Chanukah Resources
Below is a collection Chanukah/Hanukkah lesson plans, powerpoints, and articles created by Lookstein Center staff or contributed to site by Jewish educators. To contribute resources, please click here.
Chanukah Instructional Materials
40+ Chanukah Classroom Activities for elementary, middle and high school – fun ideas for the classroom
Chanukah Mystery Webquest for grades 3-5 by The Lookstein Center
A Look at Miracles, a lesson plan for grades 7-8 by Daniel Rose
Chanukah Scavenger Hunt Lesson for grades 3-6 by Debbie Shohat
Chanukah Scavenger Hunt Lesson for grades 7-8 by Debbie Shohat
Chanukah Source Source Material and Teacher’s Guide by David Sedley (TorahLab)
Chanukah – What a Strange, Long Trip Its Been, a Web Journey about assimilation and identity for seventh graders by Susan Hirschman and James Freedman
Chanukah Word Search with Hebrew vocabulary by The Lookstein Center
Chanukah Word Search with English vocabulary by The Lookstein Center
Chanukah SMART Board lessons by Legacy Heritage Foundation
Light up Africa lesson plan by Jewish Heart of Africa – learn about Hannukah and Israel’s role helping African communities
Multimedia
The 5 Ws of Chanukah, an introductory powerpoint* for elementary school by The Lookstein Center. Includes audio and video. Download it here.
Chanukah and the December Dillema, a powerpoint* for high school by Helene Audrey Bergman
The Wars of the Maccabim, a powerpoint* for middle and high school by Aryeh Rotenberg
Chanukah: The Festival of Light, a powerpoint* for elementary school by Suzy Stone of ICTeachers and adapted by the Lookstein Center
Chanukah videos, nine short videos about Chanukah presented by TorahLive
Chanukah Piyutim, Chanukah songs with audio and lyrics by Piyut.org.il (Hebrew)
*Powerpoints are best viewed with Internet Explorer
Chanukah Articles
Classical Texts about Chanukah compiled by Amy Schneinerman
The Menorah: A Jewish Symbol, a guide for the classroom by Hadassah Levy
The Obligation of Women in Lighting Chanukah Candles (in Hebrew) by Aharon Lichtenstein
The Miracle of the Lights by Yair Kahn
Pe’ninei Torah by Chaim Jachter
Classroom Chanukah Plays
Chanukah Play by Amihai Bannett – a humorous play in which ES/MS students relay the miracle of Chanukah as a breaking news broadcast from the Torah News Network.
“The Chanukah Play” by Mike Freedman of ICTeachers– a three page play that tells the story of the Chanukah miracle.
Chanukah: The Miracle of Eight Candles” by the Bet Class at the Arden Heights Boulevard Jewish Center’s School – a short skit about the meaning of Chanuakah.
Hannah and Her Seven Sons by Shoshi K. Bilavsky – two skits depicting the story of Chana and her seven sons based on Talmud Gitin 57. The text has contains some typos.
Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! – A Reader’s Theater Script Adapted by the Story by Esme Raji Codell – a humorous, modern script that weaves together the story of Chanukah and the American dream.