Derech Binah: The Hebrew Primer

Last school year I decided to send my child, currently in first grade, to a Jewish dayschool. He was learning to read in religious school but I knew he would not be up to the school's standards for second graders by the start of the school year. (He was reading extremely slowly and with many mistakes.) So I decided to tutor him in reading over the summer. I asked his religious school teacher what book to use and she recommended this one, the book he was using in her class. So I used it during the summer, going page by page with my son, doing all the exercises and activities. And we were successful! By the end of the summer we had finished the book and he was reading much, much better than he had been at the beginning of the summer. He started the new school year reading at class level and did not need any special help with his reading. Much of the credit goes to my son, who was willing to learn with me over the summer. The rest of the credit goes to this book! The consonants and vowels are taught one at a time, at an easy pace. There is lots of review and practice. The activities help the student learn the names of the letters and how to write them. They also help the student differentiate between the hard-to-distinguish ones. The end of the book includes reading practice for some of the common prayers and blessings - very useful! Currently I am teaching reading to a few adults on Shabbat. We are using Shalom Uvracha (because that's the book I found to use on the spur of the moment when we began). It's all right, but often introduces too much new material at once (which confuses my students) and sometimes repeats the same word or phrase more than twice on a line (which is silly and doesn't help them practice effectively). I have also used Aleph isn't Tough, which is pretty good but a bit too hard for beginning readers. I like The Hebrew Primer / Derech Binah better then either - it doesn't have the weaknesses of the other two books. I will buy a few copies and encourage my students to switch to this one. Highly recommended.

Very simple

I use this book to teach English speaking children and adult Christians. It makes Hebrew fun and less intimidating. I find it very useful and effective. The exercises can be a lot of fun in a class setting.

This is the only book you need to teach your child to read Hebrew! It is amazing and I taught my son to read Hebrew in less than 3 weeks just with this book.

My Hebrew tutor used this book as a text. It is a decent text, and easy to follow. It teaches the alphabet and basic words at a nice pace. However, it doesn't stand alone -- you will need a Hebrew class, or a tape, to go with the book.

This is a kid’s book but it works equally well for any age beginner to Hebrew. I’m finding it easy to follow and learn. I use it alongside other Internet tools.

I use this as both a supplement and a primary text when working with children and adults. They all love the colors and large print. I like the games and activities that I can use with individuals and small groups. A great text for many uses.

In spite of all the writing that was already done in the book, it was easy to learn the Hebrew Alef Bet with this book. Although it is aimed at children it worked well with many of our adult Hebrew learners.

Beautifully made book - I don't want to write in it because it will spoil the pictures! Fantastic primer for children learning Hebrew for the first time or people who want to refresh their memory (if they don't mind gorgeous colourful drawings!).