Hanukkah Reading Worksheets

Captivate Your Students with the Inspirational Story of Hanukkah

Ignite your students’ curiosity and develop their cultural literacy with this engaging resource centered around the powerful story of Hanukkah. This ancient Jewish narrative recounts the Maccabees’ courageous rebellion and unwavering faith during the Greeks’ religious persecution in the 2nd century BCE.

As the villainous Greek-Syrian ruler Antiochus IV outlawed Judaism and ordered worship of Greek gods, the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons took a stand. After Mattathias’s death, his son Judah led their small rebel army to numerous improbable victories over Antiochus’s vastly larger forces. They ultimately reclaimed the desecrated Temple in Jerusalem.

When it came time to relight the Temple’s menorah, only one day’s supply of consecrated olive oil remained - yet it miraculously burned for eight nights until new sanctified oil could be prepared. This astounding miracle highlighting the triumph of faith over persecution is joyously celebrated each year during the eight nights of Hanukkah.

Through this powerful narrative of Jewish resilience, your students will gain invaluable insights into the ancestral foundations that shaped Jewish spirituality, ethics, and beloved traditions like the festival of lights.

Differentiated activities reinforce comprehension:

• 2 levels of multiple-choice quizzes
• 2 levels of summary cloze worksheets
• 2 levels of written response sheets with a variety of engaging question types including multiple choice, true/false, cloze sentences, sequencing, short answer, open-ended response, textual evidence questions, and analysis prompts
• 2 levels of true/false questions
• 2 Hanukkah story crosswords
• Answer keys provided
  Perfect for years 6-11 across ELA, social studies, and Jewish studies.

Celebrate the eternal lights of faith and hope with this inspirational Hanukkah resource.