Grade 04: Arabic

In this unit, 'Seasons and weather', you learn to describe the weather and seasons. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Seasons and weather' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: describe the weather and seasons, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Name the four seasons. الرَّبِيعُ [spring], الصَّيْفُ [summer], الْخَرِيفُ [autumn], الشِّتَاءُ [winter]. Say them in order and point to a calendar. Notice that الرَّبِيعُ, الصَّيْفُ and الشِّتَاءُ start with a sun letter, so the l of الْ is silent.
2. Step 2, Learn weather words. الْجَوُّ حَارٌّ [The weather is hot]. الْجَوُّ بَارِدٌ [cold]. الْجَوُّ مُعْتَدِلٌ [mild]. الْجَوُّ مُمْطِرٌ [rainy]. الْجَوُّ مُشْمِسٌ [sunny]. Ask: كَيْفَ الْجَوُّ الْيَوْمَ؟ [How is the weather today?]
3. Step 3, Describe each season. فِي الصَّيْفِ يَكُونُ الْجَوُّ حَارًّا. [In summer the weather is hot.] فِي الشِّتَاءِ تَهْطِلُ الْأَمْطَارُ. [In winter rain falls.] فِي الرَّبِيعِ تُزْهِرُ الْأَزْهَارُ. [In spring flowers bloom.] فِي الْخَرِيفِ تَسْقُطُ أَوْرَاقُ الْأَشْجَارِ. [In autumn the leaves fall.]
4. Step 4, Short dialogue. الْبِنْتُ: كَيْفَ الْجَوُّ الْيَوْمَ؟ [How is the weather today?] الْوَلَدُ: الْجَوُّ بَارِدٌ وَمُمْطِرٌ. [The weather is cold and rainy.] الْبِنْتُ: أَيُّ فَصْلٍ تُحِبُّ؟ [Which season do you like?] الْوَلَدُ: أُحِبُّ الرَّبِيعَ. [I like spring.]
5. Step 5, Fix an error. A child says الْجَوُّ حَارَّةٌ. Correction: الْجَوُّ is masculine, so say الْجَوُّ حَارٌّ. But for a feminine noun use the feminine form: الشَّمْسُ حَارَّةٌ [The sun is hot]. Match the adjective to its noun.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write two sentences about your favourite season and its weather. Model answer: أُحِبُّ الشِّتَاءَ لِأَنَّ الْأَمْطَارَ تَهْطِلُ. الْجَوُّ بَارِدٌ وَأَلْبَسُ مِعْطَفًا. [I like winter because rain falls. The weather is cold and I wear a coat.]

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe the weather and seasons: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Gardens and animals', you learn to describe a garden and its animals. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Gardens and animals' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: describe a garden and its animals, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Name things in a garden. حَدِيقَةٌ [garden], شَجَرَةٌ [tree], وَرْدَةٌ [rose], عُشْبٌ [grass], فَرَاشَةٌ [butterfly], نَحْلَةٌ [bee], عُصْفُورٌ [sparrow], أَرْنَبٌ [rabbit]. Label a picture with these words.
2. Step 2, Describe with adjectives that agree. شَجَرَةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ [a big tree], وَرْدَةٌ جَمِيلَةٌ [a beautiful rose], أَرْنَبٌ صَغِيرٌ [a small rabbit]. The adjective copies the gender of the noun and adds ـَةٌ for a feminine noun.
3. Step 3, Say what is in the garden. فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ شَجَرَةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ. [In the garden there is a big tree.] تَقِفُ عَلَيْهَا عَصَافِيرُ. [Sparrows stand on it.] الْفَرَاشَةُ تَطِيرُ بَيْنَ الْأَزْهَارِ. [The butterfly flies among the flowers.]
4. Step 4, Say what animals do. الْأَرْنَبُ يَأْكُلُ الْجَزَرَ. [The rabbit eats carrots.] النَّحْلَةُ تَجْمَعُ الرَّحِيقَ. [The bee collects nectar.] Ask: مَاذَا تَفْعَلُ النَّحْلَةُ؟ [What does the bee do?] تَجْمَعُ الرَّحِيقَ. [It collects nectar.]
5. Step 5, Fix an error. A child says وَرْدَةٌ جَمِيلٌ. Correction: وَرْدَةٌ جَمِيلَةٌ, because وَرْدَةٌ is feminine. Another says أَرْنَبٌ صَغِيرَةٌ. Correction: أَرْنَبٌ صَغِيرٌ, because أَرْنَبٌ is masculine.
6. Step 6, Your turn: describe a garden with a white rabbit and a red rose. Model answer: فِي حَدِيقَتِي أَرْنَبٌ أَبْيَضُ وَوَرْدَةٌ حَمْرَاءُ. الْأَرْنَبُ يَأْكُلُ الْعُشْبَ. [In my garden there is a white rabbit and a red rose. The rabbit eats grass.]

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe a garden and its animals: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Dictation and spelling', you learn to spell common words. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Dictation and spelling' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: spell common words, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Listen, say and split the word. The helper says كِتَاب [book]: ki-taa-b. Write it from right to left as four letters, ك ت ا ب. Notice the alif (ا) joins to the letter before it but never to the letter after it, so the last ب is written on its own, in its separate shape.
2. Step 2, Mark the long sounds. قَلَم [pen] has only short sounds, so no long letter is written. بَاب [door] has a long aa, written with alif. نُور [light] has a long oo, written with waw (و). فِيل [elephant] has a long ee, written with ya (ي). Listen for how long each sound lasts before you write.
3. Step 3, Spell the round ta. مَدْرَسَة [school] ends in ة, the round ta with two dots, which sounds like a short a at the end of the word. Compare تَمْر [dates], which ends in the ordinary ت and is pronounced t. Do not write the round ta as ه; it needs its two dots.
4. Step 4, Write words with sun and moon letters. الشَّمْس [the sun] is said ash-shams, because the L sound disappears and ش is doubled with a shadda (ّ). الْقَمَر [the moon] is said al-qamar, and the L is heard. Both are written with ال; say the word aloud before writing the first letter.
5. Step 5, Take a short dictation. The helper reads ذَهَبَ الْوَلَدُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ [The boy went to the school] three times: whole, then phrase by phrase, then whole again. Write it, then check three things: every dot, the round ta in المدرسة, and إِلَى, which ends in the dotless ى that sounds like aa.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write these words from the English meaning, with ال in front: the pen, the school, the sun. Say each aloud first. Answer: الْقَلَم، الْمَدْرَسَة، الشَّمْس. The first uses a moon letter, the third a sun letter, and the second ends with the round ta.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Spell common words: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Conversation practice', you learn to ask and answer questions. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Conversation practice' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: ask and answer questions, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Learn question words. مَا [what], مَنْ [who], أَيْنَ [where], مَتَى [when], كَمْ [how many], لِمَاذَا [why], كَيْفَ [how]. Say each with a pointing hand. Remember مَنْ asks about people and مَا about things.
2. Step 2, Ask personal questions to a boy. مَا اسْمُكَ؟ [What is your name?] كَمْ عُمْرُكَ؟ [How old are you?] أَيْنَ تَسْكُنُ؟ [Where do you live?] مَاذَا تُحِبُّ؟ [What do you like?] To a girl the endings change: مَا اسْمُكِ؟ كَمْ عُمْرُكِ؟
3. Step 3, Answer in a full sentence. اسْمِي ... [My name is ...] عُمْرِي تِسْعُ سَنَوَاتٍ. [I am nine years old.] أَسْكُنُ فِي مَدِينَةٍ كَبِيرَةٍ. [I live in a big city.] أُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ. [I like reading.]
4. Step 4, Practise a conversation. الْوَلَدُ: مَرْحَبًا، مَا اسْمُكِ؟ [Hello, what is your name?] الْبِنْتُ: اسْمِي ...، وَمَا اسْمُكَ؟ [My name is ..., and yours?] الْوَلَدُ: اسْمِي .... أَيْنَ تَسْكُنِينَ؟ [My name is .... Where do you live?] الْبِنْتُ: أَسْكُنُ فِي الْحَيِّ الْقَدِيمِ. [I live in the old quarter.]
5. Step 5, Fix an error. A child asks مَنْ اسْمُكَ؟ Correction: مَا اسْمُكَ؟ because a name is a thing, not a person. Another answers the question كَمْ عُمْرُكَ؟ with أَنَا مِنْ مِصْرَ; reply with the age, عُمْرِي عَشْرُ سَنَوَاتٍ [I am ten years old].
6. Step 6, Your turn: ask a new classmate two questions and answer two yourself. Model answer: مَا اسْمُكَ؟ وَأَيْنَ تَسْكُنُ؟ اسْمِي ...، وَأَسْكُنُ بِجَانِبِ الْمَدْرَسَةِ. [What is your name? And where do you live? My name is ..., and I live next to the school.]

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Ask and answer questions: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

On the slide: L1 Basic · First sounds and greetings

Notes: Say hello, give your name and name three everyday objects in Arabic. Notes: teach مرحبا (marhaba, hello) and كتاب (kitab, book) aloud before any writing; learners greet a partner and point to a book, a pen and a door while saying each word.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Letters and the right-to-left page

Notes: Recognise that Arabic is written right to left and copy the shapes of the first eight letters. Notes: show that letters change form at the start, middle and end of a word; learners trace the letter for b, then find it in three printed words.

This course: Grade 04 Arabic is at this level. Its units include Seasons and weather; Gardens and animals; Dictation and spelling; Conversation practice.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Simple sentences and a first reading

Notes: Read and write short present-tense sentences about yourself, family and daily life with short vowels marked. Notes: use هذا كتاب (hadha kitab, this is a book) as the model; learners build five new sentences, swapping the noun each time, and read them aloud.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Everyday conversation and roots

Notes: Hold a two-minute conversation on school, food and travel and use the three-letter root idea to guess new words. Notes: show k-t-b giving kitab (book) and katib (writer); learners find the root in four given words, then order a meal in a role-play.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Formal Arabic and dialect awareness

Notes: Compare Modern Standard Arabic with one spoken dialect and write a formal letter of about 150 words. Notes: take one phrase, such as how to say 'how are you', in both registers; learners list three differences and choose the right register for a news item and a chat.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Literary analysis and linguistics

Notes: Analyse a classical or modern text for grammar, rhetoric and register, and write a reasoned essay in Arabic. Notes: choose a short poem of eight lines; learners mark case endings, name one image used, and explain in a 400-word essay how the form supports the meaning.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Translation, research and teaching

Notes: Design and defend a translation or research project that handles dialect variation, with a documented method. Notes: pick a 500-word article and translate it for two audiences; justify every choice about register, note untranslatable terms, and have a native reader check the result.