Eich Atem Margishim Hayom? – Mood Posters

HOW YA DOIN? or MAH NISHMAH? ?מה נשמע

It’s one of the most basic questions people ask each other: “How are you?” “How are you feeling?” “What’s new?” It’s no different in Hebrew.

It’s easy to use Modern Hebrew to express feelings and emotions with the Hebrew Mood Poster. This poster features commonly expressed feelings in Hebrew along with an emoticon to demonstrate each mood. Check out 10 ideas as a jumping off point for using this, below:

HOW YA DOIN? or MAH NISHMAH?

English

עברית

English

עברית

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD

HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?

At morning circle, ask children to choose a face from the mood poster that represents how they are feeling that day. Say the English, then the Hebrew, and have the whole class repeat, along with the child’s name, for example:

Eitan margish sameach hayom
(איתן מרגיש שמח היום)
Eitan feels happy today

Sarah margishah ayefah hayom
(שרה מרגישה עייפה היום)
Sarah feels tired todah

CREATE YOUR OWN MOOD POSTERS

Review moods and facial expressions using the Hebrew words. When children feel confident with the vocabulary, stage a photoshoot where each child gets to make their own feelings chart using facial expressions as you call out the Hebrew words. Print these personalized charts, or create a new classroom chart using the children’s photos.

PAIRING WITH BOOKS

Encourage children to recall the Hebrew words when reading books in English. Consider how a character in the book might be feeling, and ask children to point out the matching emotion on the chart and say it in Hebrew.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

REVIEW THE PHRASE

?אֵיךְ אַתֶּם מַרְגִּישִׁים הַיּוֹם (Eich atem margishim hayom?, “How are you feeling today?”): Ask everyone to introduce themselves with how they’re feeling.

MOOD MAGNET BINGO

Make various Bingo cards with just the Hebrew words written. Have someone pick a mood out of a hat and read it aloud in English. The first person to match all the words correctly in a Bingo line, wins!

FLY SWAT

Call two people at a time up to the front of the room, where a Hebrew poster hangs. Read out a mood in English. The first person to point (or swat) at the word and face, gets the point for their team.

CREATE A CHARACTER

Perhaps Mar Margish or Geveret Margisha (Mr. or Mrs. Mood)? At the beginning of each meeting, you can introduce Mar Margish with a new feeling word. It won’t take long to go through all of them. By introducing Mar and Geveret, you can expose everyone to the masculine and feminine word forms as well. (Get creative! You can create large outlines of characters whose faces can be outfitted with any of the mood faces).

MUSICAL MOODS

Play Israeli music in your room and ask each person to choose a mood that matches what they’re hearing.

MOOD CARDS

Print Each Mood Face (download at right) on Letter-Sized Pieces of Paper. Ask each person to take one as they enter the room. One at a time, ask them to introduce themselves to the group using the mood they selected. In addition to practicing Hebrew, allow them to express their mood through facial expressions, body language, or other means. Encourage everyone to use these moods in ongoing conversations throughout the year.

NAME THAT MOOD

Divide into teams and project mood images on a smartboard or screen.
The first team to identify the mood using the correct Hebrew phrase gets a point. Keep going until all of the moods have been correctly identified.

MEMORY GAME

Print individual faces (download at right) on square cards or sheets of paper. Each mood face and Hebrew word should be printed twice. Those who successfully select two matching faces get one point. In order to get a second point, they need to use the word in a Hebrew sentence.

CHARADES

Divide into teams, give each player words, and have them act out the emotion. First team to correctly identify the Hebrew word gets a point!

TEACH OUR FAMILIES

Provide each participant with a list of the moods (download at right), and encourage them to teach their families. Ask them to prepare a brief report, in Hebrew, about the moods their parents and/or siblings selected. This assignment can be expanded to address more questions: What causes our family members or friends to become this certain mood? How can our behavior affect the moods of those around us? Have each person share their Hebrew report with the group!