Session 12 — Project: My Family Poster

مَشروع: لَوحة عَيلَتي

Level: 1 — Hello, Arabic! Time: 30 minutes (project session — slightly longer) Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 5–7) Letter of the day: Full Level 1 alphabet review Big idea: I can introduce my whole family in Arabic — out loud, in writing, in a poster.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This is a project session — the culmination of Level 1. No new heavy content. Kids consolidate everything they've learned (greetings, family words, numbers, colors, the alphabet) into one poster they take home. Plan for 30 minutes instead of 25. You'll need: one piece of large paper per child (11x17 or two sheets of letter paper taped together), markers/crayons, glue sticks, and either printed family photos OR the child can draw their family. Ask families to send 4–6 small photos (or photocopies) at least one session in advance. If photos didn't come in, no problem — drawings work just as well.

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Ask heritage kids to write one extra sentence in Arabic — like bḥebb ʿayleti (I love my family) — under their poster.
• Beginner warm: It's totally fine if a beginner only writes ماما and بابا on their poster. The point is pride, not volume.

🏠 For parents at home

This is a special session — your child's first real Arabic project. Set aside 30 minutes when no one is rushing. You'll need: one big piece of paper (tape two regular sheets together if needed), markers, a glue stick, and 4–6 photos of family members (printed, or just drawn). If you don't have a printer, drawing is wonderful — kids often prefer it.

If your child is heritage: this is the moment where everything connects. The names they hear every day (Teta, Jiddo, Khalo) are now on a poster they made themselves. Take a photo when it's done. Send it to the grandparents.

If your child is new to Arabic: don't worry about Arabic writing being neat or correct. You can write the words lightly in pencil first, and they can trace. The poster is a trophy, not a test.

Materials checklist

• 1 large piece of paper per child (or 2 letter-size sheets taped together)
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils
• Glue stick
• 4–6 family photos OR space for the child to draw
• Pencil (for light tracing of Arabic words, if helpful)
• Optional: stickers, washi tape, anything festive
• Audio file: session-12-audio.mp3 (full Level 1 vocabulary review)

Block 1: Warm-up — what do we know? (4 min)

Goal: Activate everything from Level 1 in one quick burst.

Script:

Say with energy: "مَرحَبا! اليَوم يَوم خاص." (Marhaba! Al-yawm yawm khāṣ.) — "Hello! Today is a special day." Then say: "اليَوم بِنَعمَل لَوحة عَن عَيلَتنا." (Levantine: Al-yawm bna'mel lawḥa 'an 'aylet-na.) — "Today we make a poster about our family."

Do a 30-second lightning round — call out and have the child shout back:

• "How do you say hello?" → marhaba
• "How do you say my name is...?" → ismi...
• "Mom?" → mama / ummi
• "Dad?" → baba / abi
• "Grandma?" → teta
• "Grandpa?" → jiddo

Don't correct pronunciation here. Just celebrate that they remember.

Classroom variant: Do this as a call-and-response with the whole class clapping a rhythm.

Block 2: Two new words — this is... (5 min)

Goal: Learn the two tiny words that turn a photo into a sentence.

Today's two new words:

Script:

Hold up your hand like you're showing a photo. Point to an imaginary picture and say: "هذا بابا." (Hādhā baba.) — "This is dad." Then: "هَذِه ماما." (Hādhihi mama.) — "This is mom."

Have the child repeat both. Then play this tiny game:

You say a family word. The child has to put hadha or hadhihi in front of it.

• You say "teta" → child says هَذِه تيتا
• You say "jiddo" → child says هذا جِدّو
• You say "khalo" (uncle) → child says هذا خالو

Note for heritage kids: At home you might hear hayda (Levantine for "this is") instead of hadha. Both are right. Hadha is what we use when we write.

Quick aside on ʿailati vs ʿayleti: In MSA (the writing kind of Arabic), "my family" is عائِلَتي (ʿāʾilati). At home in Lebanon or Syria you'll hear ʿayleti. We'll write the MSA version on our poster, but say it however feels natural.

Block 3: Alphabet review — find your letters (5 min)

Goal: Walk through the Level 1 letters and find the ones in your own family's names.

In Level 1 we met these letters: أ ب ت ث ج ح خ د

Write them across the top of a scrap paper, big and clear:

Script:

Say: "Let's find the letters that are in YOUR family's names." Go through each family member. For each one, ask: "What sound does baba start with?" → ب! Circle it. "What sound does teta start with?" → ت! Circle it. "What sound does jiddo start with?" → ج! Circle it.

By the end, most of the alphabet should have a circle on it. Tell the child: "كُل عَيلَتك في الحُروف!" (Kull ʿayltak fil-ḥurūf!) — "Your whole family is in the letters!"

Stretch: Ask the child if they can write one of their family member's names in Arabic letters. Even just the first letter counts.

Block 4: Build the poster (12 min)

Goal: Make it. This is the heart of the session.

Setup:

• Big paper in front of the child.
• At the top, help them write:
  عائِلَتي
  (ʿailati — "my family"). You can write it lightly in pencil and have them trace, or they can copy it.
• Pile of photos OR blank space to draw.

How to build it:

1. Stick or draw each family member somewhere on the poster. No grid required — let it be messy and theirs.
2. Under each person, write in Arabic (or English letters showing the Arabic sound, if writing is hard):
   • **هذا بابا**
     (this is dad)
   • **هَذِه ماما**
     (this is mom)
   • **هذا جِدّو**
     (this is grandpa)
   • **هَذِه تيتا**
     (this is grandma)
   • …and so on for siblings, aunts, uncles, even pets
3. Decorate — colors, hearts, a little Lebanese flag, a drawing of the house, mountains, the sea — whatever feels like home.

Don't:

• Don't correct every letter. Let the child's handwriting be the child's handwriting.
• Don't rush. If they spend 8 minutes on dad's drawing, that's the session working.

Classroom variant: Play soft Arabic music in the background (Fairuz morning songs work beautifully — no lyrics needed to be understood). Walk around. Sit with quieter kids. Praise specific things: "I love that you drew the balcony."

Block 5: Present your poster (3 min)

Goal: Say it out loud. Make it real.

When the poster is done, the child stands up (or stays seated, if shy) and introduces their family.

Script the child says (you can prompt line by line):

**مَرحَبا! اسمي ___.**

*Marhaba! Ismi ___.* "Hello! My name is ___."

**هَذِه عائِلَتي.**

*Hādhihi ʿāʾilati.* "This is my family."

(Pointing at each person)

**هذا بابا. هَذِه ماما. هذا جِدّو…**

Classroom variant: Each child presents to the class. Everyone claps. If shy kids don't want to stand, they can present sitting, or just to one partner.

Home variant: The child presents to mom, dad, a sibling, or a grandparent on FaceTime. Real audience = real pride.

Block 6: Goodbye & take it home (1 min)

Goal: End the level on a high note.

Script:

Say: "شاطِر/شاطْرة! خَلَصنا المُستَوى الأول!" (Shāṭer/shāṭra! Khallaṣna al-mustawa al-awwal!) — "Smart kid! We finished Level 1!" Wave: "يَلّا، مع السَّلامة!"

Tonight at home (tell the child):

Hang your poster somewhere everyone can see it. Show every person who comes to the house. Say hadha and hadhihi for each picture.

For parents: Take a photo of the poster. Send it to one Arabic-speaking relative — teta, jiddo, an aunt, anyone. Their reaction will fuel another month of learning.

After this session

• Celebrate — this is the end of Level 1! 🎉
• Send home the Level 1 Certificate (one page, fill in the child's name).
• Family Guide for Level 2 — My Day in Arabic.
• Next session: Level 2 · Session 1 — Good Morning, Good Night (صَباح الخَير، تُصبِح على خَير).

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

No grading. No tests. Just notice, and tell the child what you noticed.

Yalla Arabic · Level 1 · Session 12 of 48 · End of Level 1 🎉