On a different note
Dec. 18th, 2006 02:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xiphiasI wanted to let you all know how cool my Hebrew School students are. So, I'm teaching the 5th/6th grade, and we split into halves for Hebrew, with me getting, theoretically, the kids who need more help.
I say "theoretically", because I don't. There is no measurable difference between the Hebrew knowledge on the kids in my group and the ones in Larry's, and, instead, I think the point is to give me the kids who are harder to control, because I'm better at dealing with them.
I have, of course, totally ignored the Hebrew textbook which we're supposed to be using, because I ignore textbooks. Don't like 'em. They give you, y'know, structure and rules and a tested and proven way to teach stuff, which makes things easier for the teacher. What's the challenge?
Instead, I'm photocopying things out of various large-print siddurim I have lying around my house (because I have learning disabilities, and have trouble reading out of normal-sized-print siddurim). With, y'know, Post-it-note tape blocking out any translations and transliterations that the book has. And then I also write out a sheet with translations of words which are in the prayer.
Then the kids have to read the prayer, translate it, and copy it out in script. Which is most of the skills we're trying to teach.
I wanted to share the translation of Modeh Ani which they came up with.
Modeh Ani is the prayer that you say in the morning when you wake up. In many families, it is one of the first prayers that small children are taught; in other families, people are entirely unaware of its existence. I like it for teaching purposes, partially because it doesn't have G-d's name in it, so I don't have to be super-careful about the sheets of paper.
Here's a fairly standard translation of the prayer:
I offer thanks before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great.
Here's the translation my kids came up with:
I give thanks to your face, King who is life and forever, because you have given back to me my soul with compassion; there is lots of your faithfulness.
Can I just say that I really like "King who is life and forever" as a description of G-d? And they like "to your face" because they see that as the opposite of "behind your back". You're offering thanks to G-d directly, y'know -- you're saying it to Its face.
Which is correct and all, but the way they put it sounds better.
Also, when I asked them to explain what they felt the prayer was about, Julian came up with, "My grandfather says, every morning, 'Well, one more day above ground.' I think that's what the prayer is about."
Julian +1.
I say "theoretically", because I don't. There is no measurable difference between the Hebrew knowledge on the kids in my group and the ones in Larry's, and, instead, I think the point is to give me the kids who are harder to control, because I'm better at dealing with them.
I have, of course, totally ignored the Hebrew textbook which we're supposed to be using, because I ignore textbooks. Don't like 'em. They give you, y'know, structure and rules and a tested and proven way to teach stuff, which makes things easier for the teacher. What's the challenge?
Instead, I'm photocopying things out of various large-print siddurim I have lying around my house (because I have learning disabilities, and have trouble reading out of normal-sized-print siddurim). With, y'know, Post-it-note tape blocking out any translations and transliterations that the book has. And then I also write out a sheet with translations of words which are in the prayer.
Then the kids have to read the prayer, translate it, and copy it out in script. Which is most of the skills we're trying to teach.
I wanted to share the translation of Modeh Ani which they came up with.
Modeh Ani is the prayer that you say in the morning when you wake up. In many families, it is one of the first prayers that small children are taught; in other families, people are entirely unaware of its existence. I like it for teaching purposes, partially because it doesn't have G-d's name in it, so I don't have to be super-careful about the sheets of paper.
Here's a fairly standard translation of the prayer:
I offer thanks before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great.
Here's the translation my kids came up with:
I give thanks to your face, King who is life and forever, because you have given back to me my soul with compassion; there is lots of your faithfulness.
Can I just say that I really like "King who is life and forever" as a description of G-d? And they like "to your face" because they see that as the opposite of "behind your back". You're offering thanks to G-d directly, y'know -- you're saying it to Its face.
Which is correct and all, but the way they put it sounds better.
Also, when I asked them to explain what they felt the prayer was about, Julian came up with, "My grandfather says, every morning, 'Well, one more day above ground.' I think that's what the prayer is about."
Julian +1.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-18 08:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-18 08:14 pm (UTC)"I give thanks to your face." :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-18 08:20 pm (UTC)LPNYC. Lamed, Pay, Nun, Yud, Chaf.
In Hebrew, "Pay" has two sounds, "p" and "f" (we can see vestiges of this in English -- a lot of times, when a Phoneiacn letter has two sounds, in English, putting an "h" after the equivalent letter turns it into the other sound: "s/sh", "t/th", "c/ch" (maybe sorta), "p/ph").
Lamed can be a prefex meaning "to". A final chaf can be a second-person posessive marker.
So, you've got the root word "pay nun yod", which means "face."
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-18 08:17 pm (UTC)I really like and respect the fact that as a Hebrew school teacher you really try to involve your kids. You let the material mean something to them, and you respect the meaning that they find in it even when it isn't exactly what you intended to teach.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-18 08:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-18 08:24 pm (UTC)FYI: Post-its
Date: 2006-12-18 08:23 pm (UTC)I use post-its mostly to leave notes attached to my computer monitor, or scribble things on them, fold them so they won't stick where not wanted, and tuck them in my pocket or wallet. I don't know whether I'm being unnecessarily cautious with books, or taking good care, especially with library and other borroed books;
Re: FYI: Post-its
Date: 2006-12-18 08:31 pm (UTC)That said, my mother's siddur that she uses to lead services from is all marked up with post-its that have, some of them, been there for years, and no damage yet. . .
I third the second
Date: 2006-12-18 08:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-19 02:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-19 04:14 am (UTC)I "third" the book idea! If you didn't feel comfortable making money from something your students helped create, perhaps it could be set up as a source of income for the Community or School.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-19 04:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-19 05:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-19 09:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-19 02:11 pm (UTC)