Session 8 — Please and Thank You

مِن فَضلَك وشُكراً

Level: 1 — Hello, Arabic! Time: 25 minutes Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 5–7) Letter of the day: review أ → خ (alif through khaa) Big idea: I can be polite in Arabic.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This session works in a 25–30 minute slot with 5–25 students. You'll need: a small "treasure" object per pair (a pencil, a sticker, a tiny toy — anything passable) for the role-play in Block 4. Set up before class: write the six politeness words large on the board before students arrive. If you have audio, cue it up.

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Ask heritage kids when they hear ma'lesh at home — who says it, and what just happened? They'll have stories.
• Beginner warm: Focus on just two words today — shukran and min fadlak. The other four can wash over them; they'll come back next session.

🏠 For parents at home

This session works one-on-one in 20 minutes. You'll need: two small objects (a cup, a spoon, a toy — anything you can pass back and forth), and your phone for audio. No prep beyond reading this plan once.

If your child is heritage (Arabic spoken at home): these are the words you already say a hundred times a day without thinking. Today we're naming them. Tell your child: "Shukran — you've heard me say this your whole life. Today we'll count how many times I say it tomorrow."

If your child is new to Arabic: shukran is the easiest entry point. Most American kids have heard it somewhere. Start there, build confidence, then add the others.

Materials checklist

• 2 small objects to pass (cup, spoon, pencil, toy — anything)
• Audio file: session-08-audio.mp3 (vocabulary + dialogue)
• Workbook page for Session 8
• Optional: a tray or plate, just for fun, to "serve" things in the role-play

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

Goal: Reconnect, set today's theme.

Script:

Greet warmly: "مَرحَبا! كيفك اليَوم؟" (Marhaba! Kīfak al-yawm?) — "Hello! How are you today?" Wait for the answer (even if it's in English — that's fine).

Then say: "اليَوم رَح نِتعَلَّم نِكون مُؤَدَّبين بالعَرَبي." (Al-yawm rah nit'allam nkūn mu'addabīn bil-'arabi.) — "Today we're going to learn how to be polite in Arabic."

Ask: "When someone gives you a cookie, what do you say in English?" (Thank you.) "And when you want to ask for one nicely?" (Please.)

Say: "بالعَرَبي كَمان عِنّا هَيدول الكَلِمات. تَعالوا نِتعَرَّف عَلَيهُن." (Bil-'arabi kamān 'inna haydōl al-kalimāt. Ta'ālū nit'arraf 'alayhun.) — "In Arabic we have these words too. Let's meet them."

Block 2: Listen & repeat (6 min)

Goal: Learn the 6 politeness words.

Today's vocabulary:

Script:

Play the audio once. Don't talk over it. Then go word by word. Say each one slowly. Have the child echo.

Important note on min fadlak vs min fadlik: This is the first time we meet boy-form / girl-form words. Keep it light.

Say: "إذا عَم تِحكي مع وَلَد، بِتقول 'مِن فَضلَك'. إذا عَم تِحكي مع بِنت، بِتقول 'مِن فَضلِك'." (If you're talking to a boy, you say 'min fadlak.' If you're talking to a girl, you say 'min fadlik.')

Practice: point to yourself ("am I a boy or a girl?") — and have them say the right one. Then point to someone else. Don't drill it. Just notice it.

Gestures to add:

• Min fadlak/fadlik → hands together like asking
• Shukran → hand to chest
• Al-'afw → small open-palm gesture, like "no problem"
• Asif/asfeh → shoulders up, sorry face
• Ma'lesh → light shrug, soft smile

Play the audio one more time. They'll be moving along by now.

Block 3: Letter of the day — review أ to خ (5 min)

Goal: Look back at the first six letters we've met.

We've now met six letters together: أ ب ت ث ج ح خ. That's a lot! Today we just review.

Script:

Write all six on the board or paper, in a row, right to left:

**أ ب ت ث ج ح خ**

Point to each one. Say its name. Have the child echo. Alif, baa, taa, thaa, jeem, Haa, khaa.

Find the letters in today's words:

• **آسِف**
  — starts with أ (alif with a little hat — that's *madda*, but for now, still alif).
• **العَفو**
  — starts with ا (alif) too!

Stretch (heritage kids): Can you find a خ (khaa) sound in any word you know? Hint: khubz (bread), khalas (enough), akhi (my brother).

Practice writing: In the workbook, trace each of the six letters once. Don't worry about neatness. Just feel the shape.

Block 4: Play with it — The Polite Café (8 min)

Goal: Use the words in real, silly conversation.

Setup: Put the two small objects on a tray (or just on the table). One of you is the "customer," one is the "café worker." (At school: pair students up; rotate.)

How to play — Round 1:

1. Customer asks for something: "الكوب، مِن فَضلَك." (Al-kūb, min fadlak.) — "The cup, please." (Use min fadlik if asking a girl.)
2. Worker hands it over.
3. Customer says: "شُكراً." (Shukran.)
4. Worker answers: "العَفو." (Al-'afw.)
5. Switch roles. Switch objects.

Round 2 — add an "oops":

This time, the worker "accidentally" drops the object (gently!). The worker says: "آسِف!" (or asfeh if a girl). The customer answers: "مَعليش!" (Ma'lesh!) — no worries.

Then continue the exchange. The whole point is to feel how ma'lesh lands — soft, forgiving, very Levantine.

Classroom variant: Set up two or three "cafés" around the room. Kids rotate as customers. Every exchange must use at least three of the six words.

Block 5: Tiny reading (3 min)

Goal: Read two politeness words.

Point to one. Say it. Point to the other. Say it. Cover one and ask: "Which one says shukran?"

That's it. Two words read today. Eight words total since Session 1.

(In the workbook, this is the reading row for Session 8.)

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

Goal: End warmly. Send the words home.

Script:

Say: "شُكراً إنَّك تَعَلَّمت مَعي اليَوم! مع السَّلامة!" (Shukran innak ta'allamt ma'i al-yawm! Ma'a as-salaama!) — "Thank you for learning with me today! Goodbye!"

Tonight at home (tell the child):

Tonight at dinner, say شُكراً when someone passes you food. Say مِن فَضلَك / مِن فَضلِك when you ask for something. Try to use both at least once.

For parents: When your child says shukran, answer al-'afw — even if you've been answering "you're welcome" their whole life. Switch it tonight. Watch them notice.

After this session

• Send home the Family Guide (one page).
• Send home the Vocabulary Cards (cut on dotted lines).
• Workbook stays in folder/binder.
• Next session: Session 9 — Yes & No (نعم ولا), letter د (daal).

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

No grading. No tests. Just notice and remember.

Yalla Arabic · Level 1 · Session 8 of 48