Primary school Hanukkah activities introduce the Festival of Lights to your classroom with crafts, storytelling, games and cultural learning. These hands-on experiences help children aged 4-11 get to know Jewish traditions.
You can teach pupils about Hanukkah with simple activities like making paper menorahs, playing dreidel games, creating festive cards and exploring the historical story behind the eight-day celebration. These ideas fit nicely into cultural education and encourage children to appreciate different faiths and customs.
Michelle Connolly, founder of LearningMole and a former primary teacher with over 15 years of classroom experience, says, “Hanukkah activities give children a wonderful opportunity to learn about Jewish culture whilst developing creativity and understanding of different celebrations.” LearningMole, a UK educational platform, provides curriculum-aligned resources for primary schools. They support teachers and parents with engaging materials for children throughout Key Stages 1 and 2.
Fun Hanukkah crafts and activities might include baking traditional foods, making decorations, or playing games. Hanukkah classroom games keep things interactive and fun.
Whether you plan a one-off lesson or a week-long unit, you’ll find activities for different year groups and learning styles.
Key Takeaways
Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish celebration that remembers the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago. The festival centres on lighting the menorah, a nine-branched candelabrum that symbolises the miracle of oil burning for eight days.
Hanukkah, sometimes spelled Chanukah, is a Jewish holiday celebrating freedom and faith. The festival happens in winter, usually in December, but the exact dates change each year because the Jewish calendar works differently from the Gregorian one.
The story starts with a small group of Jewish people called the Maccabees. They fought to reclaim their temple from rulers who had banned them from practising their religion.
After their victory, they wanted to light the menorah to rededicate the temple. They discovered only enough pure oil for one day, but somehow, the oil lasted eight days.
Hanukkah is called the Festival of Lights for this reason. Families celebrate by lighting candles, playing games, eating special foods and sometimes exchanging gifts.
Your pupils might know foods like latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jam-filled doughnuts). Both are fried in oil as a reminder of the miracle.
The menorah is the most important symbol of Hanukkah. It has nine branches instead of the usual seven.
Eight candles stand for each night of the festival. The ninth, called the shamash, sits higher or apart and is used to light the others.
Each evening, families light one more candle. On the first night, they light one candle plus the shamash. On the second night, they light two candles plus the shamash, and so on until all eight are burning on the last night.
Families place the candles somewhere visible, often in a window. This public display reminds everyone of the miracle and lets families share their joy with neighbours. Children often love helping to light the candles and saying the special blessings.
The miracle at the heart of Hanukkah teaches lessons about hope and perseverance. When the Maccabees rededicated the temple, they searched for consecrated oil to light the menorah. They found only a small jar with the high priest’s seal.
This tiny bit of oil should have lasted just one day, but it kept the flames burning for eight days. That gave them time to prepare more oil following religious rules.
The miracle means more than oil lasting longer than expected. It shows how small acts of faith can lead to surprising results, and how light can win over darkness. Your pupils might relate this to their own times of overcoming challenges or finding unexpected solutions.
Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish victory over religious oppression. It commemorates a miracle that happened when rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem. The eight-day festival remembers how a small group of rebels won their freedom and how one day’s oil burned for eight nights.
The Maccabees were Jewish rebels who fought the Seleucid Empire around 167 BCE. This Greek-influenced empire controlled Syria and Judea, where Jewish people lived.
The Seleucid rulers tried to force Jewish people to worship Greek gods and give up their own traditions. A priest, Mattathias, and his five sons refused and started a revolt.
Mattathias’s son Judah led the group and earned the nickname “Maccabee,” meaning “the hammer.” The Maccabees’ revolt became central to Hanukkah’s history.
Despite being outnumbered, the Maccabees won their fight for religious freedom after three years of battles.
The Temple in Jerusalem was the holiest place for Jewish people. When the Seleucids took over, they put up Greek statues and banned Jewish practices. This made the Temple impure by Jewish law.
After the Maccabees won, they returned to clean and rededicate the Temple. They needed to light the Temple’s menorah, a lamp meant to burn all the time. Only one small jar of pure oil remained, enough for one day. According to tradition, this oil lasted for eight days.
This gave them time to make more pure oil. The eight days of Hanukkah celebrate this miracle.
Lighting the menorah is the central Hanukkah tradition. Families light one more candle each night for eight nights, using the shamash as a helper candle. This recreates the miracle of the oil in the Temple.
Playing dreidel links to Hanukkah’s history. The dreidel is a spinning top with four Hebrew letters. These letters stand for “a great miracle happened there,” pointing back to the story in Jerusalem.
Eating fried foods like latkes honours the oil that burned in the Temple. Families also enjoy sufganiyot, which are jam-filled doughnuts.
Giving tzedakah (charity) teaches children about supporting others. Many families collect coins in special boxes during the eight days and give them to people in need.
The menorah stands at the centre of Hanukkah celebrations. Dreidels and foods like latkes add joy and meaning to the eight-day festival.
Each custom teaches something about history, faith or family.
The menorah is a nine-branched candelabra and the most recognisable Hanukkah symbol. Eight branches are for each night, and the ninth holds the shamash (helper candle).
You light one more candle each night, placing them from right to left but lighting from left to right. The shamash sits higher or lower than the others to set it apart.
This lighting custom reminds children of the miracle when one day’s oil burned for eight days.
Your pupils can make their own menorah craft to learn the lighting order. Families often display menorahs in windows to share the festival’s light with others.
A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top that children play with during Hanukkah. Each side shows a Hebrew letter: nun, gimel, hey and shin, standing for “a great miracle happened there”.
The game is simple. You spin the dreidel and win or lose chocolate coins called gelt. Nun means nothing happens, gimel means take all, hey means take half, and shin means add one to the pot.
You could use a dreidel craft activity to teach your class the game and the Hebrew letters.
This game has a story, too. Jewish children once used dreidels to hide their Torah study from those who banned it.
Families eat fried foods during Hanukkah to remember the oil miracle. Latkes are potato pancakes made from grated potatoes, eggs and flour, then fried until golden.
Children often eat latkes with apple sauce or sour cream. Sufganiyot, or jam-filled doughnuts, are also popular.
Both foods use oil, tying the meal back to the Hanukkah story. Your pupils might enjoy tasting these foods during Hanukkah activities. Some teachers arrange tasting sessions so children can experience the flavours and textures and talk about why oil matters so much in the festival.
Hands-on craft projects help children connect with Hanukkah’s symbols and traditions. Making menorahs, dreidels and other creative activities brings the Festival of Lights into your classroom in a way that’s both meaningful and fun.
The menorah, with its nine candles, stands as the most recognisable symbol of Hanukkah. Kids can make their own versions using bits and pieces from the classroom cupboard.
A simple pointillism menorah artwork feels just right for Year 2 and 3 pupils. Give them cotton buds, blue, yellow and orange paint, plus an outline template. They dab paint to form flames and candle bodies. This method teaches colour blending and creates some pretty striking displays.
Older Year 4 and 5 students might enjoy making cardboard tube menorahs. Collect nine tubes of similar height, paint them metallic colours, and arrange them on a sturdy base. The shamash (helper candle) should sit a bit higher. Children add tissue paper flames each day of Hanukkah.
You could try an engineering a menorah challenge using recycled materials. Ask pupils to design a standing menorah that actually holds nine candles. This activity weaves together Design and Technology with cultural learning.
Dreidels, those four-sided spinning tops, play a big part in Hanukkah games. Making them helps children learn Hebrew letters and practice building things.
Start with printable dreidel boxes for younger children. These fold into 3D shapes and double as decorations or little gift boxes. Fill them with chocolate coins for kids to take home.
Paper dreidels fit Key Stage 1 pupils perfectly. Cut out a square card, fold it into a pyramid, and poke a pencil through the centre for spinning. Children can draw the four Hebrew letters: nun, gimel, hay and shin.
If you want an edible twist, try chocolate dreidels. Older students follow simple recipes to make sweet treats shaped like dreidels. These always go down well as gifts for families during the holidays.
LEGO building gives children a hands-on way to explore Hanukkah symbols using something familiar. A LEGO menorah project can really engage kids who aren’t keen on traditional crafts.
Challenge your pupils to build a nine-branched menorah with any available LEGO bricks. They can use yellow or orange bricks on top to show flames. This activity suits mixed ability groups since everyone works at their own pace.
Set up a building station where kids add a flame each day during Hanukkah. It turns into an interactive calendar tracking the eight nights. If you like, take photos each day and make a stop-motion animation of the menorah lighting up.
LearningMole has hands-on building tutorials to support this kind of activity. Their free videos help children build spatial awareness and develop problem-solving skills through creative challenges.
Printable resources make it easy to teach Hanukkah traditions while supporting literacy and fine motor skills. These activities work for independent tasks, homework, or early finishers in Year 1 to Year 6.
Word searches help children spot Hanukkah vocabulary and build spelling and pattern recognition skills. A typical Hanukkah word search hides words like menorah, dreidel, latkes, gelt and shamash in a grid.
You can adjust the grid size for different ages. Younger pupils in Key Stage 1 do better with smaller grids of 8-10 words, while Key Stage 2 children can manage bigger grids with more words and directions.
Many teachers laminate word searches so children use dry-erase markers and try them again and again. This trick works well for morning work or wet playtime.
Hanukkah worksheets mix learning with cultural education. Typical formats include:
LearningMole offers curriculum-linked resources to go alongside these printables. Their videos about celebrations and traditions give context for worksheet tasks.
These materials encourage cross-curricular learning by mixing literacy, numeracy and cultural understanding. A worksheet asking ‘How many words can you make from menorah?’ boosts vocabulary and spelling for Year 3 and 4 pupils.
Printable dreidel boxes bring craft and Hanukkah traditions together. These dreidel templates come in different sizes and let children create 3D models for games.
Making the boxes builds spatial awareness and fine motor skills as pupils cut, fold and glue. Children learn about the Hebrew letters on each side (nun, gimel, hei, shin) and what they mean in the dreidel game.
You can let children decorate their boxes before assembly or write the Hebrew letters themselves. Older Key Stage 2 students might calculate how many chocolate coins each player gets in different scenarios, linking the craft to mathematical problem-solving.
Games make Hanukkah traditions come alive while teaching children about Jewish culture and history. Playing dreidel teaches Hebrew letters, bingo reinforces vocabulary, and puzzles build problem-solving skills.
The dreidel, a four-sided spinning top, sits at the centre of a classic Hanukkah game. Each side has a Hebrew letter: nun, gimel, hey and shin. These stand for the phrase “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham” or “A great miracle happened there.”
To play, give everyone the same number of tokens like chocolate coins, buttons or counters. Each player puts one token in the centre pot at the start and after each round. Players spin the dreidel and follow the action based on the letter facing up.
If nun appears, nothing changes and the next player goes. Gimel means the player takes everything in the pot. Hey allows the player to take half. Shin means the player puts one token into the pot. The game carries on until a player wins all the tokens.
This game helps Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils learn about Jewish traditions. You can make paper dreidel boxes in class before playing.
Hanukkah bingo swaps numbers for pictures and symbols from the festival. You’ll see menorahs, dreidels, Stars of David, latkes and chocolate coins on the cards. Picture-based bingo cards let even Reception and Year 1 children join in.
Teachers call out items randomly, and pupils mark matching pictures on their cards. The first to fill a row, column or whole card wins. Children learn to recognise Hanukkah symbols and their names through play.
For older pupils in Years 3 to 6, switch to word-based cards. You can make sets with different vocabulary levels for mixed reading abilities. Laminate the cards for use year after year.
Word scramble worksheets ask pupils to unscramble letters to spell Hanukkah words. Examples include menorah, candle, festival, tradition and miracle. These activities build spelling skills and teach vocabulary.
Mazes with dreidels or menorahs combine spatial reasoning with festive fun. Pupils work through the puzzle, learning about the symbols as they go. Word searches offer another way for children to find hidden words in letter grids.
LearningMole has free educational videos about different cultures and traditions. These pair nicely with paper-based Hanukkah activities. Fast finishers can try these puzzles alone, or you could set them for homework. You might even challenge older pupils to make their own word scrambles and swap them with classmates.
Hanukkah gives primary students a glimpse into Jewish culture through festivals, music and customs from around the world. These activities help children see how Jewish communities celebrate the eight-day festival of lights and explore the traditions that make it special.
Hanukkah is just one of several important celebrations in the Jewish calendar. It honours the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago. The story tells of a miracle where one day’s oil kept the Temple’s menorah burning for eight nights.
You can connect Hanukkah to other Jewish festivals students might hear about. Passover celebrates freedom from slavery in Egypt. Rosh Hashanah marks the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur focuses on reflection and prayer.
When you teach this tradition, focus on themes children relate to: light overcoming darkness, hope in tough times, standing up for beliefs. These ideas fit well with Key Stage 1 and 2 values education. You might make a simple comparison chart of different Jewish festivals and their key symbols, so students see that each festival has its own meaning.
Music brings Hanukkah celebrations to life in classrooms everywhere. Traditional songs like “Ma’oz Tzur” (Rock of Ages) and “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah” introduce children to Hebrew language and melody.
You can teach simple Hanukkah songs for assemblies or class performances. “I Have a Little Dreidel” stands out because it has hand motions and tells a story. The repetitive lyrics are great for younger learners, while older students explore what the song means.
Try creating a Hanukkah music playlist that mixes traditional Hebrew songs with modern versions. This approach shows students how tradition changes yet stays connected to its roots. Pair music activities with learning about the dreidel game or menorah lighting to connect sound with festival customs.
Jewish families mark Hanukkah in different ways depending on where they live. In Israel, people usually eat sufganiyot, those jam-filled doughnuts that are hard to resist. European communities tend to go for latkes, crisp potato pancakes. Both treats are fried in oil to remember the miracle of the Temple oil.
You might want to check out Hanukkah customs from different countries to show students how one festival adapts across cultures. In America, families sometimes exchange gifts every night. British Jewish families often come together for special meals. Some groups even organise public menorah lightings in town squares.
A simple classroom activity is to map out where Jewish communities celebrate Hanukkah around the world. Students research traditional foods, songs or customs from different countries. This fits nicely into Key Stage 2 geography and RE, helping children see how one tradition can look so different in various places.
Teachers can weave Hanukkah activities into all sorts of subjects, making reading, writing and group projects more engaging and memorable.
Maths lessons give you a chance to link Hanukkah to counting activities, especially with the eight-night celebration. Ask pupils to work out how many candles you need for the whole festival, or try dreidel games to introduce chance and fractions.
History and RE lessons let you teach the story behind Hanukkah, focusing on the rededication of the Holy Temple and the Festival of Lights. LearningMole has free videos to support cross-curricular teaching and can add something extra to your Hanukkah units.
In art, children can design menorahs or Star of David patterns and play with symmetry. Science lessons can tie in by looking at the properties of oil, linking back to the story of the oil lasting eight days. Geography lessons can get pupils mapping where Jewish communities live, helping them understand cultural diversity from Year 3 to Year 6.
Reading comprehension activities using fiction and non-fiction texts help pupils get to grips with Hanukkah’s symbols and meaning. Let children create flip books combining facts with their own creative responses.
Writing prompts could ask pupils to imagine celebrating Hanukkah for the first time or write diary entries from a historical viewpoint. Paired passages work well, letting children compare a Hanukkah story with an informational text.
KWL charts help you see what pupils know, want to learn and have discovered by the end. These work well on anchor charts you can keep up during your sequence. Vocabulary activities can focus on words like menorah, dreidel, latkes and Maccabees, building language while exploring culture.
Collaborative projects add energy to Hanukkah activities and help pupils build teamwork skills in Key Stage 2. Small groups can research different aspects, like foods, songs or regional traditions, then share what they’ve found with the class.
Craft projects let children make menorahs or dreidels together, with each person taking on a role like designer or presenter. This way, everyone gets involved.
Drama activities let groups act out the Hanukkah story or create short plays about families celebrating. These performances fit well with the National Curriculum’s speaking and listening goals. Class quizzes or team games about Hanukkah facts make revision fun for Year 4 to Year 6.
Each night of Hanukkah starts at sundown. Families gather to light the menorah and celebrate. When you understand why timing matters, you can create more meaningful experiences for your pupils.
Sundown starts a new day in the Jewish calendar, so Hanukkah candles are lit as darkness falls. This connects to the miracle of the oil lasting eight days in the ancient Temple.
Explain to pupils that Jewish days begin at sunset, not midnight. Sundown becomes a special moment for families to come together. In 2026, Hanukkah begins at sundown on 12 December, when families light the first candle and the shamash, the helper candle.
When you teach this, pupils start to realise that different cultures measure days in their own ways. Wishing someone “Happy Hanukkah” feels more meaningful as evening comes and everyone prepares for the candle lighting.
Each evening has its own pattern that builds over the eight days. You can help students follow this with hands-on activities.
Nightly Lighting Sequence:
Candles are placed right to left but lit from left to right, starting with the newest one. After lighting, families sing blessings, play dreidel games and eat traditional Hanukkah foods like latkes and sufganiyot. Try creating a classroom menorah where pupils add a flame each day, so they can see the light growing as the festival goes on.
When families join in Hanukkah celebrations, children feel valued and school becomes more connected to home life. Schools can share Jewish customs with the wider community and invite parents to share their own traditions.
Give Jewish students a chance to share Hanukkah with classmates in ways that feel right for them. Invite a Jewish parent or community member to visit and show how to light the menorah or play dreidel. Non-Jewish children get to learn about customs they might not see elsewhere.
The Hanukkah in a Bag initiative helps Jewish children see their traditions in the classroom. This programme lets parents and teachers share Jewish culture in ways that fit school life.
You could organise a short presentation where students explain the eight nights or the miracle of the oil. Keep things inclusive by framing activities as cultural learning instead of religious practice. This works well in Key Stage 1 and 2, where children build their understanding of different communities.
Ask families to send in traditional foods like latkes or sufganiyot for a class tasting. Parents usually enjoy being part of their child’s education, especially when it celebrates their culture.
Send home a letter about your Hanukkah plans and invite family participation. Some parents might share family heirlooms like old menorahs or photos from past celebrations. Others could teach traditional songs or read stories in Hebrew and English.
Share a collection of Hanukkah activities that families can try at home. LearningMole has free videos that explain Hanukkah’s history and customs in a child-friendly way. You could also ask families to record their own Hanukkah traditions to share with the class, building community while respecting everyone’s level of observance.
Teachers can find plenty of free and paid materials to support Hanukkah lessons, from storybooks about the festival’s history to ready-made packs with crafts and worksheets.
Books help children understand why Hanukkah matters and connect with its history. Try picture books that tell the story of the Maccabees and the miracle of the oil in language suited for Key Stage 1 and 2.
Many school libraries have books showing how Jewish families celebrate Hanukkah now. You’ll find stories with children lighting menorahs, playing dreidel and eating latkes. Pair story time with a chat about how different families celebrate special days.
LearningMole has free video resources introducing Hanukkah and other religious festivals, which work well alongside books for a multimedia approach. The content matches up with UK National Curriculum requirements for RE.
Digital resources can save you time and give you printable worksheets, craft templates and lesson plans all in one place. The Jewish Education Project provides curated Hanukkah resources for different ages and learning styles.
You’ll find free printable activities from several sources, including word searches, writing prompts and colouring pages. Many packs include templates for paper menorahs, dreidels and other crafts that brighten up classroom displays.
The BBC has teaching resources for primary schools with videos and activities about Hanukkah customs. These often come with notes and questions to help your planning.
Teachers and parents often want ideas for bringing Hanukkah into the classroom, from crafts and games to reading activities and simple recipes.
Pop-up dreidel cards are a hit with Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils. They fold card and cut shapes to make greeting cards for family.
Washi tape artwork is an easy option that gives bright, fun results. All you need is card and colourful washi tape for children to design Hanukkah cards.
A paper circuit menorah mixes art and science by teaching about electricity and circuits. This STEM project fits well when you cover electricity in Year 5 or 6.
For younger children, spinning star mobiles with printable templates make lovely hanging decorations. The templates keep things simple for Reception and Year 1, but the results still look great on display.
Printable joke tellers get children folding paper while they learn Hanukkah facts and jokes. After making one from a template, pupils can create their own versions with facts they’ve researched.
Word unscrambles make great extension activities for those who finish quickly. Children unscramble letters to spell Hanukkah-related vocabulary, then swap their own scrambled words with classmates to solve.
A Hanukkah quiz about the holiday’s traditions and history brings the whole class together for group learning. Try making personalised dreidel pockets so each participant can collect small prizes for correct answers.
Word searches help children pick up important vocabulary about the Jewish festival. Once they’ve finished a ready-made version, let them design their own word searches or crosswords for classmates to solve.
Writing prompts give children a starting point when writing about Hanukkah. Prompts could ask pupils to imagine celebrating their first night of Hanukkah or describe what a menorah represents.
Hanukkah-themed mini-books let children show off their learning through creative writing. Start with a class discussion, then ask pupils to research facts and fill their flip-books. The small books won’t take up much space on your classroom walls.
LearningMole has English resources you can tweak to include Hanukkah themes in literacy lessons. Their free videos and materials support descriptive writing and research skills for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
Reading Hanukkah stories aloud gives children a chance to hear about Jewish culture and traditions. After story time, try character analysis, sequencing activities or creative writing based on the narrative.
Chocolate dreidels are easy treats children can make using basic ingredients. Pupils can prepare these at school to take home or share at a class celebration.
Dreidel surprise cookies work well for older pupils in Years 5 and 6. Children assemble the cookies, fill them with any sweets they like, and then try writing the Hebrew symbols found on dreidels.
Challah bread shaped like dreidels or menorahs gives upper Key Stage 2 a baking challenge. This special Jewish bread takes time and supervision, but children learn about ceremonial foods and develop baking skills.
Traditional latkes, or potato pancakes, make a good cooking demonstration. Children can help with safe tasks like measuring or mixing, and you can talk about how fried foods connect to the Hanukkah story about oil lasting eight days.
Children can act out the main events of Hanukkah. They might show the rededication of the Holy Temple.
Assign roles like the Maccabees, soldiers or temple priests. Pupils can create their own simple dialogue and movements to bring the story to life.
A tableau activity gets children to freeze in poses that show key moments from the Hanukkah story. Groups might present the discovery of oil, lighting the menorah or families celebrating, while classmates have a go at guessing each scene.
Hot-seating gives everyone a chance to explore the characters and what drives them. One child steps into the shoes of a historical figure and answers questions from the rest of the class. This approach helps everyone see different sides of the Hanukkah story.
Puppetry is a good option for younger pupils who might feel a bit shy on stage. Children can make simple dreidel or menorah puppets, then use them to retell the Hanukkah story in small groups or even for the whole class.
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