Teachers’ Tips Stage Two
Unit 9 – Picnic in the Park
The following suggestions for activities to teach and practise new vocabulary and language will
take a number of lessons. Depending on how much time is allocated to Ivrit, and the needs of
your particular class, you should decide which activities to select and plan your lessons
accordingly. Please read through the whole section before planning your lesson.
Print out the flashcards of pictures and words from Ivritbeclick from the computer.
Unit content
Vocabulary:
,‫ גבינה‬,‫ מיץ תפוזים‬,‫ מיץ אשכוליות‬,‫ לימונדה‬,‫ שוקולד‬,‫ פלפל‬,‫ סלט‬,‫ לחמנייה‬,‫ מלפפון‬,‫ פיתה‬,‫ חומוס‬,‫פיקניק‬
,‫ מתוק‬,‫ חמוץ‬,‫ פארק‬,‫ חברים‬,‫ קינוח‬,‫ שתייה‬,‫ אוכל‬,‫ גלידה‬,‫ סירופ שוקולד‬,‫ עוגת שוקולד‬,‫ חלב‬,‫ סוכר‬,‫קפה‬
‫ אולי‬,‫ בבקשה‬,‫ אבל‬,‫ גם‬,‫ לשתות‬,‫ לאכול‬,‫ בלי‬,‫ עם‬,‫חריף‬
Grammatical structures: Plural nouns (qualified by adjectives) – e.g. ‫מלפפונים חמוצים‬
...‫ לשתות‬/‫ שם עצם או שם פועל לאכול‬+ )‫ אתן‬,‫ אתם‬,‫ אנחנו‬,‫ את‬,‫ אתה‬,‫רוצה (אני‬/‫(לא)אוהב‬
.‫ לשתות‬/‫אני הכי אוהב(ת) לאכול‬
(Verbs “want” and “like” with gender and number agreement, including negative, followed by
noun or infinitive “to eat”, “to drink”).
)‫ אתן‬,‫ אתם‬,‫ אנחנו‬,‫ את‬,‫ אתה‬,‫עושה (אני‬/‫ שותה‬/‫אוכל‬
Prepositions ‫ בלי‬/‫ עם‬, Connectives ‫אבל‬/‫ו‬
Suggestions for activities
General - before approaching this unit:
Depending on your class, their level and the amount of Ivrit taught in your school, this unit may
be used with classes who are in their first or second year of learning Ivrit. Some of the vocabulary
and grammatical structures may be new, and some will probably have been learnt previously.
For classes who have previously learnt all the language and vocabulary, the film clip may be the
first opportunity for them to hear a range of native Hebrew speakers other than their teacher. If
this unit is being used as revision, it could be completed within fewer lessons.
It is important to regularly recap and reinforce previously learnt language, and to give children the
opportunity to use previously learnt language in new contexts.
Before (or after) watching the film for the first time:
Have a discussion (in English or Hebrew) with the children about going for a picnic in the UK.
Where would they have a picnic, who with, what food would they, take what would they carry the
food in? From the film clip, compare similarities and differences to a picnic in Israel and a picnic
in the UK IU4.2
Suggestions for how to use the film:
The film clip can be used as a springboard for teaching new vocabulary and structures, or as a
way to reinforce vocabulary and structures that you have already taught. Whilst teaching the unit,
the film can be watched several times and used in a variety of ways.
If all the language and structures are new to the pupils, you may choose to teach some of the
vocabulary and language before watching the film, and some of it through watching the film.
If you have used Ivritbeclick stage 1, children will have previously learnt some of the food
vocabulary and also some of the structures in a more basic form.
For a range of suggestions, please look in the “General Suggestions for using the Film Clip”
section.
Suggestions for activities and for introducing and practising new language and
reinforcing previously learnt language.
Some of the vocabulary and structures in this unit were introduced in the food unit in stage one.
Recap these with the children before moving on to the more complex structures. Many of the
food nouns introduced are cognates (the same or nearly the same in both languages). This
allows you to focus on the structures being taught, without children having to remember many
new vocabulary items as well. It also allows children to easily have a fairly large vocabulary to
speak about food and drink, likes and dislikes. Children will not necessarily be able to actively
produce all the vocabulary items that are presented in this unit. Decide what they need to be able
to use actively and what they need to be able to understand. It is more important for children to
have a sound knowledge of the key structures and the skill to put these together to produce
language and communicate, than to know long lists of single words off by heart.
This unit introduces ‫ לשתות‬/‫ לאכול‬+ ‫רוצה‬/‫ אוהב‬. Even at early stages of learning Ivrit or any other
foreign language, it is important that children are given the tools to communicate and to use and
understand language that expresses preference, likes, dislikes, ability and opinions. This means
teaching verbs such as ‫ רוצה‬/ ‫ אוהב‬/ ‫ יכול‬+ infinitive. At this stage you do not need to focus on
verb structures (‫ (בניינים‬and how the infinitive is formed. Children will learn a range of useful
infinitives throughout Ivritbeclick, enabling them to express themselves within the topic area and
manipulate language at a level appropriate to their age and national expectations of language
learning. Although they may not always use them correctly, this should not prevent effective
communication. Some children may not be ready to actively produce this structure, but they can
still be exposed to it.
Teaching new words
Whether you are teaching nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs or connectives, it is important to use
interesting and varied methodology. This may involve mime, movement, flashcards, real objects,
ICT or a combination of these. Whenever children learn a new noun, they should learn whether it
is masculine or feminine. You may also decide to teach the plural at the same time, particularly
where the gender of the noun is obvious and the plural is regular. In the film clip for this unit,
several nouns are heard in plural form (‫ מלפפונים‬,‫ פיתות‬,‫)לחמניות‬
When introducing new vocabulary, use the flash cards, and give children plenty of opportunity to
practise the new words in different ways. Show children the written word as well as the picture.
Websites such as http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/mfl/mfl.htm provide many suggestions
that can be adapted to any language.
Make sure that children understand what they are saying.
Less confident children will be happier with chorused practising and asking and answering as a
group. Break the words down into syllables, say the words in different voices, and play a variety
of games to aid memorisation. (Matching games, Kim’s game, Mexican waves...etc.) O3.2
Introducing ‫ רוצה‬and ‫לשתות‬/‫ לאכול‬+ ‫רוצה‬/‫)לא( אוהב‬
The film clip can be used to either introduce these structures, or to reinforce them once they have
been taught. Children are already familiar with ‫אוהב‬. The verb ‫ רוצה‬can be introduced quite easily
through obvious gestures and body language, firstly talking about what you like and, therefore,
what you want, and then asking the children. However, do make sure that children have actually
understood the meaning of the word. Although you may introduce new language using only Ivrit/
gestures, where there is no direct picture equivalent, it is always useful just to confirm with
children what they have understood the correct meaning.
Introduce and practise ‫ רוצה‬in singular, plural, masculine and feminine, and also give children the
opportunity to say what they don’t want. Move from teacher led questions, to children led, and
give the children opportunities to practise in pairs. Allow the children opportunities to use ‫ רוצה‬in
different contexts, applying their previous knowledge (e.g. saying they want a pencil). Draw
attention in the film clip to the use of ‫בבקשה‬. In Ivrit, using ‫ בבקשה‬with ‫ רוצה‬sounds polite. In
English, the direct equivalent would not sound very polite. (E.g. I want a sandwich please).
(IU3.3)
Children should have had plenty of opportunity to practise and use ‫רוצה‬/‫ אוהב‬+ noun, before
introducing them to ‫ לשתות‬/‫לאכול‬. Again, the meaning of this can be elicited from the film, or by
the teacher clearly demonstrating through acting out/ gestures/ flash cards. As the English
equivalent is formed in similar way (e.g. I want to eat), most children should grasp the meaning
and structure quite easily.
Whole Class Activities

Hand out pictures of some of the food items, one to each child. Give instructions for
children to follow, according to what food they are. E.g. “Cucumbers, stand up. Cheese,
hands on your head” O3.2

Have a selection of large flash cards with pictures and words separately, or prepare a
version on the Interactive whiteboard. This can include verbs and adjectives, if these can
be clearly represented in picture form. Children take turns to match a word to a picture.
Extend this by putting the words into dictionary order. L3.1

Each child has a card with ‫ אוכל‬and a card with ‫( שותה‬which they can prepare themselves).
Hold up flashcard showing either food or drink items. (Or real items if possible). Children
hold up the correct card and say either ...‫ אנחנו אוכלים‬or ...‫ אנחנו שותים‬in chorus. This can
be extended to you asking ?‫ מי לא אוהב‬/‫ מי אוהב‬and children saying whether they like the
food or not, and more confident children can be asked to say a sentence by themselves.
This can also include ‫ בלי‬/‫ עם‬O3.3, O4.4

Singular and plural. Begin with single words and move onto short sentences. Children have
to identify whether the idea is singular or plural with a physical response. E.g. Hand up if
singular, stand up if plural. For example: ,‫ מלפפון‬,‫ לחמניות‬,‫אנחנו שותים לימונדה‬. Begin by
leading the activity and then have more confident / able children lead. O4.3

Word classes. In the previous unit, you may have decided upon actions for different word
classes (nouns, verbs adjectives, connectives, etc.). If not, then decide upon these actions
now. (E.g. noun = two hands on head, verb= run on the spot, adjective = wiggle one hand
behind your ear, pronoun = one hand on your head, connective = shake hands with
someone or clasp your hands together in front of you). Children listen to you calling out
words and respond with the correct action. (Here you may want to draw attention to ‫ אוכל‬as
a noun and verb, and the different pronunciation. O4.2

Pass the parcel/bag: In the bag put cards showing food items, or pretend plastic food.
When the music stops, the child who is holding the bag takes a card out and makes up a
sentence which includes that food item. Depending on ability, this could be a simple
sentence, a sentence that includes an adjective and connective, or for lower ability children
they may just say the word. O4.4, O5.1 (O3.3)

Food tasting: If your school allows, then one of the best ways to teach language around
the topic of food is to use real food. For this unit, a blindfold taste test would be an
excellent activity. It would allow you to authentically teach and practise ‫ חריף‬,‫ מתוק‬,‫חמוץ‬
(and possibly ‫ טעים‬and ‫)מלוח‬, for children to guess (in Ivrit) what the food is, and to say
whether they like it or not. If this is difficult to manage as a whole class, you could have a
“tasting table”, and children could come up in small groups to carry out the activity. This
could also provide you with an opportunity for assessment. O4.4

Human sentences. (This activity can be used for any topic). Begin by recapping the word
classes you have talked about. This should include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives
and connectives. Depending on when you carry out this activity, verbs may also include
the infinitives.
In advance, prepare word cards from this unit. These can be simply hand written on pieces
of A4 paper, and should be big enough to see from the back of the classroom. They
should include pronouns and names (m/f/sing/pl), the verbs ‫רוצה‬/‫אוהב‬/‫שותה‬/‫ אוכל‬in
masculine, feminine, singular and plural, ‫ לשתות‬/‫לאכול‬, a range of food and drink nouns,
(in plural forms too), the adjectives ‫ חריף‬,‫ מתוק‬,‫( חמוץ‬in plural/ feminine form too
depending on the nouns you have selected), connectives ‫ אבל‬and ‫ו‬. You should also
include a full stop. Depending on your class and range of ability, you can also add ‫ בלי‬,‫עם‬,
‫ גם‬,‫אז‬.
Before handing out the word cards, elicit from the children as many words as they can
remember from this unit and which word class they belong to. Children should have a few
minutes to think individually or in pairs, to give all children the opportunity to come up with
something. Ask for suggestions and write them up on the board, sorted in columns
according to word class. Check understanding too.
On the board write up two simple sentences e.g.:
.‫ אני לא אוהבת פלפל‬.‫אני אוהבת גבינה‬
Read the sentence together as a class, and check that children understand the meaning.
Ask children for suggestions about how to make this more interesting, using some of the
words on the board, or others that they can think of. How can we join the sentences?
Could we add an adjective? Can we sound more emphatic? Can we add more
information?
Each time a child makes a suggestion, re-write the new sentence and read it together as a
class, always making sure that the meaning is clear.
After a few turns, you should end up with a more interesting compound sentence e.g.
.‫ אבל אני לא אוהבת לאכול פלפל חריף‬,‫אני הכי אוהבת גבינה עם מלפפון‬
Now hand out the word cards to the children. Depending on how many children in your
class, each child may get more than one. Lower ability children can be given cognate
nouns.
Explain that you are going to make human sentences. Ask who wants to start the
sentence. What sort of word are we looking for (name or pronoun). A child with a suitable
card comes and stands at the beginning of the sentence. (Make sure on the right hand
side). What could come next? Depending on the number/ gender of the name or pronoun,
a few children may be able to be the next word. Carry on until you have completed a
sentence and put a full stop at the end. If it is a simple sentence, try to add connectives
and adjectives etc. Again, children should read out the sentence as it grows, and the
meaning should always be clear. Once the class is happy with the sentence, ask the
children who are not in the sentence who would like to swap places and join the sentence.
Can children work out where they would fit in? Can the sentence be correct but not make
sense? (E.g. ‫ אוכלים‬and ‫ שותים‬could swap places and the sentence would be
grammatically correct, but what else would we have to change for it to still make sense).
Carry on, until you end up with a completely different sentence to the one you started with,
by exchanging one word at a time. You may decide to allow nonsensical sentences too, as
long as they are grammatically correct. (If children understand that it doesn’t make sense,
it means that they understand what it says).
If you have very able children or native Hebrew speakers in the class, they could write
each completed sentence on a piece of paper. They could also write a few word cards
themselves to add to the sentence. L4.3, L5.2
Group and pair work

Children should be given plenty of opportunities to practise new language in pairs, both
asking and answering questions. Confident pairs can perform short role plays to the class
O4.4

In pairs, children write a shopping list for their ideal picnic L3.3, L4.4

Children carry out a class survey of favourite foods and record the results in a table. The
children in the film clip can also be included in the survey. O4.4, L4.4

In pairs, groups or individually, children sort items into different categories. The items can
be provided as picture or word cards. You can give children categories, or some children
may be able to decide their own criteria (e.g. ‫אוהב‬/ ‫לא אוהב‬, ‫ חריף‬/‫ מתוק‬/‫ טעים‬/‫ מלוח‬,
dictionary order, categorising according to word class). This could be extended to include
vocabulary from different topics, and this could also be criteria for categorising. L4.1, L4.3

After playing the human sentence game as a whole class, hand out smaller versions of the
word cards to groups or pairs. They have to put together and write down as many
sentences as they can, again swapping words to change the sentences, keeping them
grammatically correct. The words given can be differentiated according to ability. This
activity can also be used as an assessment opportunity. L4.2, L5.2, L5.3
Comics
The comic’s backgrounds include a park and other outdoor backgrounds. These can be used
within this unit to create scenes with the characters having a conversation related to a picnic.
As a class, have a discussion in Hebrew to create the scenes.
Worksheets
After teaching and practicing the new language and structures, watching the film and doing the
interactive activities, the worksheets that accompany the unit can be printed out and given to
children as reinforcement. Again, look at the worksheets in advance and decide the most
appropriate time to complete them.
Assessment opportunities within the lessons.
Outcome:
Oracy – Communicate by asking and answering a wider range of questions
Memorise and present a short text
Literacy – Write some familiar words and phrases without help
Read and understand familiar written phrases
Learning Objectives:
O4.4 – Ask and answer questions on several topics
O4.1 – Memorise and present a short text (learn and say several sentences on a topic)
KAL – Use question forms
LLS – Practice new language with a friend
L4.4 – Write simple words and phrases using a model and some words from memory
L4.1 – Read and understand a range of familiar written phrases
LLS – Plan and prepare for a language activity
Teaching Activity (example)
Explain that children will be working in groups to plan and act out an imaginary picnic. This will
involve preparing a list of what they need to take, and writing out a short script for role play.
Provide children with a word bank and some model sentences to help them. Be clear about what
should be included. (E.g. what you want, what you like, what you don’t like etc.). If your school
allows, you could plan a real picnic in the same way. This could be a picnic in the playground.
Before carrying out this activity, children should be very familiar with the content and language
used in the film script.
Look for children who:




Speak confidently alone or in a group
Are able to recall longer texts.
Maintain accurate pronunciation and intonation
Can write familiar phrases correctly from memory.
Links to the Languages Ladder
Speaking Grade 2: I can answer simple questions and give basic information
Writing Grade 2: I can write one or two short sentences to a model.
Reading Grade 2: I can understand and read out familiar written phrases.