School Launch

Parent guide · Grade 1 Biblical Hebrew · Unit 5

Lesson 5.2 Shin and Tav: The Whole Alef-Bet

Written for the parent. The Read aloud parts are written to your child; read them as they are. Do this parts are for you. Answers for you are marked Listen for.

At a glance

Time
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes
Goal
Point to shin and tav and say their names. Tell shin שׁ (sh) from sin שׂ (s). Say all 22 letters in order.
You need
  • A long strip of paper
  • Crayons
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (5:34))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Look out the window. Where is the sun right now? In the morning it rises in the east; in the evening it goes down in the west. The Bible says God’s name is to be praised all day long, from sunrise to sunset.

  2. Read aloud: The story. Psalm 113 says: From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised. The word for sun is שֶׁמֶשׁ, shemesh, with a shin at both ends. And Psalm 119, the great alphabet psalm, ends its last stanza with tav, the last letter, still praising God’s תּוֹרָה, torah, His law. From alef to tav, from sunrise to sunset, God is worthy of praise.

    Read aloud: How Hebrew sounds. Shin has three arms, like a crown or teeth. With its dot on the right, שׁ, it says sh; with the dot on the left, שׂ, it is called sin and says s. Tav says t; it has a little foot at the bottom left. Say SHEEN, SEEN, TAHV, SHEH-mesh, toh-RAH.

    Read aloud: Say it and move. Hold up three fingers: Shin! Spread your arms like the rising sun: shemesh! Make a cross with two fingers: Tav! Then say all 22 letters, clapping on each one.

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

    • ש (shin / sin) [SHEEN / SEEN]: the letter shin / sin: sh with the dot on the right
    • ת (tav) [TAHV]: the letter tav: t
    • שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) [SHEH-mesh]: sun
    • תּוֹרָה (torah) [toh-RAH]: law, teaching
  4. A blazing sunset fills the sky with streaks of red, orange and gold clouds above dark blue mountains; below, a quiet river winds through dark forest, and a twisted bare tree leans in from the right where a small bird perches on a branch at the left edge.
    Twilight in the Wilderness, Frederic Edwin Church, 1860. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

    Do this: Look at the picture together for a quiet minute before anyone talks.

    Read aloud: Frederic Church was an American painter who traveled to wild places to paint God’s creation. He painted this sunset in the woods of Maine. When people first saw it, many said they felt as though they were watching the sun go down themselves.

    Point and find:

    • Where is the sun going down?
    • What colors can you find in the clouds?
    • Find the river.
    • Is it morning or evening? How can you tell?

    Ask:

    • “Why might looking at a sunset make someone want to praise God?”
    • “What do you thank God for at the end of a day?”

  5. Show: Does this say sh or s? שׂ

    Say this: “Look for the dot.”

    Say this: “Dot on the right: sh; on the left: s.”

    Answer: s (sin): the dot is on the left.

    Show: Which is chet and which is tav? ח ת

    Say this: “Tav has a little foot at the bottom left.”

    Answer: ח (right) is chet; ת (left) is tav.

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

    Ask: What does shemesh mean?

    Listen for: Sun.

    Ask: Which letter is last?

    Listen for: Tav.

    Ask: Say shin and tav.

    Listen for: SHEEN, TAHV.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make a long alef-bet strip that goes from a sunrise to a sunset.

    Steps:

    1. At the right end, draw a sunrise; at the left end, a sunset.
    2. Between them, write all 22 letters in order from right to left.
    3. Write שֶׁמֶשׁ above the sunrise.
    4. Read the letters from sunrise to sunset.

    Tips for you:

    • Check each letter against your chart; watch the look-alikes (ב כ, ד ר, ה ח ת).

    Done when your child can say:

    • My strip has all 22 letters in order.
    • I can say them all.

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

    1. Write שׁ and שׂ and mark the dots. Write ת. Draw the sun beside שֶׁמֶשׁ.
    2. On the last page, write the whole alef-bet.

  9. Read aloud: Tav became the Greek tau and our letter T. Its oldest form was a simple mark like a small cross (Ezekiel 9:4 speaks of setting a mark, a tav, on foreheads).

    • Ignoring the dot on shin. Right dot: sh; left dot: s.
    • Mixing tav ת and chet ח. Tav has a foot at the bottom left.

  11. Scatter all 22 letter cards on the floor. Race to line them up in order from right to left while the parent times you. Then try to beat your time. For the last round, name a word for every letter you can.

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

    Listen for: Point to shin and tav and say their names.; Tell shin שׁ (sh) from sin שׂ (s).; Say all 22 letters in order.

  13. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised.

    Psalm 113:3 (KJV)

    In Hebrew, from the Leningrad Codex: <span class="heb-block" lang="he" dir="rtl">מִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁמֶשׁ עַד־מְבוֹאוֹ מְהֻלָּל שֵׁם יְהוָה</span> The first two words mean from the rising of the sun. Find shemesh, the sun, joined to the first word with a little dash (a maqqef).

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. Picture study and 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.