Session 2 — My Name Is...

اِسمي...

Level: 1 — Hello, Arabic! Time: 25 minutes Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 5–7) Letter of the day: ب (ba) Big idea: I can introduce myself in Arabic and ask a friend their name.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This session works in a 25–30 minute slot with 5–25 students. You'll need: a soft ball or beanbag (for the name-toss game in Block 4), and the name tags from Session 1 if you still have them. Set up before class: write each student's first name on the board in Arabic transliteration if you can — even rough is fine. If you have audio: cue the dialogue file.

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Ask heritage kids if anyone at home says شو اِسمَك؟ (shu ismak?) — the Levantine way. Both are right. We're teaching ما اِسمَك؟ today as the "book" version, but both are real.
• Beginner warm: Some kids freeze up saying their own name in a new language. Let them whisper it. Let them say it to a stuffed animal first. That counts.

🏠 For parents at home

This session works one-on-one in 20 minutes. You'll need: a soft toy or small ball to toss back and forth, and a piece of paper. No prep beyond reading this once.

If your child is heritage: they may already say اِسمي (ismi) without thinking. Lean into that. Today is about noticing what they already know, then adding the question form — ما اِسمَك؟ — which kids hear less often at home.

If your child is new to Arabic: the goal today is just two things. Say اِسمي [their name] and ask ما اِسمَك؟ That's the whole win. Everything else is bonus.

Materials checklist

• 1 soft ball, beanbag, or stuffed animal (for Block 4)
• A piece of paper and a marker
• Audio file: session-02-audio.mp3 (vocabulary + dialogue)
• Optional: print the workbook page

Block 1: Hello again & today's word (2 min)

Goal: Reconnect with last session's greeting, set up today.

Script:

Wave and say: "مَرحَبا!" (Marhaba!) — the word from last time. Wait for the child to say it back. (If they don't, just smile and say it again. No pressure.)

Then say: "اليَوم، اِسمي مُهِم." (Al-yawm, ismi muhimm.) — "Today, my name is important." Point to yourself and say: "اِسمي [your name]." (Ismi [your name].)

Write اِسمي on the paper. Underline it. Don't ask the child to read — just point and say.

Repeat together: Is-mi. Three times. Then once while pointing to yourself.

Block 2: Listen & repeat (6 min)

Goal: Learn how to say your name and ask someone else's.

Today's vocabulary (6 words):

Script:

Play the audio once. Let the native voice land. Don't talk over it. Then say each word slowly and have the child echo. Point to yourself for أنا, point to them for اِنتَ or اِنتِ.

Notice the boy/girl difference:

• To a boy → ما اِسمَك؟ (ma ismak?)
• To a girl → ما اِسمِك؟ (ma ismik?)

It's just a tiny vowel change at the end — ak vs. ik. Say them back to back so the child hears it.

Mini-dialogue (Levantine, practice together):

You: مَرحَبا! اِسمي سَفاء. ما اِسمِك؟ (Marhaba! Ismi Safaa. Ma ismik?) Child: اِسمي [name]. You: أهلاً [name]! (Ahlan [name]!)

Do it twice. Switch who asks first the second time.

Block 3: Letter of the day — ب (ba) (5 min)

Goal: Meet the second letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Script:

Say: "هذا حَرف 'ب'. اِسمُه 'باء'." (Hādhā harf 'B'. Ismuhu 'bāʾ'.) — "This is the letter 'B'. Its name is 'ba'."

Write a big ب on paper. It looks like a little smile with one dot underneath. Trace it together — the curve first, then the dot.

Tell the child: "Alif stood up straight like a tall stick. Ba is lying down like a little boat — with one dot below, like a fish underneath."

Find it in today's words:

• **بابا**
  — starts with ب! And has another ب in the middle!
• The word باء (the letter's own name) also starts with ب.

Stretch (heritage kids): What other family words start with ب? (Hint: bayt — house. Banat — girls. Bahr — sea.) Don't teach these formally today — just plant the seed.

Practice writing: Trace one ب in the workbook. Then write one yourself. Don't forget the dot!

Block 4: Play with it — The Name Toss (8 min)

Goal: Use اِسمي and ما اِسمَك / اِسمِك in real back-and-forth.

Setup: Stand or sit facing the child with a soft ball or stuffed animal between you.

How to play:

1. Whoever has the ball says: اِسمي [name]. ما اِسمَك؟ (or اِسمِك if tossing to a girl).
2. They toss the ball to the other person.
3. That person catches it and answers: اِسمي [name]. Then they ask back, and toss.
4. Keep going. Get faster. Get sillier.

Variations once they've got it:

• Use a fake name. اِسمي بَطّوطة! (Ismi Battoota! — "My name is Duckling!") Let them be ridiculous.
• Toss to a stuffed animal. The animal "answers" in a funny voice.

Classroom variant: Stand in a circle. Toss the ball across the circle. Whoever catches it introduces themselves and asks the next person. Make sure kids use the right form — اِسمَك to boys, اِسمِك to girls. Gently correct.

Block 5: Tiny reading (3 min)

Goal: Read TWO more words today.

Show the child these two words side by side:

Point to بابا. Notice the two ب's — one at the start, one in the middle. Say it. Point to أنا. Notice the alif at the start (from last session!). Say it.

Bonus: Now show them

That's four words read so far across two sessions. Tell them that. Kids love a tally.

Block 6: Goodbye & try at home (2 min)

Goal: End warmly. Seed a real-life practice.

Script:

Say: "يَلّا، مع السَّلامة!" (Yalla, ma'a as-salaama!) — "Okay, goodbye!" Wave.

Tonight at home (tell the child):

Ask one person in your family ما اِسمَك؟ or ما اِسمِك؟ — even if you already know their name! Then tell them اِسمي [your name]. Even if they already know!

For parents: When your child asks you in Arabic, answer in Arabic. Use your actual name. If you want, ask them back. The whole exchange takes 10 seconds and it's the most important 10 seconds of the day.

After this session

• Send home the Family Guide (one page).
• Send home the Vocabulary Cards for Session 2.
• Workbook stays in folder/binder.
• Next session: Session 3 — My Family (عائِلَتي), letter ت (ta).

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

No grading. No tests. Just notice and remember.

Yalla Arabic · Level 1 · Session 2 of 48