Session 30 — Sea and Mountain

البَحر والجَبَل

Level: 3 — Animals, weather, places, colors Time: 30 minutes Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 7–9) Letter of the day: ف (fa) Big idea: I can describe the sea and the mountain — two beloved Lebanese places.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This session works in a 30-minute slot with 5–25 students. You'll need: two large pieces of paper or two halves of the whiteboard — one labeled

By Session 30, your students know a lot. Today is a chance to let them describe — to put adjectives and nouns together. Push them to make full little sentences.

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Ask: "Does your family go to the sea or to the mountain in summer? Tell us in Arabic — even just two words." Many Lebanese families have a day'a (village) up in the mountains.
• Beginner warm: Focus on just بَحر and جَبَل for the first half. The other words can wait until Block 4.

🏠 For parents at home

This session works one-on-one in 25 minutes. You'll need: two pieces of paper, crayons or markers (especially blue, brown, green, and turquoise if you have it), and your phone for audio. If you have a photo of the Lebanese coast or the mountains — on your phone, in a frame, anywhere — pull it up. Real images make this land.

If your child is heritage: This is the session where you can tell stories. "Teta's house was in the mountain." "We used to swim at blank beach." Don't worry if you slip into English — the Arabic words from today's list are what we want them to catch.

If your child is new to Arabic: Lebanon has both — a coast on the Mediterranean and tall mountains right behind it. You can drive from the beach to the snow in one hour. That's the whole magic of today. Show them on a map if you can.

Materials checklist

• 2 pieces of paper or board space (one for sea, one for mountain)
• Markers or crayons — include blue, brown, green, white, turquoise
• Audio file: session-30-audio.mp3 (vocabulary + a short Levantine dialogue)
• Vocabulary picture cards (printed, 1 set per pair or per child)
• Optional: a photo of the Lebanese coast and a photo of a mountain village

Block 1: Two places (3 min)

Goal: Open with the big picture — Lebanon has two landscapes, and we love both.

Script:

Hold up (or draw) two pictures: waves on one side, a mountain on the other. Say with energy: "اليَوم منحكي عَن البَحر والجَبَل." (Al-yawm mnihki 'an il-bahr w il-jabal.) — "Today we're talking about the sea and the mountain."

Point to the waves: "هَيدا البَحر." (Hayda l-bahr.) — "This is the sea." Point to the mountain: "وهَيدا الجَبَل." (W hayda l-jabal.) — "And this is the mountain."

Ask the child(ren): Which one do you like more? Bahr or jabal? Just one word as an answer. (No wrong answer. Many Lebanese kids say both.)

Block 2: Listen & repeat (7 min)

Goal: Learn 7 words for describing these two places.

Today's vocabulary:

Script:

Play the audio once through. Let it land. Then go word by word. Say each one twice. The child echoes.

Pair each word with a gesture:

• Bahr → wave your hand like a wave
• Jabal → arms up into a triangle/peak
• Nahr → fingers wiggle down like flowing water
• Raml → rub fingertips together (grainy)
• Sakhr → fist (hard)
• Ghaymeh → fingers fluff up like a cloud
• Fayruz → point to something blue-green in the room

A note on فيروز: it's the color of the Mediterranean on a clear day. It's also the name of Lebanon's most famous singer. Heritage kids may have heard her voice in the morning at home. Mention it if it feels right.

Play the audio one more time. Echo together.

Block 3: Letter of the day — ف (fa) (5 min)

Goal: Meet the letter ف.

Script:

Say: "هذا حَرف 'ف'. اسمُه 'فا'. صَوتُه 'ffff'." (Hādhā harf 'fa'. Ismuhu 'fa'. Sawtuhu 'ffff'.) — "This is the letter 'fa'. Its sound is 'ffff'."

Write a big ف on the board. It's a circle (or oval) with one dot on top and a little tail to the left. Trace it together.

Find it in today's words:

• **فيروز**
  — starts with ف!

More ف words the kids might know:

• **فُل**
  (*full*) — jasmine flower
• **فَراشة**
  (*farasha*) — butterfly
• **فُستان**
  (*fustan*) — dress

Stretch (heritage kids): Do you know anyone whose name starts with ف? (Farah, Fadi, Fatima, Firas…) Write one name on the board if a child shares.

Practice writing: Trace ف three times in the workbook. Then write فيروز underneath if they're ready.

Block 4: Play with it — Sea Side / Mountain Side (8 min)

Goal: Sort the vocabulary and start describing.

Setup: Two pieces of paper (or two halves of the board). One labeled

How to play:

1. Pick up a card — say raml (sand). Ask: "البَحر وَلّا الجَبَل؟" (Il-bahr walla l-jabal?) — "Sea or mountain?" The child places it on the right side.
2. Sakhr (rock) → mountain side (usually).
3. Ghaymeh (cloud) → tricky — clouds are everywhere, but in Lebanon they often sit on top of the mountains. Let kids decide and explain.
4. Nahr (river) → rivers run from the mountains to the sea. Put it in the middle if they want.
5. Fayruz → sea side (the color of the water).

Now make tiny sentences. Model first:

"البَحر فيروز." (Il-bahr fayruz.) — "The sea is turquoise." "الجَبَل فيه صَخر." (Il-jabal fī sakhr.) — "The mountain has rocks." "عَلى البَحر رَمل." ('Ala l-bahr raml.) — "At the sea there is sand."

Have each child make one sentence. Two words is fine. Three is a win.

Classroom variant: Split the class into two teams — Team Bahr and Team Jabal. Each team has 90 seconds to list everything they know about their place, in Arabic. Then swap.

Block 5: Tiny reading (4 min)

Goal: Read four words today, including a color.

Show the child these words with pictures:

Point and say. Mix the order. Point again. By the third pass they should know which is which without the picture.

Bonus read: Write this short phrase and read it together:

That's a full sentence. Kid-read. Day thirty.

Block 6: Goodbye & try at home (3 min)

Goal: End with the warmth of place, and seed home practice.

Script:

Say: "يَلّا، مع السَّلامة! بُكرا منحكي عَن شي تاني." (Yalla, ma'a as-salaama! Bukra mnihki 'an shi tani.) — "Okay, bye! Tomorrow we'll talk about something else."

Tonight at home (tell the child):

Look out a window. Do you see a jabal? A ghaymeh? Tell someone in your family one thing you see, in Arabic.

For parents: If you have a family photo from the sea or the mountain — pull it out tonight. Point at it and say bahr or jabal. Tell a small story. Even 30 seconds. That's the homework.

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 31 — In the Village (
  في الضَّيعة
  ), letter ق (qaf).

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

No grading. No tests. Just notice and remember.

Yalla Arabic · Level 3 · Session 30 of 48