Teaching Hebrew

I teach Alef Hebrew to 4th graders at my temple. We have class on Sundays and Tuesdays, for a total of 1 hour 45 minutes each week (the first part of their Sunday is spent on Judaic studies). Not really a ton of time, but we do what we can with it. We began the year by reviewing the Alef-Bet, something they were learning over the course of K–3rd. I was optimistic as we went through the book; a few struggled with remembering the letters, but for the most part everyone was doing great. We finished our review fairly quickly (according to our religious school director no 4th grade ever finishes Alef-Bet review before the December break and we finished in November, I believe) and moved on to learning to read, beginning with the Barechu. The one thing they really seemed to struggle with were the vowels. Remembering which vowel makes the "eh" sound, versus the "oh" sound, versus the "ooh" sound was a challenge for a few of them. And the sheva caused many a headache. But, they were doing well, they were trying hard and I felt really good about where we were.

And then last night. Last night was awesome. We began the evening talking about the Sh'ma (chapter 3). I had written 5 or 6 Hebrew words on the white board with no vowels for later. At one point one of my students asked me if the Torah had the vowels and all of the other dots in it so you would know if the letter was a shin or sin, bet or vet, etc. I told her that it didn't and she asked how we knew which it was. I explained to her about grammar and how at some point you just recognize the word, plus you practice with the vowels ahead of time (I could see them worrying already about their Torah portions for their b'nei mitzvot). We moved on and did a little more in the book. And then I had them close their books and look up at the board. I asked them if they recognized any of the words without their vowels or any dagesh. It's an exercise I've done before to help them remember their vowels and what each sounds like; if they know the word (or I help them out with it), they have to figure out which vowel goes where, using their ears. But, last night had the extra bonus that not only did they figure out where the vowels were supposed to go (with a hint or two at times), but they recognized the words without the vowels or any dagesh. I was so proud of them and I could tell that they were proud of themselves.