Teach Jewish History K–5 Lesson
Station 1 · Word cards

Words You Already Speak

Stories, Foods, and Words · Grades K–5

Station leader: how to play

  1. Print two copies. Cut one into twelve cards. Cut the three path boxes off the other, and fold the key under.
  2. K–2, the stand-up game. Read a card aloud. “Stand up if you have ever said this word.” “Thumbs up if you think it came from far away.” Then tell where it came from.
  3. 3–5, the sorting game. Stand the path boxes along the table. Children put each card under a box, then check the key. Nine of the twelve came from Yiddish or Hebrew. One card is tricky on purpose.
✂ Cut on the dashed lines
bagel
A round bread with a hole.I had a bagel for breakfast.
klutz KLUTS
Someone who trips and spills a lot.I was such a klutz today!
mensch MENSH
A truly good, kind person.He helped me carry it. What a mensch.
kosher
Food made by Jewish rules. Also means “okay.”Is that kosher with you?
chutzpah HOOTS-pah
Being brave and a little too bold.It took chutzpah to ask for a third cookie.
schmooze SHMOOZ
To chat in a friendly way.They schmoozed for an hour.
amen
“Truly” or “so be it.”“Pizza for lunch?” “Amen to that!”
hallelujah
A shout of joy or praise.Hallelujah, it’s Friday!
jubilee
A big celebration of a special year.The town held a jubilee.
pretzel
A twisted, salty snack.We shared a warm pretzel.
kindergarten
The first year of school.My sister starts kindergarten.
piñata
A hanging shape full of treats.We broke the piñata at the party.
Hebrew → Englishthrough the Bible
Through Yiddish → Englishsome of these started in Hebrew first
Another language → Englishother languages give English words too
Fold under along this line · Key: where each word came from

bagel · Yiddish → English

klutz · Yiddish → English

mensch · Yiddish → English

kosher · Hebrew → Yiddish → English

chutzpah · Hebrew → Yiddish → English

schmooze · Hebrew → Yiddish → English

amen · Hebrew → English

hallelujah · Hebrew → English

jubilee · the tricky one: Hebrew, mixed in Latin with a word for “shout for joy” (first box, with a detour)

pretzel · German

kindergarten · German

piñata · Spanish