| Classroom Ideas
Projects and Research
- Chanukah project: Students should choose to focus either
on the Chanukah story, Chanukah celebrations or broader themes.
Students should fill a scrap book with text and pictures that
best present their chosen area.
- Research different Chanukah traditions among different Jewish
communities e.g. Orthodox, Reform, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, French,
Indian
- Organize a class gallery of interesting Menorahs. Students
bring their menorahs to school for a day and the class votes
on the most interesting one.
- Conduct a survey among family and friends to reveal attitudes
towards Chanukah. Compile a list of about 6 questions to ask
your family and friends. Present the results in chart form
and analyze them. Here are some examples of questions:
a. What are we celebrating on Chanukah?
b. Does your family light a menorah at home each night?
c. Do you light your own menorah?
d. Do you eat doughnuts and latkes on Chanukah?
e. Why is Chanukah an eight day holiday?
- Working in groups of 3-4, find out where menorahs, candles,
great latkes and doughnuts can be purchased locally. Create
a pamphlet/flyer to circulate around the school containing
all the info you need for Chanukah preparations.
- Hidur Mitzvah - It is praiseworthy to beautify the mitzvah
of menorah. What other mitzvot are we required to beautify?
Find out why this is deemed important? Do you think it is
important?
- Pirsum Hanes - We are commanded to publicize the miracles
of Chanukah and Purim. Why is this important? Do we do it
for the benefit Jews or non Jews? Find out the answers and
present them in writing.
Pair and Group Work
- There's no such thing as a Chanukah Megillah so make one!
Split the story into "chapters" have each group work on one
chapter - write the story, illustrate it.
- The Megillah can also take the form of a play, an audio
cassette or film; it could even be done as a wall frieze.
- A delicious Chanukah activity is doughnut decorating! Each
student has to decorate a plain doughnut and the most yummy
and original looking doughnut wins. If possible, organize
this activity for the classroom on Chanukah itself but if
this will get too messy, simply ask students to bring in their
entries from home.
- A great idea is to create a Chanukah drama Chug by spoofing
popular musicals. Try spoofing "Grease! Oil! Latkes!". Keep
to a 1958 Grease setting. There are two rival High Schools,
therefore 2 rival sports teams, The Macabbees vs. The Greeks.
You can drop the love story, and integrate the best elements
of the popular musical to the traditional Chanukah story.
Some of the best songs include: "Summer Fighting", "Greased
Latkes", "One Hopefully Devoted Jew".
The above lesson idea was kindly submitted by Dean112200@aol.com
who comments: "You may ask, has this been successful? Where
else could you get 30 Religious School students to volunteer
to stay til 2:00 pm every Sunday for 9 weeks?"
- Divide class into 8 groups representing each day of Chanukah.
Each group is given a subtopic to work on for the weeks leading
up to the festival. Topics can include Chanukah, the heroes,
women and Chanukah, customs, laws, Chanukah throughout the
ages etc. After researching material prepared by the teacher,
students create worksheets providing information, activities
and the answers. Each station presents its material for the
rest of the class to work through in small groups.
The above lesson idea was kindly submitted by Rivka R.Liberow
who comments: "My students LOVED IT!!! They worked really
hard and enjoyed the learning process too."
- Conduct an imaginary interview between a Jew and a gentile
in which the Jew explains the significance of the various
holiday customs. This can be in writing, as a role play or
recorded in audio or video.
- Train your students' powers of perception! Prepare "spot
the difference" pictures of kosher and non kosher Menorahs
and ways of lighting them. Students decide in pairs which
are correct and which are not and tell the class why.
- Help your students develop a Chanukah charity project in
which menorahs, dreidels and Chanukah foods are sold at school
for charity.
- As a Chanukah review, working in small groups, students
compile a list of query questions that they still have about
the festival. A spokesperson from each works together to compile
one class list of questions (to avoid repetition). Email the
list to "Ask the Rabbi" at http://www.ohr.org.il/ask/page/askrabbi.htm
and wait for his reply!
- Ask your students to make a class newspaper for Chanukah.
Include local real news stories, Chanukah and school news,
ads for Chanukah products, recipes, notices for organized
parties and events and articles on the meaning of the holiday.
- Students organize a Chanukah Party for their class, school
or even a local old age home. Delegate tasks to small groups
based on students' talents and interests. Groups could include:
catering, advertising via flyers, emails, posters and invitations,
music, entertainment, games etc.
- Teach your students to always remember the old, needy and
infirm on the festivals. A simple but effective idea is to
choose a group of people you would like to treat this Chanukah.
Ask your students to bring in beautiful food baskets of non
perishables for old people or gift bags with small toys for
children. Enlist parents to help deliver them or if they are
in a group home, you students can deliver them themselves.
- On Chanukah it's customary to give presents. Hold a class
draw whereby each student picks a name out of a hat. He/she
will buy a small gift for his/her classmate. Who gives to
who is kept a secret until the first day of the festival.
Art and Music
- A wonderful idea for younger students is to create a monthly
mural in your classroom spanning the length of the room. Make
this month's mural a Chanukah one. You can add to the festive
feeling by putting up a wire line from one end of your room
to the other. Display outstanding artwork held up by colorful
plastic clothes pins - cheap but very cheerful!
- You can also use this wire line to display the facts of
the Chanukah story as you teach it. This will give students
a sense of order as they move from date to date and help them
retain the sequence of the Chanukah story. It will also act
as an effective memory hook.
- Create an ancient Israeli newspaper reporting news from
the time of the Chanukah story.
- Make a candle lighting card to laminate for use at home.
Include the blessings, accompanying laws and songs. This could
be a competition with the best designs reproduced and sold
for charity.
- Make a pictorial Chanukah Megillah. It could a booklet,
a scroll, a classroom wall frieze or even a patchwork quilt!
- Create a larger than life menorah wall hanging for the classroom
- every night of Chanukah add a flame.
- Make up a new tune to Ma'oz Tzur or to Hanerot Hallalu.
This could be a class competition.
- Design your own Menorah. Draw out the plans or make a 3
dimensional one! Choose interesting materials and an original
design - but it must be kosher.
- Create a Chanukah guide book explaining how to make it special
as special as possible.
- Teach your students festival songs.
- Ask your students to put a section of "Al Hanissim" to music
or to make a new tune for "Hanerot Hallalu".
- Make a Chanukah class mosaic or collage to decorate the
wall of your classroom.
- Ever tried making a patchwork quilt? Create a quilt made
up of segments depicting the Chanukah story customs and themes.
- Create Chanukah greeting cards and send them to students
in the class. If they can be printed the best could be sold
for charity around the school.
- Create a Chanukah calendar including candle lighting times
and a different feature for each day.
Multimedia
- After Judah finds the jug of oil amid the mess in the Temple
he is interviewed by CNN! Record/film this interview.
- Interview - radio and film - one of the heroes of the Chanukah
story or a normal civilian explaining what life was like at
the time of the Hellenists.
-
Make a short Chanukah film. Film people lighting the menorah,
eating doughnuts without licking their lips and chilren
playing dreidel.
-
If your school has the facilities, let your students design
and send e-cards for Chanukah greetings.
-
Record/video an advert for menorahs, latkes or doughnuts.
Include a jingle as well as convincing reasons why your
products are the most convenient to obtain, the best value
and the most kosher. The class should listen to/watch all
the ads and vote for the best one.
-
Games
- However old your students are, a quick, fun game or quiz
will always rouse an apathetic class and win their attention.
Get hold of a good games book or brainstorm with other teachers
but don't neglect this powerful pedagogic tool!
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