Session 34 — At My Grandmother's

عِند تيتا

Level: 3 — Animals, weather, places, colors Time: 30 minutes Audience: Heritage learners + total beginners (ages 7–9) Letter of the day: review (no new letter today) Big idea: I can describe a visit to grandma's house.

👩‍🏫 For teachers

This session works in a 30-minute slot with 5–25 students. You'll need: a few props that suggest "teta's house" — a small plate, a tea cup or mug, maybe a cookie or a picture of one. Set up before class: print the vocabulary cards (1 set per pair) and the story strip page (1 per student). If you have audio: cue the dialogue audio twice.

This session is affectionate, not academic. It's about the feeling of going to grandma's. Slow your pace. Let kids tell their own grandma stories — in English is fine, as long as they sprinkle the Arabic words in.

Differentiation:

• Heritage stretch: Ask heritage kids what THEY call their grandma — teta, sitti, jiddah, nana. All of them are right. Write them on the board.
• Beginner warm: Focus on just three words today — teta, kuk, hikayeh. Let the others wash over them.

🏠 For parents at home

This session works one-on-one in about 25 minutes, ideally on the couch or somewhere soft. You'll need: a snack (a cookie, a piece of cake, anything that feels like teta food), and your phone for audio. No prep beyond reading through this plan once.

If your child has a grandma they see often: lean into it. Use her real name. "Let's pretend we're at teta Hala's." If their grandma lives far away or has passed: this can be tender. Frame it as: the words we'd say if we got to see her. It's okay if there are big feelings. That's part of the language too.

Heritage families: your child has likely heard ishtaqtillak a hundred times without knowing the word. Today they get to name it.

Materials checklist

• 1 small plate + 1 cup (or pictures of them)
• A cookie, a piece of cake, or a picture of one
• Audio file: session-34-audio.mp3 (vocabulary + dialogue)
• Story strip page (1 per child) — for Block 5
• Optional: a photo of the child's real grandma on the table

Block 1: Walking in the door (3 min)

Goal: Set the scene. We're going to teta's.

Script:

Sit close. Lower your voice a little, like you're about to tell a secret. Say: "اليَوم، رَح نروح عِند تيتا." (Al-yawm, rah nrūh 'ind teta.) — "Today, we're going to grandma's."

Put the plate and cup on the table. Place the cookie on the plate. Say:

**"شو في عِند تيتا؟ في كُك، في شاي، في حِكايات."**

(*Shū fī 'ind teta? Fī kuk, fī shāy, fī hikāyāt.*) — "What's at teta's? There's cake, there's tea, there are stories."

Ask the child (in English is fine): What's at your teta's house? What do you smell when you walk in?

Let them answer. Don't rush. This is the warm-up that matters.

Block 2: Listen & repeat (7 min)

Goal: Learn today's six words.

Today's vocabulary:

Script:

Play the audio once. Let it land — don't talk over it. Then say each word slowly. Child echoes.

Add gestures:

• Teta → open arms like a hug
• Ishtaqtillak → hand to heart, then reach out
• Akil bayti → rub belly, then point to "home"
• Kuk → pinch fingers like holding a cookie
• Hikayeh → open palms like a book
• Qa'adna → pat the couch / chair next to you

Play the audio one more time. Echo together.

Pause on ishtaqtillak. This one carries weight. Tell the child: this is what teta says when she opens the door. It means "I missed you so much my heart hurt a little."

Block 3: Review corner — sounds we know (4 min)

Goal: No new letter today. Instead, hunt for letters we've already met inside today's words.

Script:

Say: "اليَوم، ما في حَرف جَديد. بَس مَنشوف حُروف مَنعِرفُن." (Al-yawm, mā fī harf jadīd. Bas mansh ūf hurūf man'rifun.) — "Today, no new letter. But we'll look at letters we already know."

Write كُك on paper. Point to the ك (kaf). Say: "We know this one — kaf. It says 'k'."

Write حِكاية. Find the ك again. Find the ح (ha) we learned earlier. Find the ي (ya).

Heritage stretch: Ask them to find ت (ta) in تيتا. Two of them! At the start and the middle.

Beginner warm: Just have them circle the letter that looks the same in two different words. That's enough.

Block 4: The visit — a tiny dialogue (8 min)

Goal: Act out arriving at teta's.

Setup: One person plays teta. One person plays the kid arriving. Then swap. Use the plate and cup as props.

The dialogue (Levantine):

Teta (opens the door, big smile):

**"أهلاً حَبيبي! اِشتَقتِلَّك!"**

(*Ahlan habībi! Ishtaqtillak!*) — "Hi sweetheart! I missed you!"

Kid:

**"اِشتَقتِلِّك يا تيتا!"**

(*Ishtaqtillik ya teta!*) — "I missed you, teta!"

Teta (puts cookie on plate):

**"تَعا، عِندي كُك وأُكِل بَيتي."**

(*Ta'a, 'indi kuk w-akil bayti.*) — "Come, I have cake and homemade food."

Kid (sits down):

**"قَعَدنا، وتيتا حَكَت حِكاية."**

(*Qa'adna, w-teta hakat hikāyeh.*) — "We sat, and teta told a story."

How to play:

1. Read the dialogue together once. You do teta, child does kid.
2. Swap roles. Child is teta now.
3. Third time: try it without looking at the page. It's okay if they only get half the words.

Classroom variant: Pair students up. One is teta, one is the grandchild. They act it out, then swap. Walk around. Listen for ishtaqtillak — that's the one to celebrate.

Block 5: Tiny reading & telling (5 min)

Goal: Read a four-line story strip about visiting teta.

Show the child the story strip:

Read it through together. Then have the child read it back — pointing at each line. If they stumble, just say the word and keep going. No corrections mid-flow.

Then ask: Can you tell me, in your own words, what happened in this little story?

Let them tell it back in English with a few Arabic words sprinkled in. That counts. That's the goal.

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

Goal: End warmly. Carry the words out the door.

Script:

Say: "يَلّا، مع السَّلامة! بوسة لتيتا." (Yalla, ma'a as-salaama! Būsi la-teta.) — "Okay, goodbye! A kiss for teta."

Tonight at home (tell the child):

If you see or call your teta this week — or your sitti, your jiddah, your nana — say "اِشتَقتِلِّك" to her. Just that one word. Watch her face.

If you can't see her, draw her a picture of a cookie and a cup of tea. Write تيتا at the top.

For parents: if teta is reachable by phone or video, this is the homework. A 90-second call. Just so the child can use the word with the actual person. That's the whole point of this session.

After this session

• Send home the Family Guide (one page).
• Send home the Vocabulary Cards (cut on dotted lines).
• Story strip goes in the workbook/folder.
• Next session: Session 35 — At the Mountain Village (في الضَّيعة), review of place words.

Teacher / Parent observation notes (formative — not graded)

Watch for, this session:

No grading. No tests. Just notice and remember.

Yalla Arabic · Level 3 · Session 34 of 48