Parent guide · Grade 2 Biblical Hebrew · Unit 3
Lesson 3.2 Reading Ba, Da, Ga
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
- Read letter-and-ah pairs quickly. Read short words with ah: יָד, דָּג, הַר, אָב. Read a closed syllable: letter + vowel + letter.
- You need
- Paper fish with a paper clip on each
- A stick with a string and magnet (or just pick by hand)
- A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
- A King James Bible
- Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (5:42))
Steps
Do this together: Clap and chant: ba, ba, ba; da, da, da; ga, ga, ga. Now you will read those sounds in Hebrew letters, and then put them together into real Bible words.
Read aloud: The story. Psalm 136 was sung in the temple with a repeated answer after every line: for his mercy endureth for ever. The singers called out a line, and everyone answered together: כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ. It begins: O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good.
Read aloud: How to read. Read letter + vowel together as one beat: בָּ bah, גַּ gah, דָּ dah. If a letter comes after the vowel with no vowel of its own, add it to the end of the beat: דָּג = dah + g = dahg. הַר = hah + r = hahr. אָב = ah + v = ahv (alef is quiet, so you just hear ah).
Read aloud: Practice. Read slowly, then faster: bah, dah, gah; dahg, hahr, ahv, yahd.
Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.
- דָּג (dag) [DAHG]: fish
- הַר (har) [HAHR]: mountain
- אָב (av) [AHV]: father
- גַּם (gam) [GAHM]: also
Show: Read: דָּג
Say this: “dalet with dot + qamets = dah.”
Say this: “gimel at the end = g.”
Answer: dahg (dag, fish).
Show: Read: אָב
Say this: “Alef is quiet + qamets = ah.”
Say this: “Bet without a dot at the end = v.”
Answer: ahv (av, father).
Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: בָּ
Listen for: bah.
Ask: Read: מַ
Listen for: mah.
Ask: Read: שָׁ
Listen for: shah.
3 more on the lesson page.
Read aloud: Make a fishing game with word fish.
Steps:
- Write a pair or word on each fish: בָּ, דָּ, גַּ, מָ, יָד, דָּג, הַר, אָב.
- Put the fish in a “pond” (a bowl or a blanket).
- Catch a fish and read it. Keep it if you read it correctly.
Tips for you:
- Make one fish say דָּג: a fish called fish!
Done when your child can say:
- I can read every fish.
- I know what דָּג, הַר, יָד and אָב mean.
Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.
- Copy and read: בָּ דָּ גַּ מָ לָ, then יָד דָּג הַר אָב, and draw each word.
Read aloud: Hebrew children in Bible times learned to read by chanting letter-and-vowel pairs, much as you are doing now.
- Forgetting the last letter of a syllable. דָּג is dahg, not dah.
- Reading bet at the end of אָב as b. It has no dot: v.
Chalk or tape a hopscotch with a pair in each square (בָּ דָּ גַּ מָ לָ נָ). Hop and read each square you land on.
Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”
Listen for: Read letter-and-ah pairs quickly.; Read short words with ah: יָד, דָּג, הַר, אָב.; Read a closed syllable: letter + vowel + letter.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
In Hebrew, from the Leningrad Codex: <span class="heb-block" lang="he" dir="rtl">הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־טוֹב</span> This is the first verse of the thanksgiving psalm. Find la- (patach under lamed) at the start of the second word, and tov, good, in the third.
Spread over the week
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.
- Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Show how.
- Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
- Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.