Learning objectives
- To learn about music from another culture, particularly when related to the festival of Hanukkah.
- To learn the names of some traditional Jewish musical instruments.
- To play and move to traditional Jewish Hanukkah music.
EYFS outcomes
Understanding the world
- Recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways.
Expressive arts and design
- Listen attentively, move to and talk about music, expressing their feelings and responses.
- Watch and talk about dance and performance art, expressing their feelings and responses.
- Sing in a group or on their own, increasingly matching the pitch and following the melody.
- Explore and engage in music making and dance, performing solo or in groups.
- ELG: Being imaginative and expressive: Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
- Playing and exploring
Outcomes taken from Development Matters, 2021.
ELGs taken from the Statutory framework for the EYFS, 2021.
Before the lesson
Note
Before the lesson, you may find it helpful to watch link: 'Rejoice in Dance - Teaching video for Hora dance' on VideoLink, so that you are familiar with the Hora dance steps and ready to teach the children.
Have ready
- Link: 'The story of Hanukkah by Homer' on VideoLink
- Link: 'Rejoice in Dance - Teaching video for Hora dance' on VideoLink
- Presentation: Traditional Jewish musical instruments
- A laptop or interactive whiteboard to play the sound clips from the Presentation: Traditional Jewish musical instruments
- Teacher notes: How to dance the Hora (see Classroom resources)
- Tambourines and cymbals (enough for one instrument per child or one between two if there are insufficient instruments) (optional)
- Activity: Traditional Jewish musical instruments flashcards (see Classroom resources) – one copy, cut up with individual flashcards laid out on the floor where the children can see them
- Teacher notes: How to dance the Hora (see Classroom resources) – one copy for the teacher
Download classroom resources
Activity
The children will learn about music associated with the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
1. Introduce the Hanukkah story with this video: 'Homer- The story of Hanukkah' on VideoLink.
2. Briefly recap what Hanukkah is. Tell the children that when Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah, they light candles, eat delicious food and play games. They also love to play and listen to music.
3. The first part of the lesson, you will introduce the children to images of three traditional Jewish musical instruments and the sounds they make:
- Drum – simple frame drum made of wood with an animal skin stretched over the frame.
- Tambourine – very like modern tambourines.
- Cymbals – very like modern cymbals.
4. Display the Presentation: Traditional Jewish musical instruments and spread out the flashcards from the Activity: Traditional Jewish musical instruments flashcards on the floor where the children can see them.
Presentation: Traditional Jewish musical instruments
Show on your interactive whiteboard
5. Either show the children each of the three instruments using slides 1-3 of the Presentation: Traditional Jewish musical instruments, or show the children the pictures of the instruments using the flashcards from the Activity: Traditional Jewish musical instruments flashcards.
Whether using the slides or the flashcards, read out the name of each instrument.
6. Using slide 4 of the Presentation: Traditional Jewish musical instruments, play each of the numbered instrument audio clips in turn. Ask the children to listen carefully and then guess which instrument they are listening to by pointing to the correct flashcard. Clicking the mouse after each audio file will bring up the name of the instrument and an image of the instrument.
7. Teach the children how to dance the Hora. The instructions are set out in the Activity: How to dance the Hora. You may also find the link: 'Rejoice in Dance - Teaching video for Hora dance' on VideoLink useful.
8. When you have had some practice, if you have tambourines and cymbals, you can hand these out to the children and invite them to play these instruments while dancing.
7. Dance in a circle to the Hora dance. Don’t worry if the children get the moves wrong, this dance is all about celebrating and having fun.
Key vocabulary
- Hanukkah
- Celebration
- Music
- Dance
- Traditional
- Harp
- Jewish
- Drum
- Cymbals
- Tambourine
Observations
Can the children:
- Match any of the sounds correctly with the instruments?
- Repeat the names of the traditional Jewish instruments and use them as they talk?
- Play the tambourine or cymbals in time to the song, while joining in with the lyrics?
- Do some of the basic steps to the Hora without music?
Teacher notes.
If you are already celebrating Hanukkah as part of your class topic, then this lesson will fit in perfectly. However, it will also work well as a standalone mini-exploration of the festival.
If you have limited time for this lesson, you can watch the Hanukkah story and discuss its meaning beforehand: 'Homer- The story of Hanukkah'
Next steps
To learn about music from another culture, particularly when related to the festival of Kwanzaa.
Note any specific next steps for individual children.
