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Parent guide · Grade 1 Russian · Unit 3

Lesson 3.1 Понеде́льник, вто́рник, среда́

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
Say Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Russian. Say Сего́дня… (today is…). Look at a painting of a village school reading.
You need
  • Seven strips of colored paper
  • Tape or glue
  • Crayons
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video ())

Steps

  1. Do this together: How many days are in a week? Count them on your fingers. Today you learn the first three in Russian.

  2. Read aloud: The story. More than a hundred years ago, the painter Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky was a poor village boy who was taught by a kind teacher at a country school. When he grew up, he painted that school again and again. In this painting, the grown-ups of the village have come to the school on a Sunday. The teacher sits at the table reading aloud, and fathers, mothers, grandfathers and children crowd in to listen.

    Read aloud: How Russian sounds. Понеде́льник is a long word: puh-nee-DYEL’-neek. Вто́рник is FTOHR-neek. Среда́ is sree-DAH. To say today is Monday, say Сего́дня понеде́льник. Сего́дня is a funny word: the г sounds like v, see-VOHD-nyuh.

    Read aloud: Say it and move. Stretch and yawn, the week is starting: понеде́льник! Hold up two fingers: вто́рник! Put your hands in the middle: среда́! (Среда́ is the middle of the week.)

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

    • понеде́льник (ponedelnik) [puh-nee-DYEHL-neek]: Monday
    • вто́рник (vtornik) [FTOHR-neek]: Tuesday
    • среда́ (sreda) [sree-DAH]: Wednesday
    • сего́дня (segodnya) [see-VOHD-nyuh]: today
  4. A crowded wooden schoolroom: a teacher in a dark coat sits reading at a green table by the window, and bearded village men, women in head scarves and children stand and sit close around, listening.
    Sunday Reading in a Village School, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky, 1895. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

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

    Read aloud: Bogdanov-Belsky never forgot the teacher who helped him. Here everyone, young and old, has come to listen and learn. Look how close together they stand!

    Point and find:

    • Who is reading?
    • Find the children. What are they doing?
    • How many grown-ups can you count?
    • Is it bright or dark in the room?

    Ask:

    • “What do you do on Sunday?”
    • “Who reads to you?”

  5. Show: What day comes after Monday? Say it in Russian.

    Say this: “After Monday comes Tuesday.”

    Say this: “Tuesday is вто́рник.”

    Answer: Вто́рник.

    Show: Today is Wednesday. Say it in Russian.

    Say this: “Today is сего́дня.”

    Say this: “Wednesday is среда́.”

    Answer: Сего́дня среда́.

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

    Ask: Say Monday in Russian.

    Listen for: Понеде́льник.

    Ask: Say Tuesday in Russian.

    Listen for: Вто́рник.

    Ask: Say Wednesday in Russian.

    Listen for: Среда́.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make a paper chain with one link for each day of the week.

    Steps:

    1. A parent writes one Russian day on each strip: понеде́льник, вто́рник, среда́, четве́рг, пя́тница, суббо́та, воскресе́нье.
    2. Today, make the first three links in order and say each day.
    3. Next lesson, add the other four.
    4. Hang the chain and touch today’s link each morning: Сего́дня….

    Tips for you:

    • Make Sunday’s link gold or yellow.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My chain has the first days in order.
    • I can say them in Russian.

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

    1. In your picture dictionary, draw what you do on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A parent writes понеде́льник, вто́рник and среда́.

  9. Read aloud: The Russian names of the days tell a story. Вто́рник comes from the word for second, and среда́ means the middle. So Tuesday is “the second day” and Wednesday is “the middle day.”

    • Saying the г in сего́дня like a g. It sounds like v: see-VOHD-nyuh.
    • Saying VTOR-nik with a v. Before т the в sounds like f: FTOHR-neek.

  11. Lay three papers on the floor with the first three days. The child hops from one to the next, saying each day. Then a parent calls a day and the child jumps on it.

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

    Listen for: Say Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Russian.; Say Сего́дня… (today is…).; Look at a painting of a village school reading.

  13. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

    Psalm 118:24 (KJV)

    In the Russian Bible (Synodal translation), this verse reads: <i class="ru-bible" lang="ru">Сей день сотворил Господь: возрадуемся и возвеселимся в оный</i> (Psalm 117:24 in the Russian numbering) Every day is a gift from God, Monday as much as Sunday. We can be glad in each one.

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.