Session 31 — At the Souk

في السّوق

Level: 3 — Animals, weather, places, colors Time: 30 minutes Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 7–9) Letter of the day: ق (qaf) Big idea: I can shop in a Levantine market.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This session works in a 30-minute slot with 5–25 students. You'll need: play money (paper "coins" labeled with numbers), 6–8 "items" to sell (real or pictures — apple, bread, tomato, scarf, etc.), and price tags. Set up before class: arrange one corner of the room as the souk — a low table with items spread out, prices visible. If you have time, hang a paper sign that says

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Ask which heritage kids have been to a souk (Souk al-Hamidiyya in Damascus, Souk Bab Sharqi, the souks in Tripoli, Saida, or even the Sunday market in their neighborhood in the U.S.). Let them describe it for 30 seconds.
• Beginner warm: Drill just two phrases —
  بِكَم؟
  and
  غالي!
  — before the role-play. That's enough.

🏠 For parents at home

This works one-on-one in 25 minutes at the kitchen table. You'll need: a handful of coins (or paper labeled with numbers), 4–6 small items from around the house (an orange, a spoon, a sock — anything), and sticky notes for price tags. No prep beyond reading through this plan once.

If your child is heritage: they may already know

If your child is new to Arabic: they've already had 30 sessions. They can handle this. Don't translate every word — point, gesture, hold up the item. They'll get it.

Materials checklist

• 6–8 small items to "sell" (fruit, bread, a scarf, a toy — whatever you have)
• Price tags (sticky notes work) with numbers 1–20 written on them
• Play coins or paper labeled "
  قِرش
  " (you can write the number on each)
• A pen or marker
• Audio file: session-31-audio.mp3 (dialogue + vocabulary)
• Workbook page for Session 31

Block 1: Welcome to the souk (3 min)

Goal: Open the imagination. Place the child in a Levantine market.

Script:

Say with energy: "اليَوم، رايحين عَ السّوق!" (Al-yawm, rayhīn 'as-sūq!) — "Today, we're going to the souk!"

Ask: "Have you ever been to a market where the seller calls out prices and you can ask for a better deal?"

Let them answer. Heritage kids may light up — "Yes! In Lebanon!" or "My jiddo took me!" Beginners may say "like the farmer's market?" — yes, exactly like that.

Show or draw a picture of a busy Levantine souk — narrow alley, hanging spices, baskets of olives, a man calling out prices. Write

Repeat together: as-suq. Three times. Make it feel like you're stepping into the alley.

Block 2: Listen & repeat — souk words (6 min)

Goal: Learn the core shopping vocabulary.

Today's vocabulary:

Script:

Play the audio once. Just listen. Then say each word, child echoes. Use your face and hands:

• bi-kam? → hand out, palm up, eyebrows up (the universal "how much" face)
• ghāli → eyes wide, hand on cheek, shocked
• rakhīs → thumbs up, big smile
• qirsh → pinch fingers together (tiny coin)
• qintār → arms out wide (a whole bunch!)

A note on قِنطار: Tell the kids — "In Lebanon, qintar can mean a huge amount, like 'a ton of olives.' Your teta might say

Play the audio one more time. Echo along.

Block 3: Letter of the day — ق (qaf) (5 min)

Goal: Meet ق — a deep, back-of-the-throat sound.

Script:

Say: "هذا حَرف 'ق'. اسمُه 'قاف'." (Hādhā harf 'q'. Ismuhu 'qāf'.) — "This is the letter qaf."

Write a big ق on paper. Point out: it has a small circle/oval bowl, with two dots above. (Compare to ف, which has one dot. Don't worry if they don't remember ف — just mention it.)

How to make the sound: ق is made way at the back of the throat — deeper than the English "k." Tell them to imagine they're swallowing the "k." It's the sound a frog might make. Try together: qaf, qaf, qaf.

In real life: In spoken Levantine, ق often softens to a little catch in the throat (a glottal stop) — so

Find it in our words:

• **قِرش**
  — starts with ق
• **قِنطار**
  — starts with ق
• **سوق**
  — ends with ق!

Practice writing: Trace one ق in the workbook. Then write two yourself. Don't forget the two dots.

Block 4: Play with it — Open the Souk! (10 min)

Goal: Real shopping. Real bargaining. Real Arabic.

Setup: Spread the items out on the table. Put a sticky-note price tag on each one (use small numbers — 2, 5, 10, etc.). Give the child a handful of play coins. You are the seller first.

The dialogue (Levantine):

Child:

مَرحَبا! بِكَم هاد؟

(Marhaba! Bi-kam hād?) — "Hi! How much is this?" Seller (you):

خَمْسة قِرش.

(Khamsa qirsh.) — "Five piastres." Child:

غالي!

(Ghāli!) — "Expensive!" Seller:

طَيِّب، أَربَعة.

(Tayyib, arba'a.) — "Okay, four." Child:

رَخيص! بَدّي إيّاه.

(Rakhīs! Baddi yyāh.) — "Cheap! I want it."

Walk them through it once. Then play. Let them pick up items, ask bi-kam?, react with ghali! or rakhis!, and hand over coins.

Then switch. They become the seller. You become the customer. They'll giggle when they get to charge you qintar qirsh (a million piastres) for an apple. Let them.

Classroom variant: Split the class — half are sellers behind the "souk table," half are customers with coins. After 4 minutes, switch sides.

Block 5: Tiny reading (3 min)

Goal: Read three souk words.

Show the child these three words with pictures:

Point to one — they say it. Point to the next — they say it. Mix the order. Cover the picture and have them try with just the Arabic.

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

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

Goal: End warmly. Send the souk home with them.

Script:

Say: "يَلّا، مع السَّلامة من السّوق!" (Yalla, ma'a as-salāma min as-sūq!) — "Okay, goodbye from the souk!"

Tonight at home (tell the child):

The next time you're at the grocery store, or even just looking at a snack in the kitchen, ask someone:

بِكَم؟

(bi-kam?). If the answer surprises you, say

غالي!

For parents: When your child says bi-kam? at the dinner table about an orange — play along. Answer in Arabic with a number. Even just "'ashara qirsh" (ten piastres). Make it a running joke this week.

After this session

• Send home the Family Guide (one page).
• Send home the Vocabulary Cards for Session 31.
• Workbook stays in folder/binder.
• Next session: Session 32 — At the Bakery (
  عند الفُرن
  ), letter ف (fa).

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

Also note: did the ق sound come out as a back-of-throat q, a glottal stop, or a regular "k"? All three happen. Just notice.

No grading. No tests. Just notice and remember.

Yalla Arabic · Level 3 · Session 31 of 48