photocards.
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LARGE FONT PRAYERS & BLESSINGS
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STRATEGY: Research from the "science of reading" emphasizes the use of texts with large font, extra white spaces between words, and more white between lines. Research from Israel on Hebrew reading adds the helpfulness of setting up pages so that prayers and blessings are "phrased" to support meaning-making or grammatical pauses.
Supplies: The Jewish Education Center of Cleveland's Teacher Center created prayer/blessing documents with the recommended spacings and phrasing. PDFs are available for download below. Editable Word Docs may be downloaded from https://JECCMarketplace.com (search for "t'fillot"). All are a free download. More info: Found on pages 34-35, page 66, as well as other places in the Conquering the Challenge of Hebrew Decoding guide. |
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Sh'ma and its Blessings
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