A Day of Hanukkah
You can teach your students about Hanukkah using these fun activities.
By Elisa Jackson
Even though Hanukkah is a holiday that people celebrate around the world, many students may not be familiar with its history. During the time leading up to the holidays, teachers can provide students with activities related to Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and any other celebrations they would like to cover. In other articles I will discuss activities you can do related to Christmas and Kwanzaa, but here are some fun activities you can do to help students learn about Hanukkah.
You can begin a lesson on Hanukkah by reading an age-appropriate story about the history of the holiday. If you are unsure what books might be best, your school librarian can steer you in the right direction. After you finish reading the stories, you could show students a menorah, and explain how it is used. You could then light the candles, one at a time, and tell students the significance of each one. And teaching students the reason for each candle (including the middle candle) always sparks their enthusiasm.
The next activity you could do with students is play the dreidel game. Students can practice spinning dreidels on their desks, or small white boards. Once they get the hang of it, they can play the dreidel game in groups with pennies, beans, or counters. You can find the rules of the game online or in a Hanukkah book.
And once students understand what to do with a dreidel, they can make edible dreidels! My students loved this! Take a big marshmallow and stick a pretzel or licorice straw in the back end of it. On the other side of the marshmallow, put some frosting to cover the entire face of that side. And on top of the frosting, put a Hersheys kiss. This is a very yummy edible treat that students will enjoy eating and making.
A fun art project you can do with your students is to take blue and white pipe cleaners and form them into the shape of the Star of David. You can connect this to math by asking what shape the star can be made out of (two triangles). Another project you can do with your students is to have them make a menorah out of the outline of their fingers. If they put their thumbs together, they can make nine candles. They can color it, or use paint to stick their hands in.
Students love to learn about different holidays, and Hanukkah is a great holiday to teach and learn about. Here are some lessons you can do with your class to teach them about Hanukkah.
Hanukkah Lessons and Activities:
Students research the holiday of Hanukkah and design a stamp to describe the holiday.
Students learn about the holiday and create a candle window decoration.
Compare Hanukkah to Other Holidays
Students compare Hanukkah to other holidays and create candles using construction paper and cellophane.
Students put sixteen words pertaining to Hanukkah in alphabetical order.