I love to kick off my December lessons with Hanukkah! Here are just a few of my favorite go-to lessons!
Folk Dances
Zemer Atik
Zemer Atik is a great Israeli folk dance to teach to your older students! Also, I just love the process Rob takes to teach it!
Cherkessia
Cherkessia is good option for younger students! A great way to incorporate improvisation!
Dreidels
My students are fascinated by these spinning tops! Nothing hooks them faster 🙂 I start by teaching my students the dreidel song.
To keep them singing and for an added challenge, I add a word elimination game. They no longer can say certain words and instead must use their inner hearing to internalize the following words.
Once I feel like the students are very comfortable with the song I show them under the document camera my dreidel. I show them how to spin it and we discuss what each side means. Then I introduce our music game!
The students will each receive a dreidel and white board (Carpeted floors are a little tricky to spin on. A clipboard works too!). They will spin their top and start to sing the dreidel song. They will see how long they can sing the song before the dreidel stops. The word that it stops on is the one to beat!
This is a great way for the students to spin and spin and spin their fun dreidel, but also keep it music focused by keeping them singing!
Do you celebrate Hanukkah in the classroom? What are your favorite lessons? I would love to know!
