Grade 07: Arabic

In this unit, 'Reading short stories', you learn to summarise a short story. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Reading short stories' 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: summarise a short story, 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, Read the story I wrote. كَانَ فِي قَرْيَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ صَبِيٌّ يَخَافُ مِنَ الظَّلَامِ. فِي لَيْلَةٍ انْقَطَعَ النُّورُ، فَأَشْعَلَ شَمْعَةً وَسَاعَدَ جَارَتَهُ الْعَجُوزَ. [In a small village there was a boy who feared the dark. One night the electricity went out, so he lit a candle and helped his old neighbour.]
2. Step 2, Read the ending. عِنْدَهَا عَرَفَ أَنَّ الشَّجَاعَةَ أَنْ نَفْعَلَ الْخَيْرَ رَغْمَ الْخَوْفِ. [Then he knew that courage is to do good in spite of fear.] Underline the lesson sentence, which tells you what the story teaches.
3. Step 3, List the story elements. الشَّخْصِيَّاتُ [characters]: الصَّبِيُّ وَالْجَارَةُ. الْمَكَانُ [place]: قَرْيَةٌ صَغِيرَةٌ. الْمُشْكِلَةُ [problem]: الْخَوْفُ مِنَ الظَّلَامِ. الْحَلُّ [solution]: شَمْعَةٌ وَمُسَاعَدَةٌ. الْعِبْرَةُ [lesson]: الشَّجَاعَةُ فِعْلُ الْخَيْرِ. Fill in each from the text.
4. Step 4, Write a three-sentence summary. يُحْكَى عَنْ صَبِيٍّ يَخَافُ مِنَ الظَّلَامِ. فِي لَيْلَةٍ انْقَطَعَ النُّورُ فَسَاعَدَ جَارَتَهُ بِشَمْعَةٍ. تَعَلَّمَ أَنَّ الشَّجَاعَةَ فِعْلُ الْخَيْرِ. [It is told of a boy who feared the dark. One night, when the light went out, he helped his neighbour with a candle. He learned that courage is doing good.]
5. Step 5, Fix an error. A student retells every detail, including the village size, and adds an opinion. Correction: a summary keeps only the main events in your own words, in the past tense, and leaves out opinions. Aim for about a third of the text.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write two sentences on why the neighbour needed the boy and what he learned. Model answer: كَانَتِ الْجَارَةُ الْعَجُوزُ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى النُّورِ. تَعَلَّمَ الصَّبِيُّ أَنْ يَتَغَلَّبَ عَلَى خَوْفِهِ. [The old neighbour needed light. The boy learned to overcome his fear.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Summarise a short story: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Present and past tenses', you learn to use verbs in present and past. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Present and past tenses' 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: use verbs in present and past, 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 the past forms of كَتَبَ [to write]. كَتَبْتُ [I wrote], كَتَبْتَ [you wrote, m], كَتَبْتِ [you wrote, f], كَتَبَ [he wrote], كَتَبَتْ [she wrote], كَتَبْنَا [we wrote]. The endings are added to the stem كَتَب.
2. Step 2, Learn the present forms. أَكْتُبُ [I write], تَكْتُبُ [you write, m], تَكْتُبِينَ [you write, f], يَكْتُبُ [he writes], تَكْتُبُ [she writes], نَكْتُبُ [we write]. The prefixes أ ت ي ن show the person.
3. Step 3, Use time words. أَمْسِ كَتَبْتُ رِسَالَةً. [Yesterday I wrote a letter.] الْآنَ أَكْتُبُ وَاجِبِي. [Now I am writing my homework.] غَدًا سَأَكْتُبُ مَقَالًا. [Tomorrow I will write an essay.] Add سَـ before the present verb to make it future.
4. Step 4, Try another verb, ذَهَبَ [to go]. ذَهَبْنَا إِلَى الْمَكْتَبَةِ أَمْسِ. [We went to the library yesterday.] هِيَ تَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ. [She goes to school every day.] Say the past and present of both verbs for three persons.
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A student says هِيَ كَتَبَ الدَّرْسَ. Correction: هِيَ كَتَبَتِ الدَّرْسَ, because she needs the feminine ending ـَتْ. Another says نَحْنُ ذَهَبْتُ; correction: نَحْنُ ذَهَبْنَا, because we ends with ـنَا.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write one past and one present sentence with the verb قَرَأَ [to read]. Model answer: أَمْسِ قَرَأْتُ قِصَّةً. الْآنَ أَقْرَأُ كِتَابًا. [Yesterday I read a story. Now I am reading a book.] Check that قَرَأْتُ ends in تُ for I.

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Use verbs in present and past: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Telephone and daily conversation', you learn to hold a short phone conversation. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Telephone and daily conversation' 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: hold a short phone conversation, 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, Open a call politely. أَلُو، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ. [Hello, peace be upon you.] هَلْ أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَتَكَلَّمَ مَعَ (الِاسْمُ)؟ [May I speak with (name)?] The reply is وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ. مَنْ يَتَكَلَّمُ؟ [And upon you peace. Who is speaking?]
2. Step 2, Say who you are. أَنَا (الِاسْمُ)، زَمِيلُهَا فِي الصَّفِّ. [I am (name), her classmate.] نَعَمْ، لَحْظَةً مِنْ فَضْلِكَ. [Yes, one moment please.] عُذْرًا، (الِاسْمُ) غَيْرُ مَوْجُودَةٍ الْآنَ. [Sorry, (name) is not here now.]
3. Step 3, Leave a message. هَلْ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَتْرُكَ رِسَالَةً؟ [Do you want to leave a message?] نَعَمْ، أَخْبِرْهَا أَنَّ الِاجْتِمَاعَ غَدًا. [Yes, tell her the meeting is tomorrow.] حَسَنًا، سَأُخْبِرُهَا. [Fine, I will tell her.]
4. Step 4, Close the call. شُكْرًا جَزِيلًا. مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ. [Thank you very much. Goodbye.] If you dialled wrongly: عُذْرًا، الرَّقْمُ خَطَأٌ. [Sorry, wrong number.] Act out the full call with a partner, then swap roles.
5. Step 5, Fix an error. A caller says هَلْ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَتْرُكُ رِسَالَةً؟ with damma. Correction: هَلْ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَتْرُكَ رِسَالَةً؟ because after أَنْ the verb takes fatha. Also never hang up without saying مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ.
6. Step 6, Your turn: phone a friend to ask about homework. Model answer: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ. أَنَا (الِاسْمُ). هَلْ أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَ عَنِ الْوَاجِبِ؟ شُكْرًا. مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ. [Peace be upon you. I am (name). May I ask about the homework? Thank you. Goodbye.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Hold a short phone conversation: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Descriptive writing', you learn to describe a person or place. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Descriptive writing' 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 person or place, 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, A description has three parts: appearance, character, example. For a person write: جَدِّي رَجُلٌ طَوِيلُ الْقَامَةِ، أَبْيَضُ الشَّعْرِ. [My grandfather is a tall man with white hair.] Notice طَوِيلُ الْقَامَةِ [tall of stature] is a common phrase.
2. Step 2, Add character. هُوَ هَادِئٌ وَكَرِيمٌ. [He is calm and generous.] يَبْتَسِمُ دَائِمًا. [He always smiles.] Choose adjectives that agree: for a woman say جَدَّتِي امْرَأَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ [My grandmother is a kind woman].
3. Step 3, Give an example that proves the character. فِي كُلِّ جُمْعَةٍ يُوزِّعُ الْحَلْوَى عَلَى الْأَطْفَالِ. [Every Friday he gives out sweets to the children.] Connect with لِذَلِكَ [therefore]: لِذَلِكَ يُحِبُّهُ الْجَمِيعُ. [Therefore everyone loves him.]
4. Step 4, Describe a place. مَدِينَتِي سَاحِلِيَّةٌ صَغِيرَةٌ. شَوَارِعُهَا نَظِيفَةٌ وَبُيُوتُهَا بَيْضَاءُ. يَبْدُو الْبَحْرُ كَأَنَّهُ مِرْآةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ. [My town is a small coastal town. Its streets are clean and its houses white. The sea looks like a big mirror.] The word كَأَنَّ makes a simile.
5. Step 5, Fix an error. A student writes a list: طَوِيلٌ، كَرِيمٌ، هَادِئٌ. Correction: join the ideas in sentences and give an example, as in جَدِّي كَرِيمٌ لِأَنَّهُ يُسَاعِدُ الْفُقَرَاءَ [My grandfather is generous because he helps the poor]. Also agree adjectives with the noun.
6. Step 6, Your turn: describe your mother in three sentences. Model answer: أُمِّي امْرَأَةٌ جَمِيلَةٌ وَهَادِئَةٌ. تَعْمَلُ بِجِدٍّ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ. لِذَلِكَ أُحِبُّهَا كَثِيرًا. [My mother is a beautiful, calm woman. She works hard every day. Therefore I love her very much.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Describe a person or place: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

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.

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.

This course: Grade 07 Arabic is at this level. Its units include Reading short stories; Present and past tenses; Telephone and daily conversation; Descriptive writing.

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.