Session 5 — Brother and Sister

أَخ وأُخت

Level: 1 — Hello, Arabic! Time: 25 minutes Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 5–7) Letter of the day: ج (jim) Big idea: I can talk about my brothers and sisters.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This session works in a 25–30 minute slot with 5–25 students. You'll need: small paper or index cards (3 per child), markers or crayons, and a clear wall or board space. Set up before class: draw a simple "family tree" on the board with two empty branches labeled

Heads up: some kids in your room are only children. That's important. Build in space for ma indi akh / ma indi ukht ("I don't have a brother/sister") — say it warmly, like it's just as good an answer. Cousins count too if a child wants them to.

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Ask heritage kids to share what they call their siblings at home — khayyi (my brother), ikhti (my sister) in Levantine. These are different from the textbook form, and that's wonderful.
• Beginner warm: Just akh and ukht today. Drop saghir/kbir if it's too much.

🏠 For parents at home

This session works one-on-one in 20 minutes — kitchen table, couch, wherever. You'll need: 3 small pieces of paper, a pen, and your phone for audio. If your child has siblings, even better — pull out a family photo with everyone in it.

If your child is heritage: they may already call their brother khayyi or their sister ikhti. Honor that. Then introduce akh and ukht as the "book words" — the ones we'd write down.

If your child is new to Arabic: stick with akh and ukht the whole session. The rest will come.

If your child is an only child: lean into ma indi akh / ma indi ukht. Make it sound proud, not sad. They might also want to talk about a cousin, a best friend, or even a pet. Let them.

Materials checklist

• 3 small pieces of paper or index cards per child
• Markers or crayons
• Audio file: session-05-audio.mp3 (vocabulary + dialogue)
• Optional: a family photo
• Workbook page 5

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

Goal: Greet warmly, set today's theme.

Script:

Greet with energy: "مَرحَبا! كيفك اليَوم؟" (Marhaba! Kīfak al-yawm?) — "Hello! How are you today?" Then say: "اليَوم نَحكي عَن الإخوة والأخوات." (Al-yawm naḥki ʿan al-ikhwa wal-akhawāt.) — "Today we talk about brothers and sisters."

Hold up two fingers. Point to one: أَخ (akh) — brother. Point to the other: أُخت (ukht) — sister.

Repeat together: akh… ukht… akh… ukht. Four times. Make the kh sound from the back of the throat — like clearing a soft cough. Kids love this sound. Let them be silly with it.

Block 2: Listen & repeat (6 min)

Goal: Learn today's 6 words.

Script:

Play the audio once. Let the native voice land first. Then say each word slowly. Have the child echo. Big mouth shapes — kh and gh are throat sounds and kids learn them by watching you make them.

Now add gestures:

• akh → hold up one fist, strong (brother)
• ukht → hand to the side, palm up (sister)
• saghir → hands close together, small
• kbir → hands wide apart, big
• ʿindi → both hands to your chest ("I have")
• ma ʿindi → wave hands "no" in front of you

Now build a tiny sentence together:

Say slowly: "عِندي أَخ صَغير." (ʿIndi akh saghīr.) — "I have a younger brother." Then: "عِندي أُخت كبيرة." (ʿIndi ukht kbīra.) — "I have an older sister."

Don't explain the -a ending on kbira. Just say it. They'll absorb it.

Play the audio one more time.

Block 3: Letter of the day — ج (jim) (5 min)

Goal: Meet the letter jim and the j sound.

Script:

Say: "هذا حَرف 'ج'. اسمُه 'جيم'." (Hādhā ḥarf 'j'. Ismuhu 'jīm'.) — "This is the letter 'j'. Its name is 'jim'."

Write a big ج on paper or board. Notice the shape: a curve like a smile, with one dot underneath. Trace it together — the curve first, then the dot.

Note for parents/teachers: in Levantine Arabic, ج often sounds like the j in "jam." In Egyptian, it's a hard g like "go." Both are right. We'll say jim the Levantine way.

Find it in words the child might know:

• **جَدّ**
  — *jiddo* / *jadd* — grandpa
• **جَميل**
  — *jamīl* — beautiful
• **جَبَل**
  — *jabal* — mountain

Stretch (heritage kids): Do you know anyone whose name starts with ج? Jana, Jamil, Jude, Jihan, George (Jurj)… Listen for the j at the start.

Practice writing: Trace three jims in the workbook. Don't forget the dot underneath.

Block 4: Play with it — The Family Cards Game (8 min)

Goal: Use ʿindi / ma ʿindi with akh and ukht in real talk.

Setup: Give the child 3 small cards. On each card, they draw one person from their family — a brother, a sister, OR a cousin/friend if they're an only child. Underneath, help them write akh or ukht in English letters. (Don't ask them to write Arabic yet — that comes later in the level.)

How to play:

1. The child picks up one of their cards.
2. They say: "عِندي…" (ʿindi…) + akh or ukht + name. Example: "ʿIndi akh — Sami."
3. You ask: "صَغير وَلّا كبير؟" (Saghīr walla kbīr?) — "Younger or older?"
4. They answer: saghir or kbir.
5. Switch — you go next. Tell them about your brother or sister. Use real names.

If the child has no siblings, they say: "مَا عِندي أَخ. مَا عِندي أُخت." (Ma ʿindi akh. Ma ʿindi ukht.) — and that's a full, complete answer. Then they can pick a cousin or friend to talk about instead: "Bass ʿindi cousin — Layla."

Classroom variant: Walk around. Ask 3 different classmates: ʿandak akh? (do you have a brother?) — they answer ʿindi or ma ʿindi. Tally on the board: how many brothers in the whole class? How many sisters?

Block 5: Tiny reading (3 min)

Goal: Read two new words today.

Show the child these two words, side by side:

Point to one. Have them say it. Then the other.

Then a tiny challenge: show them the word

(In the workbook page, this is the "I can read" row.)

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

Goal: End warm, plant home practice.

Script:

Say: "يَلّا، مع السَّلامة!" (Yalla, maʿa as-salāma!) — "Okay, bye!"

Tonight at home (tell the child):

Find your brother or sister (or cousin, or friend) and tell ONE other person about them in Arabic. Say: "ʿIndi akh, ismo ___" or "ʿIndi ukht, isma ___". If you don't have a brother or sister, find a grown-up and say: "Ma ʿindi akh, ma ʿindi ukht." Say it proud.

For parents: when your child uses akh or ukht tonight, respond in Arabic. Even just: "Akh saghir? Helu!" ("A younger brother? Sweet!")

After this session

• Send home the Family Guide (one page).
• Send home the Vocabulary Cards (cut on dotted lines).
• Workbook page 5 stays in folder/binder.
• Next session: Session 6 — Numbers 1–5 (الأرقام), letter د (dal).

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

Also notice: how did the only-children in the room handle ma ʿindi? Did it feel okay? If a child got quiet, check in next session.

No grading. No tests. Just notice and remember.

Yalla Arabic · Level 1 · Session 5 of 48