Hanukkah Lesson Plan for Educators

HanuKat can provide an opportunity for the introduction and incorporation of Hanukkah holiday concepts into your December holiday activities.  The books are entertaining, secular, stories that can be supplemented with our site's many classroom-appropriate activities.  

 THE STORIES:  Read out loud the stories of HanuKat to your class. The story can be read online.  If you would like to print copies of our stories, please see below.  Each story has references to Hanukkah traditions.  After reading the stories, ask your students what Hanukkah references they were able to find (for younger children you may wish to provide an explanation of the holiday material prior to reading the story).  If you need additional information about Hanukkah our About Hanukkah page can provide some of the historical background for the holiday or for more detailed information, refer to the sites on our Links page.  

Below are a list of listening comprehension and discussion questions for the stories:

HanuKat HanuKat is the maker of Miracles. How does this relate to Hanukkah? (Hanukkah is the celebration in thanks of the miracle that occurred long ago when a menorah with only one day’s oil burned brightly for eight days) What creatures from Dreamland can your recall?  Which creature remind you of something from Hanukkah?  (DreiDells - dreidel like, Geltoids - gelt like, other creatures include MatZebra, Oy-Toys)

HanuKat and the DreiDell Dilemma What do the mice-like creatures resemble? (dreidels) Why do you think the DreiDell live in glowing bubbles? (they turn into the lights of candles – Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights) What were some of the methods used by the DreiDells to get HanuKat to tell them how to spin? (whining, begging, trading) How did Sarah figure out how to spin? (She did it herself – she used her head) What does the image, when HanuKat and all the DreiDell are spinning, remind you of? (A menorah, with HanuKat as the shamash in the middle, and each of the eight DreiDell as one of the menorah’s candles).

THE ACTIVITIES:   Use the HanuKat activities as a follow-up to the stories.   Consider printing the black-and-white versions so that students can color their own projects.  Younger students can color and design their own DreiDells! Older students can make their own dreidels and learn to play the game.  Set up the HanuKat menorah in the classroom and "light" a candle each day.  Write us and tell us about your experiences with HanuKat in the classroom!

If you would like to print copies of our stories:

We have received many requests from educators for copies of our book.  We are excited that our stories and activities will be a part of classroom holiday celebrations!  You can download the books in the form of two Acrobat PDF files and print on your own computer.  Printed copies are authorized for use in classrooms or playgroups only.  No commercial use is authorized.  We'd love to hear from you about how HanuKat was used in your classroom!  Contact us.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HANUKAT  (1.1M Acrobat PDF file)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HANUKAT AND THE DREIDELL DILEMMA (1.3M Acrobat PDF file)

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