Etz Chaim Jewish Primary School

Ivrit

Ivrit is an integral part of our curriculum at Etz Chaim as it allows children to develop their Jewish identity and links to Israel in more depth as well as raising their awareness of different cultures, interests and perspectives. We are able to go beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum by offering Ivrit from Foundation Stage and our aim is to foster enjoyment and enthusiasm for a foreign language from EYFS through to Y6 through the use of rhymes, songs and dialogue. Being able to read and understand Ivrit also helps children to read their tefillot (prayers); understand key vocabulary and concepts related to Jewish festivals and practice; and to start accessing texts like Chumash (Bible) in classical Hebrew.

 

Our ambition is that every pupil develops a positive and confident approach to language learning and that they leave Etz Chaim being able to speak with increasing confidence, broadly understand the spoken language and read and write short sentences of varying length accurately.

 

Foundation stage

Integrated with Jewish Studies, children learn to enjoy the patterns and sounds of the language through rhymes and songs related to the festivals, Shabbat and Jewish values such as chesed. Children also learn to say the sounds of the Hebrew letters, linked to our Shalom Uvracha Pre-Primer reading programme. By the end of the year, they are able to blend a range of words, including Shabbat and Havdallah.

 

Key Stage 1

Using our programme Eizeh Yofi, children learn new vocabulary and start to use short phrases to ask and answer appropriately in Ivrit. The language is learned through games and songs and the children have opportunities to play a variety of roles in groups of various sizes in order to reinforce their learning and build their confidence in using the language. The children also prepare for the Festival of Spoken Ivrit by learning the relevant vocabulary and songs linked to the show.

 

In Jewish Studies, children continue to improve their accuracy and fluency in Hebrew reading, using the Shalom Uvracha programme and moving on to Shalom Ivrit books once they can confidently read words and short phrases. They also learn Hebrew songs and Hebrew vocabulary appropriate to festivals and Jewish values with confidence.

 

Key Stage 2

From KS2 we use Ivrit BeClick to provide the children with the opportunity to engage in richer conversations as well as learn about the culture and way of life in Israel. The children learn to describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing. They broaden their vocabulary and develop the ability to understand new words that are introduced into written familiar material. They can also present ideas and information to a range of audiences both orally and in writing. In Jewish Studies, children are supported to read for meaning in Ivrit, using the Shalom Ivrit and Tal Am books. They increase their Hebrew vocabulary and knowledge of basic Biblical Hebrew grammar through learning Chumash and they continue to learn songs and relevant vocabulary linked to the Jewish festivals and values.

 

 Please click here to see our Ivrit Curriculum Document.