Hanukkah is celebrated in Israel and in many other countries. It is an important Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days and nights with many symbolic customs. Join me as I share Hanukkah activities and lesson ideas for your students to learn some of the special foods, customs, and traditions of Hanukkah!
In this post, I’ll share fun facts, activities, crafts, and even ready-to-use lesson plans to teach your students about:
- The traditional Jewish calendar
- The Festival of Lights
- The significance of the menorah
- Traditional Hanukkah foods
The Jewish Calendar
The traditional Jewish calendar is different from the calendar we use every day. Our calendar is based on the sun and the 365 days it takes for the earth to move completely around it. The Jewish calendar is based on the moon. Each month begins when there is a new moon in the sky, and each month has a Hebrew name.
Hanukkah begins on the eve of the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month called Kislev. Depending on the year, this can be either November or December in our calendar.
The Festival of Lights
Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days and nights. Also called The Festival of Lights, Hanukkah honors and gives thanks for a victory the Jewish people won more than two thousand years ago to reclaim their temple. While rededicating their temple, they had only enough oil to light their lamps for one night. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days.
Watch a Video About the Festival of Lights
Traditional Hanukkah Foods
Sufganiyot (jelly donuts) and potato pancakes, called latkas, are traditional Hanukkah foods. They are both fried in oil to represent the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days and nights.
Hanukkah Activities and Lesson Ideas
Hanukkah PowerPoint
Take your students on a virtual field trip to learn some of the special events and Hanukkah traditions in Israel and many other countries that celebrate Hanukkah.
This ready-to-use teaching PowerPoint is the one I use to teach about the significance of the menorah, the story of the oil that lasted for eight days and nights, dreidel games, and many more Hanukkah traditions.
Filled with captivating photos from real celebrations that will excite your students as they learn about the holiday traditions in Israel.
PowerPoint source here or on TPT
The Significance of the Menorah
On each night of Hanukkah, families burn candles in a menorah. The word menorah is Hebrew for ‘lamp”. A menorah has a place for nine candles. One of the candles is called a shamash, which means “helper”. It is lit first and used to light the other eight candles, lighting one more candle each night.
All of the candles are lit on the last night and a special prayer is recited each night as the candles of the menorah are lit.
Make A Menorah Craft
Have your students make a postcard from Israel! Make a menorah out of construction paper and tissue paper.
This menorah postcard craft and the templates are part of the Hanukkah lessons we do during our holidays around the world unit.
Hanukkah Gelt
The tradition of giving chocolate coins at Hanukkah is a more recent one than some of the other Hanukkah traditions. In the 18th century it was customary to give religious teachers a monetary token of appreciation around Hanukkah. Today, gelt is meant to teach children about the importance of charity and giving to others.
Try this classroom activity: Give each student a chocolate coin as you explain the meaning behind the tradition. You can usually find chololate coins at the dollar stores and I have found these bags of gold coins at the checkout register at Dollar Tree.
Try this classroom activity: Have your students travel to different classrooms to learn about the unique customs and holiday traditions in several countries around the world. My teammates and I each choose a country and our students rotate to a new classroom each afternoon to learn about the traditions in that country.
They make postcard crafts for each country before stamping their passport and departing! See more of how we do it in my classroom and all the magical ways to teach holidays around the world.
Hanukkah Lesson Plans & Classroom Activities
Learn much more about Hanukkah with an entire week of activities, teaching slides, a fun suitcase folder, and a travel passport with these Holidays Around the World lesson plans!
I’ve created a complete unit for teaching winter and Christmas holiday traditions in 14 countries. Each country has detailed, scripted lesson plans with related books and videos, boarding passes, a teaching PowerPoint with actual photos of the countries, and even a short quiz as an exit ticket before students depart! (they make it super easy to take a quick grade!)
This unique holidays around the world unit is available here in the Around The Kampfire Shop and also in my TPT shop.
Hanukkah Reading Comprehension
Add comprehension practice with leveled passages about holiday traditions in England! These passages also include a digital version that you can project on your whiteboard and use during a lesson or make it a partner activity during your literacy center time.
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Holidays Around the World & Christmas Holidays Unit
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Holidays Around the World Math Games for Hanukkah
💡Try this classroom idea: Set up holiday-themed math centers around the room so students can “travel” to different countries and practice math skills!
With these holiday math centers, (available in three grade levels) students carry a “math passport” and stamp it when they finish the game at each country’s table. Pictured is the 3rd grade Israel game to practice roundng on a number line.
For a fun and festive day with your students, use the games for a math-around-the-world holiday party! This post has holiday math party ideas that you can do in your own classroom!
Books About Hanukkah
Now that you know about holiday traditions in England, let’s talk about holiday traditions for your classroom! Here are 10 holiday classroom traditions to start this year that your students will love! (And I really do mean it!)
Visit this post to see all the ways to make it MAGICAL when teaching your students about holidays around the world!
10 Magical Ways to Teach Holidays Around the World
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