Session 10 — I Want / I Don't Want

بِدّي ومَا بِدّي

Level: 1 — Hello, Arabic! Time: 25 minutes Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 5–7) Letter of the day: (review — no new letter) Big idea: I can say what I want and don't want.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This session works in a 25–30 minute slot with 5–25 students. You'll need: real or pretend versions of the four food/drink items (water bottle, milk carton, bread, apple) — or printed pictures if you can't bring real items. Set up before class: place the four items (or pictures) on a table at the front of the room where everyone can see. If you have audio: queue up the vocabulary track.

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Many heritage kids already say biddi at home without realizing it's Arabic. Make a moment of this: "You already know this one!" Ask them what else they say biddi for at home.
• Beginner warm: Stick with just biddi + one food word for the first half. Add ma biddi later. Don't rush both frames at once.

🏠 For parents at home

This session works one-on-one in 20 minutes at the kitchen table — and honestly, the kitchen is the perfect place for today's lesson. You'll need: a cup of water, a cup of milk, a piece of bread, and an apple. Real food. That's the whole prep.

If your child is heritage (Arabic spoken at home): they almost certainly already say biddi — it might even be their most-used Arabic word. Today is about noticing it and giving it a partner: ma biddi.

If your child is new to Arabic: biddi is the single most useful word you can teach them. After today, they can ask for things in Arabic at snack time. That's huge.

Materials checklist

• A cup of water, a cup of milk, a piece of bread, an apple (real or pictures)
• A small plate or tray to put them on
• Audio file: session-10-audio.mp3 (vocabulary + dialogue)
• Optional: print the workbook page on regular paper

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

Goal: Greet, and introduce today's superpower word.

Script:

Say: "مَرحَبا!" (Marhaba!) Then hold up something the child likes (the apple works great). Say: "بِدّي تُفّاحة!" (Biddi tuffaha!) — "I want an apple!" Take a pretend bite. Smile big.

Then say: "اليَوم نَتَعَلَّم نَقول 'بِدّي' و 'مَا بِدّي'." (Al-yawm nata'allam naqūl 'biddi' wa 'ma biddi'.) — "Today we learn to say 'I want' and 'I don't want'."

For heritage kids: pause here. Ask: "Have you ever said biddi at home?" Watch their face light up.

Block 2: Listen & repeat (6 min)

Goal: Learn the two frames + four food/drink words.

Today's vocabulary (6 words):

Script:

Play the audio once. Let it land.

Now pick up each item, one at a time, and say its name. Have the child echo.

• Hold up water → ma' → child echoes
• Hold up milk → halib → child echoes
• Hold up bread → khubz → child echoes
• Hold up apple → tuffaha → child echoes

Now add the frame. Hold up each item and say: "بِدّي ماء." — Biddi ma'. "بِدّي حَليب." — Biddi halib. "بِدّي خُبز." — Biddi khubz. "بِدّي تُفّاحة." — Biddi tuffaha.

Now flip it. Make a face like yuck, no thanks: "مَا بِدّي حَليب!" — Ma biddi halib! Push the milk away with your hand.

Kids love the ma biddi face. Lean into the drama. Play the audio one more time.

Block 3: Letter review (3 min)

Goal: Spot familiar letters in today's words.

No new letter today — we're reviewing.

Script:

Say: "اليَوم نُراجِع الحُروف." (Al-yawm nurāji' al-hurūf.) — "Today we review letters."

Look at today's words and find letters the child already knows:

• **ماء**
  — starts with **م** (meem) — same as in *mama*!
• **حَليب**
  — starts with **ح** (haa) — that scratchy sound from the back of the throat
• **تُفّاحة**
  — starts with **ت** (taa) — two dots on top

Point to each letter. Say its sound. Have the child trace one in the air with their finger.

Stretch (heritage kids): Can you find the letter ب (baa) hiding inside biddi and halib? It's the same letter — once at the start, once at the end.

Block 4: Play with it — The Snack Tray Game (9 min)

Goal: Use biddi and ma biddi in real back-and-forth.

Setup: Put all four items on a tray. Sit across from the child.

How to play — Round 1 (you offer, they answer):

You pick up an item and offer it: "بِدّي حَليب؟" (Biddi halib? — "[Do you] want milk?")

The child answers with either:

• "بِدّي!" (Biddi!) — "I want [it]!" → they take it and pretend to drink/eat
• "مَا بِدّي." (Ma biddi.) — "I don't want." → they push it away with a face

Go through all four items. Then mix it up — offer the same item twice, offer in a silly voice, pretend to offer the apple but pull it back. Make them laugh.

Round 2 (they ask, you answer):

Now switch. The child picks up an item and asks you: "بِدّي ماء؟"

You answer biddi! or ma biddi! — and ham it up. When you say ma biddi to the bread, make a big sad face like the bread is hurt. (Kids think this is hilarious. The bread will recover.)

Classroom variant: Put kids in pairs. Each pair gets four picture cards. They take turns offering and answering. Walk around and listen for clean biddi / ma biddi swaps.

Block 5: Tiny reading (3 min)

Goal: Read TWO words today.

Show the child these two words side by side, with pictures:

Have them point to one. Say it. Then the other. Say it.

Then ask: "بِدّي ماء وَلا بِدّي تُفّاحة؟" (Biddi ma' walla biddi tuffaha? — "Want water or want apple?") Let them point and say the word.

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

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

Goal: End warmly and seed home practice.

Script:

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

Tonight at home (tell the child):

At dinner tonight, ask for one thing in Arabic. Say "بِدّي ماء" or "بِدّي خُبز" — whatever you want. Use the Arabic word, not the English one.

For parents: When your child says biddi [something] at home — even if it's mixed with English ("biddi the remote") — give them the thing. Reward the Arabic word immediately. That single moment is the whole lesson working.

Also: when you want something, model it. Reach for the water and say biddi ma'. They'll absorb it without you ever explaining.

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 11 — Please & Thank You (مِن فَضلَك وشُكراً).

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

Bonus thing to notice: does the child use ma biddi with the same ease as biddi? The "no" frame is often slower to surface than the "yes" frame. That's normal.

No grading. No tests. Just notice and remember.

Yalla Arabic · Level 1 · Session 10 of 48