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Parent guide · Grade 2 Biblical Hebrew · Unit 2

Lesson 2.1 Look-Alike Letters

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
Tell apart bet and kaf, dalet and resh, he, chet and tav. Tell apart vav, zayin and end-nun, and samekh and end-mem. Find look-alikes in a Bible verse.
You need
  • Card stock
  • Scissors and tape
  • A marker
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:12))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Look at two family members or two pets that look alike. How do you tell them apart? There is always a little clue. Hebrew letters have look-alikes too, and each pair has a clue.

  2. Read aloud: The story. When Moses came down Mount Sinai with the stone tablets, he carried God’s words written by God Himself. Every letter mattered. David wrote: Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. To hide God’s word in your heart, you have to read it carefully, letter by letter.

    Read aloud: The clues. ב bet has a foot at the bottom right; כ kaf is round with no foot. ד dalet has a sharp corner; ר resh is round. ה he has a gap at the top left; ח chet is closed; ת tav has a foot at the bottom left. ו vav has a small hook; ז zayin has a cap on both sides; ן end-nun drops below the line. ס samekh is round; ם end-mem is square.

    Read aloud: Practice. Cover all but one letter with your hand and name it. Then check the clue. Go slowly: speed comes later.

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

    • לֵב (lev) [LAYV]: heart
    • ד (dalet) [DAH-let]: the letter dalet: d
    • ר (resh) [RAYSH]: the letter resh: r
    • ח (chet) [KHAYT]: the letter chet: kh, the rough throaty sound of Bach
  4. Moses, with two beams of light shining from his head, stands on a rocky mountain ledge holding the two stone tablets of the law in his arms, while clouds and light swirl behind him and the people wait far below.
    Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

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

    Read aloud: Gustave Doré was a French artist who made more than two hundred engravings for the Bible. Here Moses brings down the second set of tablets, and his face shines because he has been with God (Exodus 34:29).

    Point and find:

    • What is Moses carrying?
    • Find the light shining from his head.
    • Is Moses high up or low down?
    • What is the weather like on the mountain?

    Ask:

    • “Why did Moses’ face shine?”
    • “How can you hide God’s word in your heart?”

  5. Show: Name the first letter: בְּלִבִּי

    Say this: “Look for the foot at the bottom right.”

    Say this: “It has one: bet.”

    Answer: Bet.

    Show: Is this he or chet? ח

    Say this: “Look at the top left.”

    Say this: “There is no gap: it is closed.”

    Answer: Chet.

    Show: Is this vav or end-nun? ן

    Say this: “Does it drop below the line?”

    Answer: End-nun (it drops below the line).

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

    Ask: Name: ד

    Listen for: Dalet.

    Ask: Name: ר

    Listen for: Resh.

    Ask: Name: כ

    Listen for: Kaf.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make lift-the-flap cards that hide the clue.

    Steps:

    1. Write each look-alike pair on a card: ב כ, ד ר, ה ח, ו ז, ס ם.
    2. Tape a little paper flap over the clue on each letter.
    3. Ask someone to name the letters, then lift the flap to check the clue.

    Tips for you:

    • Make the clues clear: a strong foot, a sharp corner, an open gap.

    Done when your child can say:

    • I have five pair cards.
    • I can explain each clue.

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

    1. Copy the five look-alike pairs and circle the clue on each letter.

  9. Read aloud: Even careful scribes sometimes confused dalet and resh. Bible scholars still find places where old copies differ by just one of these letters.

    • Guessing from the shape quickly. Stop and look for the clue.
    • Mixing tav ת and chet ח: tav has a foot.

  11. The parent flashes a look-alike card for one second. Name it. If you are right, take a step; if wrong, freeze for a turn. First across the room wins.

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

    Listen for: Tell apart bet and kaf, dalet and resh, he, chet and tav.; Tell apart vav, zayin and end-nun, and samekh and end-mem.; Find look-alikes in a Bible verse.

  13. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

    Psalm 119:11 (KJV)

    In Hebrew, from the Leningrad Codex: <span class="heb-block" lang="he" dir="rtl">בְּלִבִּי צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ</span> This verse is in the bet stanza too. Find the first word, belibbi, in my heart: bet, lamed, bet, yod. Look closely at the two bets with their feet.

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.