For many centuries, Jewish families all over the world read Hebrew, wrote Hebrew, and prayed in Hebrew. Almost no child grew up speaking it at home. Then, in the 1880s, a father named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda decided his son would. There was a problem. The old language had no words for the new world: no word for bicycle, ice cream, or doll. So words like these were built, by him and by others after him, out of old Hebrew words.
ofanayimoh-fah-NAH-yim
Bicycle. Built from ofan, an ancient Hebrew word for “wheel,” turned into a pair. Two wheels. That is how a language almost no one had spoken at home for centuries got its word for a bicycle. Today millions of people use it.
Now you try. Build a word out of two old ideas, then say it out loud.
Skateboard
a board on wheels you ride standing up
Two old ideas I joined:
My new word:
Draw your invention
Video game
a game you play on a screen
Two old ideas I joined:
My new word:
Draw your invention
Backpack
a bag you carry on your back
Two old ideas I joined:
My new word:
Draw your invention
When you finish the game, turn your page over. Your teacher has the real Hebrew word for one of these.
★ What makes a people?
The Jewish people live in many countries and look, cook, and dress in many different ways. What holds them together is a story thousands of years long, a homeland, a language, and holidays. Other peoples share a story, a place, or a language too. What about yours?
K–5 Lesson