Hanukkah Word Wall Cards for Preschoolers
Affiliate Disclosure: “This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using those links.”
These FREE Hanukkah Word Wall Cards will complement your lesson planning for December and provide a way to introduce a culture that might be different from yours, addressing social studies in your lesson plans.
These words should be accessible for students to see and use quickly, and teachers should refer to them often so children learn what they say and understand their relevance, helping them develop their pre-reading skills.
The Hanukkah Word Wall Cards pack includes four pages with three cards each, for twelve cards with different Hanukkah-typical words such as Hanukkah, dreidel, menorah, latkes, oil lamp, Torah, kippah, gelt, Star of David, sufganiyot, oil and candle in English and Spanish. You can get them at the end of this post.
What is Hanukkah
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday known as the Festival of Lights. It represents joy and is as important for Jewish culture as Christmas or Kwanzaa. Like the other two holidays, Hanukkah has activities and specific items used during the celebration called traditions.
The most important traditions are:
- Lighting a Menorah. The menorah is a candleholder with nine candles. The candles are placed from right to left and light up from left to right. The middle candle is called shamash. It is lit up on the first day of Hanukkah and will be used to light up the rest.
- Playing with a dreidel. The dreidel is a spinning toy with letters written on top in Hebrew, meaning “a great miracle happened there.”
- Eating traditional foods. During Hanukkah, several traditional foods are fried in oil, such as fried potato pancakes called latkes, jelly-filled doughnuts called sufganiyot, braided egg bread called challah, sweet egg noddles and fruit casserole called kugel, a chocolate and cinnamon-filled pastry called rugelach, slow-cooked meat called brisket, and roasted chicken.
Hanukkah Word Wall Cards
To prepare these low-prep Hanukkah Word Walls, print each page on white cardstock, cut it out, and laminate them to make the cards last longer.
Some of the activities you can do to use these Hanukkah cards are:
- Introduce the items and talk about some of their characteristics.
- Clap the words syllables.
- Discuss which is the first letter of each word and what the sound of that letter is.
- Discuss what items can be authentic and which cannot.
- To compare the pictures with actual items.
- To compare the pictures with the ones in books.
- Copy the words with pencils, crayons, or markers.
- Trace the words with dry-erase markers.
- Match the words using magnetic, wooden, or foam letters.
- Spell the words.
- Match the pictures with the written words.
- Choose an item to create a story about it.
- Draw a picture of their favorite Hanukkah item.
- Sculp an item with playdough.
Hanukkah-related Books
Books encourage children to feel connected and better understand what is being discussed. They also promote their imagination and language, teach them vocabulary, and increase their motivation and readiness to learn, among other important benefits.
These are some stories you can use for this theme. You can find them at your local library, in a used bookstore, or on Amazon. If you click on the titles, my affiliate links will take you directly to the Amazon page, where you can purchase your favorites.
- The Story About Hanukkah by David A. Adler uses simple yet dramatic text accompanied by vibrant battle paintings, the Temple of Jerusalem, and the oil that miraculously burned for eight long nights.
- Hanukkah Bear by Eric A. Kimmel is the story of Bubba Brayna, who’s cooking and wakes a hungry, adorable bear from hibernation. She welcomes him to play the dreidel game, light the menorah, and enjoy a delicious meal.
- The Night Before Hanukkah by Natasha Wing captures the excitement of a Hebrew family before the celebration and how they gather to light the candles and share holiday traditions.
- Grover’s Eight Nights of Light by Jodie Shepherd uses Sesame Street characters to teach children why and how to celebrate Hanukkah, providing a simple outline of the holiday’s origins.
- Biscuit’s Hanukkah by Alyssa Satin uses this beloved dog to tell how he makes a beautiful menorah to celebrate Hanukkah.
Pin It For Later
If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin it to one of your Pinterest boards to have it available when you’re ready.
I hope you and your preschoolers enjoy this freebie. To get your free pack, click the link below and type your information to download it immediately.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.D. Please let me know if these cards worked or if you think I need to add or replace something.
