Shalom Ivrit: Welcome to Modern Hebrew 2
By Nili Ziv Behrman House Publishers, 2004
ISBN: 978-0-87441-163-8
Prayer Companion to Shalom Ivrit 2
By Peri Sinclair
ISBN: 978-0-87441-196-6
Reviewed by Simon Bonim - January 28, 2010
Book two in the innovative Shalom Ivrit: Welcome to Modern Hebrew is aimed at students in grades 4-7. Like the first volume in this series, the text is enhanced by the inclusion of lively and colorful illustrations as well as engaging and fun to complete exercises, including several crossword puzzles. However the meat of this text is the plethora of short stories, folktales, and excerpts from the Midrash that will help students to improve their reading and comprehension skills while adding more than 150 new words to their Hebrew vocabulary.
Whereas the first volume in this series was keyed to the Jewish holidays, this volume helps students explore various Jewish values related to themes such as truth, peace, self-respect, generosity, industriousness, and many more. As students reading skills improve, longer and more detailed reading segments are provided. In addition, students build upon the grammar skills learned in volume one. They also learn how to tell time in and to count to ten in Hebrew.
In addition, as with the first volume in this series, volume two is also paired with a prayer companion text that is thematically tied to Shalom Ivrit 2. In this companion volume, students study the seven blessings found in the Shabbat morning Amidah, while also exploring how to incorporate key Jewish values into everyday life. Numerous exercises are also included that help to reinforce the information learned while studying this text.
Both the Shalom Ivrit 2 and the Prayer Companion for Shalom Ivrit 2 are ideal, second year, textbooks for students in classes that devote only an hour or two a week to Hebrew study. Classes that are able to devote more time to the study of Hebrew can advance through this series at a more rapid pace. Or this series, which was designed as a three-year course can also be effectively drawn-out over a longer period, allowing more time for students to work on their prayer literacy and to prepare for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. In addition a teacher's edition is available from Behrman House Publishers, for Shalom Ivrit 2, which will greatly aid not only classroom teachers, but homeschooling parents as well.
Related Reviews:
Shalom Ivrit III and Prayer Companion
The third and final volume in the Shalom Ivrit: Welcome to Modern Hebrew series, students continue to increase their reading proficiency as they follow the adventures of a group of lively teenagers as they go about their everyday routines, go to camp, and visit Israel. While in the companion prayer volume, students prepare for their Bar or Bat Mitzvahs and study the Shabbat morning Aleinu, Kaddish, and Ein Keloheinu prayers. For grades 5-8.
Shalom Ivrit I and Prayer Companion
The first volume in the three-volume Shalom Ivrit: Welcome to Modern Hebrew series provides students who have completed a basic primer to begin reading short Hebrew stories while learning about the Jewish holidays. In the companion prayer volume, students also begin to improve their prayer literacy while studying various Shabbat and Holiday prayers. For grades 3-6.
