Evaluating a Kriah Intervention Starts at the Beginning
February 20, 2026
Building Kriah Skills in Older Students through Student-Centered Learning
February 20, 2026
Mrs. Fraidel Shollar
“Are we there yet?”
As any parent embarking on a road trip with young children can attest, these are some of the most dreaded words from the back seat. But from the child’s perspective, it’s the most relevant and important question to ask. When discussing kriah as it is being taught in our Bais Yaakovs, yeshivos, and day schools, we might ask ourselves that very question: “Are we there yet?”
While schools previously may have taught kriah in the younger grades and then stopped focusing on it as much, today there is greater awareness among educators and parents. I clearly remember sitting in my eighth-grade classroom in the late 1980s in a Bais Yaakov-style school when the teacher suddenly went around the room asking each girl to read a few פסוקים from תהילים. This attempt at assessing kriah was likely the result of a sudden awareness that some students were graduating without solid skills in Hebrew reading.
There is no question that we have come a long way. When I first started teaching kriah, there weren’t many books available beyond Aleph Bina-style seforim, Torah U’Mesorah’s ראשית חכמה, and language texts such as “שפתינו.” Over the last few decades, there has been increased research and discussion surrounding the connection between mastering kriah and students’ Yiddishkeit and academic success. With the newfound understanding of the vital need for all students to acquire foundational kriah skills in fluency and accuracy, many books, curricula, programs, and workshops have been developed and made available to teachers and schools.
Rather than struggling to find a program, teachers and administrators now face the problem of choosing from many viable options. Schools must now decide which approach, books, and/or programs would be the best fit for their needs and goals. There are many factors to consider when choosing and implementing a school’s kriah program, and this article aims to provide guidance.
As with any journey, the road toward mastering kriah begins with determining the end goal. To discuss kriah, we must first define what is meant by “kriah.” Basic kriah starts with the ability to read fluently and accurately from the Siddur, the Chumash, and possibly Hebrew texts, depending on the school. Students will also need to learn to read and write in script, as well as to read Rashi script and other מפרשים. Boys will need to read משניות and גמרא, and often learn how to לייען from a ספר תורה. For this article, we will examine kriah as it pertains to reading from the Siddur, the Chumash, and grade-level Hebrew texts where applicable.
Considerations When Selecting a Program
The first factor for schools to consider is their השקפה, הברה (accent/pronunciation), and the מנהגים and מסורה of the student body, as these will dictate the type of curriculum needed. Schools’ student-body demographics vary—all-girls, all-boys, or co-ed—and these variations need to be taken into consideration.
Next, a school must decide at what age it will introduce aleph-beis, the נקודות, and word reading. The chosen pacing is pertinent to choosing the program that best fits.
A school must then consider its resources in terms of finances, time constraints, and staffing. Programs vary widely in terms of cost and content, so schools should consider whether they are looking for a “plug and play” program that can be used in all classrooms across all grade levels, or if the school is happy to use separate texts and/or programs for each grade. Can the school invest in extensive teacher training and/or workshops, or will the program need to be more “in-house?” Schools need to take into account their teachers’ experience levels and whether veteran teachers are available to support newer or less experienced teachers.
Programs vary widely in scope and sequence, ranging from ones that consist solely of a single-grade text to comprehensive programs that include all elementary grade levels, texts, workbooks, homework, remedial work, summer review, and online components.
There are also philosophical and methodological differences between various programs. When teaching aleph-beis, some schools use keywords to help memory retention. If this is the case, it should be noted that some programs utilize Hebrew keywords (gimmel-glidah) while others use English ones (beis-ball). Another consideration is how the שואrules are taught. Certain programs provide instruction on all the שוא rules, while others cover only the basic rules.Programs may include encoding components that are essential for fully integrating reading concepts, while others focus only on decoding. Standalone encoding programs are available to supplement, if needed.
The debate in the outside world over whole-word reading versus phonics instruction continues, with the Science of Reading and its emphasis on phonics serving as the current gold standard in many educational settings. While it is undeniable that vocabulary and background knowledge of language are essential for fluent reading in Hebrew, an approach that focuses solely on whole-word reading will not result in a child who can read unfamiliar texts. A successful kriah program must focus on building skills through careful, systematic, explicit instructions with lessons that build on each other. Our מסורה has long taught us that sounding out syllables is the basis for kriah instruction. Students begin with letter naming and letter recognition and learn to combine נקודה sounds into syllables. Teaching students how to divide words into syllables explicitly is an essential component of any kriah program.
Kriah instruction should include both encoding and decoding. To become fluent readers, students will need sufficient practice with putting words together and taking them apart. Multiple modalities, such as playdough, highlighter markers, sand, flashcards, color coding, drawing boxes, lines, and scoops, are helpful for this. Each child requires a different amount of practice to learn each skill, and it’s vital to meet every student’s individual needs. Just as one gains proficiency in playing an instrument, swimming, or riding a bike not by talking about how to perform but by frequent, high-quality practice, so, too, with kriah. Sufficient time to listen to each child read while delivering feedback is essential. Teacher feedback in these practice sessions should always be provided promptly and constructively, in a manner that the student can understand. A lack of feedback can hinder advancement.
As with any instruction, even the best program will not be effective without teacher buy-in. A teacher who fully appreciates the joy and privilege of teaching kriah will bring feelings of enthusiasm to his or her classroom. With limited teaching time, each kriah lesson must be fully focused and productive. Used wisely and intentionally, games and incentives have their place in the kriah classroom, but intensive, sufficient practice is the true path to mastery. With limited time during the school day, kriah practice at home is also an essential component of any kriah program.
Benchmarks and Assessment
As with any journey, we cannot know if we have arrived if we have not decided on a destination! When determining if our students have mastered accurate and fluent reading, it is essential to define what that is. Benchmarks for words per minute and mistakes per passage must be developed. Universal screeners must then be administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to monitor individual student, class-wide, and school-wide progress. Additionally, teachers must frequently conduct progress monitoring through direct observation, record keeping, and periodic classroom assessments. Data from universal screeners and classroom assessments must be gathered and analyzed to inform further teaching and assess whether the curriculum is achieving the goals set. Data from all sources should be shared periodically with parents so they are fully aware of their child’s progress and how it compares to school benchmarks.
Many schools and classrooms still fall short in assessing students based on established benchmarks, using quality assessments, and collecting data across classes, grades, schools, and communities. While some benchmark data has been gathered and some universal screeners are available, there is not enough of either. It would be invaluable for schools and teachers to have more guidance on benchmarks for accurate and fluent reading at various grade levels across different school types. This would go a long way toward helping teachers and administrators assess the effectiveness of their instruction in an authentic, standards-based way rather than relying solely on anecdotal evidence.
Even when top-quality curriculum and instruction are implemented, some students will need further reading intervention. Frequent assessment will help identify these students early, before they fall too far behind. A school’s kriah plan must include a provision for identifying and supporting these higher-needs students. Staffing and financial resources will be determining factors in designing the intervention, but it is essential to ensure that no child will fall through the cracks. Parents must be kept informed of the students’ progress and of any concerns. Parents, teachers, learning center teachers, tutors, and administrators must all feel a personal sense of accountability for each and every student under their care. Partnering together for the good of each student is the goal.
Ideas for Coordination
Developing a comprehensive kriah curriculum that could be used across a spectrum of schools might be challenging due to widely varying needs, but it is worth considering. Certainly, establishing a database of all available kriah books, texts, programs, curricula, and resources would be most useful. A list summarizing the various programs and highlighting what they offer would benefit teachers and students alike.
When teaching kriah, it must be foremost in our minds that the letters of לשון הקודש are themselves holy, and that the Torah itself is composed of these letters. One who teaches kriah is teaching Torah. We must constantly strive to improve our practice with joy, dedication, and enthusiasm for the awesome privilege. In answer to the question, “Are we there yet?” regarding kriah instruction, one might say we are well on our way. Stakeholders are working hard to support our children’s chinuch as best as possible. While we continue to navigate road bumps, traffic, detours, weather, and other impediments, with סייעתא דשמיא, we will continue to see much nachas from our students!
Mrs. Fraidel Shollar is an educator with over three decades of experience guiding young students through their formative years as a morah, limudei kodesh lead teacher, inclusion classroom teacher, and curriculum developer. Currently a first-grade morah and curriculum grade leader at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, Mrs. Shollar has developed Lev HaKriah, a two-volume Hebrew reading program for young learners. She also works privately as a teacher trainer and educational consultant. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Jewish Studies and a Master of Science degree in Special Education. Her expertise includes curriculum development, differentiated instruction, Hebrew language and reading instruction, and supporting diverse learners in inclusive classroom settings.