Hebrew Classroom Plays

Hebrew Classroom Plays
by Mira Peretz, Hebrew Teacher

My 6th-grade students love acting out plays in Hebrew. Every year we perform a Hebrew play based on a popular Israeli book. This year I chose the play, Dira L’askir (Apartment for Rent). "In a beautiful valley, among vineyards and fields, there's a five-story tower. And who lives in the tower?" There's a fat chicken, a Cuckoo bird, a black cat and a squirrel. The tenants are looking for someone to live on the fifth floor. Who will get the apartment on the fifth floor? The ant didn’t fit in because she offended the chicken. The rabbit didn’t want to live with the cuckoo bird because the cuckoo bird lays her eggs in the nests of other birds. The pig didn’t want to live next to a black cat because of her color. The song bird thought that the squirrel was cracking nuts too loudly. Only the dove chose to live happily with all of the neighbors!

 

The students enjoyed acting while they were speaking fluently in Hebrew. This play is our project for this semester and part of our curriculum. 

 

Every semester the students have the opportunity to do a creative project. Last semester my 6th-grade students had a cooking project. Each student chose an Israeli recipe written in Hebrew. They learned to read and understand the recipe and at the end they made a cooking video. The students brought samples of their food to share in class. We ate shakshuka, falafel, blintzes, chocolate balls and much more yummy food.

My mission is two-fold: One, to impart a strong connection to the rich culture and heritage of Israel through the beautiful structure of the Modern Hebrew language; and two, to convey to the students the fact that the Modern Hebrew language is accessible to all who try – “Lo bashamayim hee … v’lo me’ever layam hee,” it is not in the Heavens, nor beyond the ocean (Deuteronomy 30:12-13).

 

Here is a quote from one of my students: "Dira L’skir is very fun. We get to act while learning Hebrew and we are very proud of it."