Lesson 5.1 Resh, the Head

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this together: Touch your head, then your shoulders, knees and toes. Do it faster! Today’s letter began as a picture of a head, and you will learn a Hebrew song about head, belly and knees.

2. Teach the new idea

   Read aloud: The story. David wrote: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In Hebrew: יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר. The word for my shepherd, רֹעִי, ro‘i, begins with resh. A shepherd walks at the head of his sheep and leads them; David had done that himself as a boy.

   Read aloud: How Hebrew sounds. Resh says r. It looks like a head bowed forward, round at the top right corner. Be careful: dalet ד has a sharp corner that sticks out; resh ר is smooth and round. Say RAYSH, ROHSH, roh-EE.

   Read aloud: Say it and move. Pat your head: Resh! rosh! Pretend to hold a shepherd’s staff and lead your sheep: ro‘i! Draw a sharp corner in the air for dalet and a round one for resh.

3. New words

   Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

   • ר (resh) [RAYSH]: the letter resh: r
   • רֹאשׁ (rosh) [ROHSH]: head
   • רֹעִי (ro‘i) [roh-EE]: my shepherd
   • בֶּטֶן (beten) [BEH-ten]: belly
4. Show how

   Show: Which is dalet and which is resh? ד ר

   Say this: “Dalet has a sharp corner that sticks out.”

   Say this: “Resh is round.”

   Answer: ד (right) is dalet; ר (left) is resh.

   Show: What does ro‘i mean?

   Say this: “It is in Psalm 23:1.”

   Answer: My shepherd.

5. Practice together

   Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

   Ask: What picture did resh begin as?

   Listen for: A head.

   Ask: What does rosh mean?

   Listen for: Head.

   Ask: Say resh.

   Listen for: RAYSH.

   3 more on the lesson page.

6. Project: Shepherd puppet

   Read aloud: Make a shepherd puppet with a resh on his head.

   Steps:

   1. Draw a shepherd’s face on the bag.
   2. Write a big ר on his head-covering and רֹאשׁ underneath.
   3. Make a cotton-ball sheep.
   4. Use the puppet to say: The LORD is my shepherd, יְהוָה רֹעִי.

   Tips for you:

   • Resh is round at the corner; dalet is sharp.

   Done when your child can say:

   • My shepherd has a ר.
   • I can say resh, rosh and ro‘i.
7. Sketchbook

   Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

   1. Write ר and ד side by side and circle the round corner and the sharp one. Draw a head beside רֹאשׁ.
8. From history

   Read aloud: Resh became the Greek rho, written P, and the Latin and English R.

9. Watch for
   • Mixing resh ר and dalet ד. Feel the corner: dalet is sharp, resh is round.
   • Mixing resh ר and end-kaf ך. End-kaf drops below the line.
10. Game: Head, belly, knees

    Sing rosh u-veten u-virkayim with the motions. Then the parent calls the words out of order (veten! rosh! birkayim!) and you touch the right part as fast as you can.

11. Narration

    Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Point to resh and say its name.; Tell resh ר from dalet ד.; Say rosh (head) and ro‘i (my shepherd).

12. Scripture

    A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

    In Hebrew, from the Leningrad Codex: <span class="heb-block" lang="he" dir="rtl">יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר</span> This is David’s shepherd psalm. Find ro‘i, my shepherd, the second word here: it begins with resh, the head letter.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Show how.
2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.