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Features

Tally marks and a bar graph to draw for the four sides of a dreidel
Read a bar graph with a scale of 2: how many more, how many fewer, in all
The dreidel game's rules: the pot after each spin, and a whole game spin after spin
Story problems with gelt and dreidels, one and two steps
A doubles and halves board game with pawns to cut out
Every page in color and in black and white
Answer keys included

Skills Covered

Read tally marks and draw a bar graph
Read a bar graph with a scale of 2
Solve how many more and how many fewer

Find half of an even number
Add and subtract within 100 in one and two steps
Practice doubles and halves

About the dreidel

A dreidel is a spinning top with four sides, played with during Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. Each side has a Hebrew letter: Nun, Gimel, Hei and Shin, which stand for the words "a great miracle happened there." Players spin for chocolate coins called gelt, and the letter that lands up says what to do. Families play with slightly different rules; these pages use Nun: nothing happens, Gimel: take the whole pot, Hei: take half of the pot, Shin: put 1 gelt in the pot. In 2026 Hanukkah begins on the evening of December 4 and ends on December 12.

How to Use This Pack

Five pages of dreidel math. On page 1 students count the tally marks for each side of the dreidel, draw a bar for each side and answer three questions. Page 2 is a bar graph of a class game where each line is 2 spins, with five questions about how many more, how many fewer and how many in all. Page 3 gives the rules of the dreidel game: students find the pot after one spin, then follow a whole game spin after spin. Page 4 has six story problems about gelt and dreidels, some with two steps. Page 5 is a board game for 2 to 4 players: land on a space, double or halve the number, and check on the answer sheet. The first problem on pages 1 to 4 is a worked example.

In the Classroom

Bring in a few dreidels and let small groups spin 20 times, keeping tally marks, then compare their bar graphs with page 1. Before page 3, play a round together with counters as gelt so the rules make sense. For the story problems, ask students to draw the pot or the bags before they write a number sentence.

At Home

If you have a dreidel, play a few rounds with coins, buttons or chocolate gelt and keep score together. Ask your child to keep tally marks of which side lands up, then say which side came up most and how many more.

Tips for Success

A group of tally marks with a line across is 5
On a graph with a scale of 2, each line is 2 more than the one below
To find how many more, subtract the smaller number from the bigger one
Hei takes half: split the pot into two equal groups
For two-step problems, find the first answer, then use it

Common Core Standards Alignment

This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:

1.OA.C.6 Add and subtract to 20, working fluently within 10, with strategies like counting on, making ten, fact families and doubles plus one.
1.MD.C.4 Sort and show data in up to three groups, then answer questions about the total, each group's count, and how groups differ.
2.OA.A.1 Solve one- and two-step story problems with sums and differences up to 100, with the unknown in any position, using drawings and equations.
2.MD.D.10 Make picture and bar graphs (one unit per square or picture) for up to four categories, and answer joining, separating and comparing questions from them.
3.OA.C.7 Multiply and divide to 100 fluently with strategies, and by year's end instantly recall every product of two single-digit numbers.
3.MD.B.3 Make picture and bar graphs where each symbol or square stands for several items, and answer one- and two-step comparison questions from them.
4.OA.A.3 Solve multi-step story problems with whole numbers and all four operations, deciding what remainders mean, writing equations with a letter, and checking by estimating.

Hanukkah Dreidel Math

2nd – 3rd Grade

Hanukkah math with the dreidel and its four sides, Nun, Gimel, Hei and Shin. Students tally spins and make bar graphs, read a graph with a scale of 2, follow the game's rules to find the pot, solve gelt story problems and play a doubles and halves board game.

Download PDF

What’s Included

5 worksheets in color and in black and white, with answer keys
Tally charts, a bar graph to draw and a scaled bar graph to read
The dreidel game's rules with halves, and gelt story problems
A doubles and halves board game with pawns to cut out

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