BEGINNERS (Alpha NETA)

Curriculum

BEGINNERS (Alpha NETA) This level is designed for students with no or very little knowledge of Hebrew. However, it assumes mastery of the Alef-Bet and the skill of reading in print and in cursive, both without the vowels (nikkud). Upon completion of this level, students will be able to discuss the content of the books, using the vocabulary, syntax, and morphology learned in the books correctly, city and neighborhood; home; Shabbat and holidays; the Jewish daily schedule including prayer and time-bound commandments; family; hobbies and collections; leisure activities; parties; travel; books and movies; classmates; schoolwork; health and doctor s visits; mood; daily schedule; placing an order in a restaurant; eliciting information about public transportation; shopping; allowance; communication in the modern world; television commercials; attitudes towards animals; relationships between people and animals; friendship and responsibilities towards friends; clothing and fashion; youth movements and volunteer activities; art by Jewish and Israeli artists; personal and communal visions of the future, all as seen through the prism of the daily lives of 23 Israeli teenagers and comparisons to the lives of the students simple nominal and verbal clauses, and sentences with such common coordinating conjunctions as ve (and), gam (also), and aval (but); use of the definite article; agreement of subject and predicate and of adjective and noun; building complete sentences with correct word order and using various adjectives for subject and object

Morphology Verbs forming masculine and feminine singulars and plurals in nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the present tense; cardinal number adjectives with masculine and feminine nouns; serial numbers from 1-1999 in the masculine and feminine; basic form of the construct state (smichut); prefixes and suffixes of the past and future tense in all regular verb patterns; the preposition et (the definite direct object marker) and definite prepositions such as b, l', m', shel, and im; interrogatives (question words); expression of cause with ki'; pronouns + yachol (can) and zarich (must) in the present tense infinitives and present tense of the following verb patterns in the regular root form: Paal, Piel, Hifil, Hitpael; selected irregular root forms in the present tense

INTERMEDIATE Bishvil Ha-Ivrit 3 Unit 1: Not Just Black and White Lo Rak Shachor Lavan syntax, and morphology learned correctly, fluently, and naturally in various contexts, in speech and the function of color in nature; the symbolism of colors in different cultures; shape and colors in art; shapes in the alphabet; the meaning of Jewish symbols; hypocrites and hypocrisy (in Hebrew, the word hypocrisy and the word color have the same root ancient and modern maps and using maps to ;צ ב ע) navigate; conversations about choosing clothes and matching colors; designs for the school of the future nominal sentences of the type hashatiach yashan in all three tenses. Morphology conjugation of the word shel (of); and phonetic patterns of colors and shapes Verbs, Round 1 Paal in all three tenses in the regular root form

Unit 2: Mood and Weather Mimezeg Avir L matzav Ruach global warming and cooling; protecting the environment; animal behavior in different seasons; world calendar; humor related to weather; life in different climates and the effect of climate on human behavior; man and landscape in Israel; conversations about planning a trip in different seasons; the connection between weather and mood; pet behavior in winter and summer impersonal sentences of the type bachoref mitpalelim legeshem Morphology conjugation of the preposition et (the definite direct object marker) Verbs, Round 1 Piel in all three tenses in the regular root form

Unit 3: Save and Remember Shamor V zachor ways to document the past including photography (how reliable are photographs? what are the goals of photography?) ; old and new photographs and conversations about them; the importance of archeology and history; Biblical stories of preservation and memory (Noah and the Flood, Abraham in Sodom); group and personal time capsules; protecting animal and plant species; why study history; why and how to remember nominal clauses yesh (there is/are) and ein (there isn t/aren t) in the three tenses; verbs of desire ratza (wanted) kiva (hoped) (of the type : anachnu rotzim she-yihyeh/tihyeh/yihyu + noun); conjugation of the similarity markers oto/ota/otam/otan Verbs, Round 1 Hitpael in all three tenses in the root form

Unit 4: Friends Forever Kishrey Ksharim What s a true friend? ; apologies and reconciliation, communication between animals; relationships between people and animals; conversations about types of friendships; friendship on social networks; the function of social networks in shaping society nominal clauses yesh le /ein le (has/doesn t have) in all three tenses Morphology conjugation of the preposition im (with) Verbs, Round 1 Hifil in all three tenses in the regular root form

Unit 5: To Learn and to Teach Lilmod U-lelamed traditions in learning and teaching reading; Why learn?; the freedom and the right to learn; animal learning; types of teachers and students; conversations about submitting school projects; ways to study for tests; learning at home/ learning at school impersonal expressions such as (lo) kedai ((not) worthwhile), (i) efshar (it is/isn t possible); (lo) tzarich (there is (no) need), asur (forbidden)/ mutar (permitted) + infinitive and the associated personal combinations such as kedai li, kedai lecha (worth + preposition); (ani) yachol ((I) can),(ani) tzarich ((I) can); asur le /mutar le ((forbidden to)/(permitted to)) Verbs, Round 1 Nifal in all three tenses in the regular root form

Bishvil Ha-Ivrit 4 Unit 1: The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of Hayinu K cholmim Why sleep?; how to fall asleep easily and sleep well; what we can learn from animals sleep; dreamers and dreams in the Bible; beliefs and customs related to dreams in different cultures; conversations about dream interpretation; legends as the dreams of nations; the function of lullabies; personal aspirations and dreams of Israeli youth and of the students purpose phrases and clauses k dey (in order to) and k dey sh (in order that) Morphology conjugation of the preposition min (from); construct state (smichut) Verbs, Round 2 1 conjugation of Paal in all three tenses in the regular root form 1 Round 2: In Bishvil Ha-Ivrit 4, students acquire more verbs in each of the active verb patterns in the regular root form (shlemim) and start using the verbs in context. They learn to use the patterns correctly, using context and syntax, in speech and

Unit 2: Take Your Time Lokchim T zman different attitudes about time, from stress and the drive to accomplish to procrastination and indifference to time; the attitude to time in a foundational Biblical event - the Binding of Isaac; immediacy and synchronicity in the modern world; jet lag; clocks in history, hurrying vs. waiting in the history of Zionism and a related halachic discussion; types of people and their attitude to time; conversations about the advantages and disadvantages of speed and slowness time expressions and phrases: lifnei (sh ) (before), acharei (sh ) (after), b zman (sh ) (at the same time as), ke sh (when) Morphology conjugation of the preposition al (on, about) Verbs, Round 2 conjugation of Piel in all three tenses in the regular root form

Unit 3: Reading, reading, reading and writing Siman Kria the history of the book; the history of the alphabet; choosing books; the power of stories and of storyteller; legends in today s world; writing ability and writing seminars; how to write a poem; conversations about reading in the world of computers, the future of reading, different people s attitude about books complex sentences of the type Ani koreh et ha-sefer sh yatza hashavua Morphology conjugation of the preposition etzel (at) Verbs, Round 2 conjugation of Hifil in all three tenses in the regular root form

Unit 4: What s Your Name? Eich Kor im Lecha how names are chosen in Israel; the history of names in Israel; Hebraization of names and keeping non-hebrew names; Hebrew names of flowers and plants; non-hebrew and Hebrew names of Israeli companies; how Israeli place names are chosen; the history of Jerusalem and Israel as seen via the city s names; conversations about nicknames; unusual names; the meaning of names concessive expressions and sentences (lamrot (despite); af al pi sh (although)) Morphology conjugation of the preposition biladey (without) Verbs, Round 2 conjugation of Hitpael in all three tenses in the regular root form

Unit 5: The Truth of the Matter Al Sfat Haemet What is truth?; Why do people lie?; ethical dilemmas and stages in moral reasoning; the value of truth; identifying liars; When does exaggeration become a lie?; imposters in nature plant and animal disguises; the media and lies; conversations about advertisements and truth; spying, trust and suspicion causal expressions and sentences (mipnei sh, mikeyvan sh, biglal (because)) Verbs, Round 2 conjugation of Nifal in all three tenses in the regular root form

ADVANCED Bishvil Ha-Ivrit 5 Unit 1: Be a Sport! Hachi Hachi definitions of sport; ways to improve world records; sports in Jewish sources; the attitude of Judaism to sports; the character of a sports fan; comparisons between different sports; sports and politics; using animals in sports; conversations about attitudes of different people towards sports; careers in sports; effort, danger, and competitiveness; soccer and basketball fans comparative clauses (pachot m (less than)/ yoter m (more than)); superlatives (hachi (most) and beyoter (the most)) Verbs 2 Paal - gerunds in the regular root form and in common irregular root forms 2 In Bishvil Ha-Ivrit 5 students learn the gerunds of the five active verb patterns in the regular root form and in common irregular root forms, via pattern recognition (as in round 1) and via meaning and context (as in round 2).

Unit 2: Behind the Mask Ha-emet M achorei Ha-masecha Do clothes make the man/woman?; Do masks hide or reveal personal truth?; the internet as a masquerade ball; camouflage and survival in nature; theater and acting; fables about animals that disguise themselves; linguistic disguises non-hebrew words that change their form in Hebrew; maintaining a separate national identity vs. assimilation from Megillat Esther through today; medical clowns why and how?; masks in the world; conversations about costumes; style and fashion; clothes in our lives; identities different forms of adverbs of the type: hu medaber yafeh/b nimus/b ofen retzini/b tzura tova Morphology conjugation of the word etzem: atzmi, atzmecha after prepositions: b atzmi, l atzmi, et atzmi Verbs Piel - gerunds in the regular root form and in common irregular root forms

Unit 3: Wanderings Vayisu V yachanu Why do people wander and why do they travel?; What are people searching for when they travel far from home?; backpacking trips; the wanderings of the 10 tribes legends and testimony; the wandering of the Hebrew language; Jewish traveler jokes; life as a journey reflections on the need to travel; conversations between different types of travelers; preparations for a trip and adventures along the way Verbs Hifil - gerunds in the regular root form and in common irregular root forms

Unit 4: All Together Now Yachad What is a group?; When do several people become a group?; social behavior in animals; experiments related to social pressure and the influence of the group on the individual,; the attitude of the group towards the other; Jewish attitudes on an individual s obligation to the group; excommunication in Jewish history; the kibbutz history and memories; changes in kibbutzim; conversations about social pressure on social networks; consolidation of groups; thoughts on life on an urban kibbutz adversative constructions lo (no/not) ela (rather); copula (connecter): hu, hi, hem, hen (he, she, they) Morphology summary of conjugation of prepositions in the singular (et, l,im, ) and plural (el, al, lifne, m al ) Verbs Hitpael - gerunds in the regular root form and in common irregular root forms

Unit 5: The Right Person at the Right Time Ha adam Hanachon Bazman Hanachon Who is a leader?; a leader advances peace; analysis of the traits of a Biblical leader; types of leaders and leadership; advancing women s leadership; humor as a leadership tool and as criticism of leaders; conversations about the need for a leader; identifying a leader in a social group The final chapter in the unit is a model for developing a research project about a famous leader organizing the information, using source texts, integrating opinions about the leader, etc. adversative phrases (l umat, v ilu, b nigud l (as opposed to) ); comparison phrases (k shem sh (kach), k fi sh, b domeh l. (just as)) Morphology Declension of regular and irregular nouns in singular and plural Verbs Nifal - gerunds in the regular root form and in common irregular root forms

Books 21-25 In these books, the emphasis is on content, enriching vocabulary and providing an encounter with longer and more sophisticated texts and issues, and less grammar is taught in these books. Book 21: Let Freedom Ring L hiyot Chofshi the meaning of freedom and its limitations and advantages; the rights of the individual; human rights, such as children s rights and minority rights; the concept of freedom and its meanings in different periods in 20th century Israel; Book 22: Journey Forth Lech Lecha emigration and immigration, absorption of immigrants, and reasons for immigration; waves of immigration to the Land of Israel and the causes for each wave of immigration, hardships encountered by Olim (immigrants to Israel); the contribution of the Olim to Israeli society; conversations between new immigrants and longtime residents of Israel, between immigrants of different Aliyot (waves of immigration to Israel between 1881 and 1948), and between children and parents in an immigrant family; the attitude of the absorbing society to the immigrants and the influence of immigration on Israeli society; migration of plants from different countries to Israel and comparison with immigration and absorption of human beings to analogous processes in plants and animals;

Book 23: Illuminations and Celebrations Tamid Ner What is a ceremony?; conversations about whether an Israeli Independence Day ceremony should be held in schools outside of Israel, on what day it should be held, what the ceremony should consist of, and whether it should be conducted in Hebrew; ceremonies and their purposes, types, and influences; traditional family ceremonies and Shabbat celebrations at home; planning a ceremony; emotional and personal implications of ceremonies; ceremonies in different communities and different; Book 24: Food for Thought Al Halechem V lo Levado eating habits around the world and taste and smell; restaurants and meals, recipes and cooking techniques, and traditions related to meals in families and in different Jewish communities; moral, political and social issues related to food; ceremonial aspects, symbolism, and emotional meanings of food, cooking, and eating; recipes; the food and eating customs of the Jewish people in different historical periods; proverbs and expressions related to food and table manners; food-related humor; the culture of eating and the importance of food; restaurant reviews and cookbooks;

Book 25: Lights, Camera Family! Seret Mishpachti What is family? sociological, psychological, philosophical and legal sociology viewpoints; Israeli films about families; families in Israel and differences between families in Israel and Israeli families and families in other places in the world; animal families; family-related excerpts from the Bible such as the stories of Jacob and Esau, Cain and Abel, and Rachel and Leah summary of the formation of simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences of various kinds: cause, time, purpose, result, comparison, contrast, concession; expressions of introduction, explanation, addition, and generalization; sentences of correlation Verbs conjugation of Nifal in all three tenses in the regular root form in its passive aspect; conjugation of Hufal in all three tenses in the regular root form; conjugation of Pual in all three tenses in the regular root form