Jewish · Hanukkah Song · Grades PreK–6
All three verses of the classic Hanukkah song — plus Dreidel Calypso, a challenging barred instrument arrangement for grades 4–6. Quarter rest, fa solfège, and advanced syncopation all in one song.
Jewish Hanukkah song · all verses
About this song
I Have a Little Dreidel works at two completely different levels of the elementary music curriculum — and works well at both. For grades PreK–3, it's a simple, well-loved Hanukkah song that most children already know at least partially. It introduces or reinforces the quarter rest and the solfège syllable fa in a melody students are already engaged with.
For grades 4–6, the Dreidel Calypso arrangement transforms the familiar melody into a genuinely challenging ensemble piece. Chances are that by 4th or 5th grade, students already know the song well — which means you can move quickly to the arrangement without spending class time on basic melody learning. The Calypso requires all participants to either play advanced syncopation or hold a steady beat against it, making it musically demanding in a way that older students find satisfying rather than babyish.
"By the time they're in 5th grade they think they're too old for Hanukkah songs. Dreidel Calypso changes that completely — suddenly it's hard, and they want to master it."
— Deborah Skydell Pasternack, The Singing ClassroomThe song also naturally introduces students to the dreidel game itself. A demonstration dreidel for teaching and a bag of dreidels to hand out to the class make the cultural context concrete and playful — students understand what the song is about because they've held and spun the object at the center of it.
Teaching guide by grade
The complete video demonstration — including the full Dreidel Calypso arrangement — is available inside a Singing Classroom subscription.
Begin by showing students the dreidel — demonstrate how it spins and explain the Hanukkah game. If children don't know what a dreidel is or how to play, a brief demonstration before teaching the song gives the lyrics immediate meaning. Then teach the song holding the dreidel, letting it spin on the chorus. With very small children, acknowledge that your dreidel is wood or plastic rather than clay — it's a natural teaching moment about how the song imagines the toy.
The melody of I Have a Little Dreidel is ideal for teaching the quarter rest. Once students know the song well, draw their attention to the places where the melody pauses — show how those silences are active beats that must be felt and counted, not just gaps. Replace the silence with a gesture or a body percussion sound to make the rest physical. The quarter rest appears clearly enough in this melody that students can find it and name it without prompting.
Fa appears naturally in this melody and is approached from both sol and re — two of the cleanest approaches to that pitch in the elementary repertoire. Once students can hear fa in the song, use hand signs to make the half-step quality of the approach from sol visceral. Students who hear fa in a song they already love tend to remember it far more reliably than students who encounter it in a drill.
If older students already know the song, skip the basic melody teaching and go straight to the arrangement. The parts in order of difficulty are: Xylophone 2 (easiest), Xylophone 1 / Melody (fairly easy), Maracas (challenging — sustaining a quick steady beat for the entire song is harder than it looks), and Xylophone 3 (most challenging — syncopated rhythm and a moving triad). See the video for the complete arrangement and Deborah's approach to introducing each part.
One very competent student can usually handle maracas. In a pinch, a plastic shaker egg patted on the palm works well as a substitute. For the syncopated Xylophone 3 part: if you're not sure whether students can handle it, start by playing it yourself. Add students once they've heard it enough to want to try it — that way you never have to take a part away from a struggling student, which is demoralizing. Just begin with kids on Xylophone 1 and 2, and add Xylophone 3 when they're ready.
Skills & concepts in depth
The melody of I Have a Little Dreidel is one of the best vehicles for teaching the quarter rest in the Hanukkah repertoire. The rests are placed where students naturally feel the pause — making the transition from "this feels like nothing happens here" to "this is an active silent beat" intuitive rather than forced. Once students can identify the quarter rest in this song, they recognize it quickly in other pieces.
Fa is approached from sol and from re in this melody — two of the characteristic approaches to that pitch. The approach from sol (a half step down) is particularly clear and helps students hear the characteristic "lean" of fa toward mi. Teaching fa in a song students already know and love means they have a strong melodic reference point to anchor the pitch in their inner ear.
Whether or not you choose to teach students to read and write the rhythmic patterns, Dreidel Calypso requires all participants to either play advanced syncopation (Xylophone 3) or keep a steady beat against it (Maracas, Xylophone 2). Both experiences are musically valuable — maintaining your own part while hearing a conflicting rhythm alongside it is a sophisticated ensemble skill that this arrangement develops naturally.
The dreidel is a spinning top traditionally played during Hanukkah. Each of the four sides bears a Hebrew letter — Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin — standing for the phrase "A great miracle happened there." The dreidel game involves spinning the top and performing an action based on which letter faces up. Having physical dreidels for students to handle makes the song's lyrics immediate and concrete rather than abstract.
What teachers say
"Dreidel Calypso is the only Hanukkah activity I've found that my 5th graders actually get excited about. They think they're too old for holiday songs — until the syncopation kicks in and suddenly it's a real challenge. Completely changed my December for upper grades."
"Teaching fa from this song was a revelation. My 3rd graders had heard I Have a Little Dreidel a hundred times. When I pointed out where fa was hiding in the melody they already knew, they found it instantly. I've never had fa click so fast."
"The bag of dreidels to hand out was Deborah's idea and it's genius. Suddenly the song isn't abstract — every kid has the actual object in their hand. They understand what 'it drops and then I win' means because they've spun one. The engagement is completely different."
More holiday songs
All three verses, ta-m-ti rhythm, the full major scale, and a barred instrument arrangement for grades 5–6.
See teaching guide →A Hebrew farewell round in minor — a natural partner to I Have a Little Dreidel for bringing Jewish musical heritage into the winter season.
See teaching guide →A four-part round that's concert-ready in three classes — a strong companion for the December program alongside I Have a Little Dreidel.
See teaching guide →Common questions
All three verses are on this page above. Verse 1 begins "I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay." Verse 2 begins "It has a lovely body, with legs so short and thin." Verse 3 begins "My dreidel's always playful, it loves to dance and spin." Each verse is followed by the chorus: "Oh, dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it's dry and ready, oh dreidel I shall play."
Dreidel Calypso is a barred instrument arrangement of I Have a Little Dreidel designed for grades 4–6. It has three xylophone parts and a maracas part. In order of difficulty: Xylophone 2 (easiest), Xylophone 1 which carries the melody (fairly easy), Maracas (challenging — sustaining a quick steady beat for the whole song is harder than it sounds), and Xylophone 3 (most challenging — a syncopated rhythm against a moving triad). The arrangement is demonstrated in full in Deborah's video inside a Singing Classroom subscription.
Just play that part yourself. A bass xylophone works well, as does playing it on piano. If you're unsure whether students can handle it, it's better to start by playing it yourself and add students once they've heard it many times and want to try. That way you never have to take a part away from a struggling student — you just start with kids on Xylophone 1 and 2, and introduce Xylophone 3 when they're ready for the challenge.
A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top traditionally played during Hanukkah. Each side bears a Hebrew letter — Nun (נ), Gimel (ג), Hey (ה), and Shin (ש) — standing for the phrase "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham" ("A great miracle happened there"). Players spin the dreidel and perform an action based on whichever letter faces up when it falls. Having physical dreidels for students to spin while learning the song connects the lyrics directly to the cultural practice the song describes.
Yes — I Have a Little Dreidel is a cultural and folk song, not a religious liturgical piece. Teaching it in an elementary music classroom is consistent with the long tradition of teaching folk songs from diverse cultural backgrounds. It works well as part of a December unit that includes songs from multiple winter traditions — alongside Deck the Halls, Shalom Chaverim, and Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah, for example — giving students authentic exposure to music from different cultural heritages.
The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
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