Chinuch Column
CHINUCH COLUMN
Children learn in different ways. Some children learn best visually; others learn best through their listening. In the book Learning Aleph Bais the Fun Way, different ways of learning are incorporated to enable the child to retain and remember the letters and vowels.
When a child is introduced to a letter or a vowel, he is shown a picture that he can associate both in sight and in hearing to that picture. The subtle identifiable points that compose each letter must be emphasized to the child. The more tips he is given to remember the highlights of each letter, the more he will remember them in the future. This eliminates mix up of other letters or vowels.
For example, Daled is taught in the following way. The child is shown a power drill with a little play dough stuck to the back of the drill. He is asked to point to the top of the drill. He is told a Daled has a part that sticks out of the side. When the adult turns the drill on, the child hears da, da sounds and imitates the da, da sound. The child then acts out the shape of the letter by bending his back and extending his arms behind his back to remember the Daled extends out from the top. He now has been taught Daled with a visual hint, seeing the drill and the verbal memorization, top – back extends out and side. He has been taught through hearing. He heard the sound of hearing. He heard the sound of the drill and repeated the da, da sound. He acted out the letter. With all these clues, the letter becomes more familiar, and easier to remember.
Later on when he sees the Raish he will only need a quick visual reminder that this is a different letter. When he learns Tes he will recognize it as different sound. He later has more practice when he plays the matching game at the end of the book and does the colorful fun pages to reinforce his learning. If he wants more creative review, he can do the activities and crafts on the next page.
To help a child maximize his recognition of the Aleph Bais, he needs to use as many senses and activities as possible to eliminate future mix-up.
Learn the Hebrew Alphabet (Aleph Bais, Alephbais, Alef Bet, Alefbet, Alef Bais, Alefbais, Alaphbet, Alaphbais) the easy way!!