Lesson 4.1 Лес, де́рево, берёза

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this together: Go outside or look out the window. How many trees can you see? Today you learn tree words in Russian.

2. Teach the new idea

   Read aloud: The story. Isaac Levitan loved to paint the Russian countryside. One summer he painted a grove of birch trees, the tree Russians love best. The white trunks with black marks stand in the green grass, and sunlight comes down through the leaves in bright spots. Levitan worked on this little painting for several summers to get the light just right.

   Read aloud: How Russian sounds. Лес is lyes. Де́рево is DYEH-ree-vuh. Берёза is bee-RYOH-zuh: the dots on ё mean it is loud. Лист is leest, and гриб is greep.

   Read aloud: Say it and move. Stand tall with your arms up: де́рево! Wave your fingers like leaves: лист! Crouch down small: гриб! Turn around slowly with your arms out: лес!

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.

   • лес [lyehs]: forest
   • де́рево [DYEH-ree-vuh]: tree
   • берёза [bee-RYOH-zuh]: birch
   • лист [leest]: leaf
   • гриб [greep]: mushroom
4. Picture study: Birch Grove

   

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

   Read aloud: Look at the spots of sunlight. Levitan wanted us to feel what it is like to stand in a birch grove on a summer day, with the light flickering through the leaves.

   Point and find:

   • What color are the birch trunks?
   • Where do you see sunlight?
   • Is it summer or winter? How do you know?
   • How many trees can you count?

   Ask:

   • “What would you do in this grove?”
   • “What is your favorite kind of tree?”
5. Show how

   Show: Name the tree with white bark in Russian.

   Say this: “Birches have white bark.”

   Say this: “Birch is берёза.”

   Answer: Берёза.

   Show: Read this word: Л-Е-С.

   Say this: “Л says l, Е says yeh, С says s.”

   Say this: “Together: lyes.”

   Answer: Лес : forest.

6. Practice together

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

   Ask: Say forest in Russian.

   Listen for: Лес.

   Ask: Say tree in Russian.

   Listen for: Де́рево.

   Ask: Say leaf and mushroom in Russian.

   Listen for: Лист, гриб.

   2 more on the lesson page.

7. Project: Leaf rubbings

   Read aloud: Collect leaves and make crayon rubbings, labeled in Russian.

   Steps:

   1. Collect three or four different leaves.
   2. Put a leaf under the paper and rub the side of a crayon over it until the leaf appears.
   3. Label each rubbing лист.
   4. Draw a tree and a mushroom too, and label them де́рево and гриб.

   Tips for you:

   • If you find a birch leaf, label it берёза!

   Done when your child can say:

   • I made leaf rubbings.
   • I can name leaf, tree and mushroom in Russian.
8. Sketchbook

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

   1. In your notebook, draw a birch tree with its white bark and a mushroom under it. Write берёза and гриб with a parent’s help.
9. From history

   Read aloud: Russians love to go mushroom picking in the forest in late summer and autumn. Whole families go out with baskets, and grandparents teach children which mushrooms are good to eat and which are poisonous. Never eat a wild mushroom unless a grown-up who knows them says it is safe!

10. Watch for
    • Saying de-RE-vo. The loud part is first: DYEH-ree-vuh.
    • Saying grib with a b sound at the end. At the end of a word б sounds like p: greep.
11. Game: Forest walk

    Take a walk outside. Whoever spots a tree, a leaf or a mushroom first says its Russian name and gets a point.

12. Narration

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

    Listen for: Name forest, tree, birch, leaf and mushroom in Russian.; Find birches in a Levitan painting.; Thank God for the trees.

13. Scripture

    And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

    In the Russian Bible (Synodal translation), this verse reads: <i class="ru-bible" lang="ru">Посмотрите на полевые лилии, как они растут</i> Jesus told us to look at the flowers of the field. God makes them beautiful, and He cares for us even more.

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.