בס”ד Aleph Champ User Guide A must read for all teachers Copyright © 2014 Aleph Champ Program. All rights reserved. בס”ד CONTENTS 3 The Mesorah 4 Aleph Champ Theory 5 Understanding Levels 6-7 How it Works 8 Head Teacher 9-13 Daily Schedule 14 Stripes 15 Bookmarks 16 Testing 17 Presentation 18 Award Ceremony 19-20 Materials 21-22 Additional Materials 23-24 Games 25-29 Templates 28-34 Bookmarks 35-57 Warmups 58-65 Testers 66-82 Certificates 83-88 Bingo Boards Page 2 בס”ד THE MESORAH Lashon HaKodesh, or Biblical Hebrew, is a language and alphabet that is Divinely created. The Torah was written with the letters of the Aleph Bet and the entire universe was created with Ten Utterances using the same holy letters. Teaching a child how to read Hebrew is a holy task. Teaching a student the Aleph Bet will serve The Aleph Champ as a foundation for life, spiritually affecting Program is based on his/her soul and belief in G-d. The Lubavitcher “the Chabad Mesorah, Rebbe writes: “I had pleasure reading… that you or tradition. teach your class according to the Mesorah of our holy ancestors, Komatz Aleph Uh. Concerning the holiness of the Aleph Beis letters and the Nekudos, it is ” known that they originate from Moshe Rabbeinu who received it from Hashem at Har Sinai. This is known and obvious in the Zohar and in Tikkunei- Zohar. And not only the letters and Nekudos themselves, but also their names. It is written in the above places that the names of the Nekudos are actually the acronym of the names of Malochim, etc." The Aleph Champ Program is based on the Chabad Mesorah, or tradition. First the letters and their names are introduced. Only after is the child taught the Nekudot (vowels) and how to combine them with the letters to make sounds. Learn more about the Mesorah at www.Alephchamp.com Page 3 בס”ד ALEPH CHAMP THEORY Developed after the karate motivational system of colors and levels The Aleph Champ Program is a brainstorm idea developed after the karate motivational system of colors and levels. The entire Kriah system is divided into levels of different colors. This arrangement ensures that students learn to read Hebrew in an efficient, well-organized method. Aleph Champ takes a lot of groundwork; the program will not run on its own, but the results are tremendous and well worth the effort. Learning to read is broken In the Aleph Champ Program, reading down into manageable goals groups are divided by color instead of “where students can clearly age group, thereby allowing conscientious students to surpass the gauge their progress. Every pace of their class and advance in color mastered gives students reading on their own. the confidence to keep on going. I have never seen a When a student steps into a karate class, program motivate children it is very clear what level everyone is on. where success was their The teacher is a Black Belt. Some reward until Aleph Champ! students who have been studying for years are Purple or even Brown Belts. - An Aleph Champ Director Beginners wear White Belts and there is a plethora of other colored belts. The requirements necessary to advance fro”m level to level is clearly delineated and the reward is merely the change in belt color, a change in status. When a student steps into an Aleph Champ room, it is very clear what level everyone is on. The teacher is a Black Champ, wearing a Black Medal. Beginner students are wearing White or Red Medals and advanced students are wearing Purple or even Brown Medals. Aleph Champ ensures that students do not go on to a new level until they have truly mastered all that their current level expects them to know. This avoids the common problem of children learning to read without fully mastering a letter, vowel or concept in reading. Page 4 בס”ד UNDERSTANDING LEVELS White Aleph Champ Blue Aleph Champ First 19 Lette rs Exceptions to the rule: Stripe 1: Aleph – Vov Stripe 1: Chataf vowels, Patach Ches Stripe 2: Zayin – Final Chof Two shvas in middle of word Stripe 3: Lamed - Final Nun Stripe 2: Patach Yud and Yud Vav Stripe 3: Two shvas at end of word Red Aleph Champ Next 13 letters Purple Aleph Champ Stripe 1: Samach – Final Fay Everyday prayers Stripe 2: Tzadik- Reish 10-20 words per minute Stripe 3: Shin-Taf Stripe 1: Pages 1-8 read at 13 wpm Stripe 2: Pages 9-18 read at 16 wpm Orange Aleph Champ Strip 3: Pages 19-28 read at 20 wpm The first 3 vowels: Stripe 1: Kamatz Brown Aleph Champ Stripe 2: Patach Prayers & script writing Stripe 3: Tzeirei 20-30 words per minute Stripe 1: Pages 1-11 read at 23 wpm Yellow Aleph Champ Stripe 2: Pages 12-23 read at 26 wpm The next 3 vowels: Stripe 3: Pages 24-31 read at 30 wpm Stripe 1: Segol Stripe 2: Shva Grey Aleph Champ Stripe 3: Cholam Reading from the Siddur Stripe 1: read up to 30 wpm. Green Aleph Champ Stripe 2: read up to 40 wpm. The last 3 vowels: Stripe 3: read up to 50 wpm. Stripe 1: Cheereek Stripe 2: Koobootz Black Aleph Champ Stripe 3: Shoorook Students master reading 100 wpm It can take 1-5 months for students to pass most levels. The stripes create goals within one level. Be sure not to rush students or pass them to the next level before they are ready! Page 5 בס”ד HOW IT WORKS Who is it for? Aleph Champ was originally created to be used within the Hebrew School framework where students learn Hebrew once a week. Today, Aleph Champ is used within many teaching settings, such as at home, in day schools, and as part of adult classes. The program is geared for grades 1 and above. Allow students below grade 1 to learn the Aleph Bet letters in a relaxed, story-based setting using hands-on materials, puppets and scrapbooks. When these younger students reach Aleph Champ age, the first 2 levels of White and Red will be a mere review of the Aleph Bet. How long is an Aleph Champ lesson? The suggested Aleph Champ lesson is 45 minutes since a half hour can be too short and one hour can be too long. The 45 minute lessons go by very quickly when following our suggested schedule. See Daily Schedule on page 9 How do I set up the classroom? The ideal way to run Aleph Champ is to have one Aleph Champ Room where all students study at the same time. This adds excitement and fun. Each level within Aleph Champ has its own table. Each level has its own teacher and is run like a mini class, following the daily schedule. Having enough staff is crucial. A manageable group size is 8 students per teacher, with an assistant. If you don’t have enough teachers, call on parents, Hebrew School alumni, and volunteers to help out. A successful Aleph Champ needs enough staff to go around. Each level has its own color coded bin/container The ideal way to with all the material needed. run Aleph Champ See Materials on page 19 “ is to have one Aleph Champ If you don’t have space for an Aleph Champ Room, Room where all each teacher may teach Aleph Champ individually students study in their own classroom. The challenge is that while in the Aleph Champ Room your students would split at the same time. according to level, here you will have students on multiple levels within one class, and you will have to ” juggle. Page 6 Staff בס”ד Aleph Champ runs successfully when there is enough staff. Groups should be kept small and should not exceed more than 8 students per teacher. You can never As Aleph Champ teachers, it is important to have too much understand the overall method of Aleph Champ and be “staff in an Aleph familiar with the ‘rules’ before teaching. Champ Room There is more to Aleph Champ than just reading and writing exercises. It is the details and - believe it or not - the rules and guidelines that make the program exciting. ” Be sure to train with your head teacher at the beginning of the year and give thought and prepare your lessons throughout the year for you to see results! Discipline Behavioral problems are unacceptable in the Aleph Champ Room. Truth be told, the schedule is so tight it leaves little room for students to misbehave. A common reason for behavioral issues is that the student is experiencing difficulty in reading or is too advanced for the group and does not feel challenged. Try to assess the issue yourself before bringing it to the attention of head teacher or contacting the parents. Homework Homework has become fun! This year, for the first time ever, your students can practice and continue to learn Hebrew reading by logging on to our brand new, award winning Aleph Champ Kids website and enjoying an Aleph Champ wonderland. Review games, audio reading practice, and interactive, graded activities are all a click away, and you, as the teacher, can track it all! There is an annual membership fee per child. Website registration opens in Elul, 5774/September 2014. Stay tuned! Another homework option is the Aleph Champ Almanac. The Almanac is a great way for students to practice Hebrew reading at home. It is one small reader with review reading pages for levels White through Blue.