This document presents a pedagogical file which will enable students to create a Hanukkah dreidel, by including their own portrait on one side of the dreidel.
They will discover the painter Andy Warhol and will use his technique, called screen printing.
Knowledge:
Enriching one’s artistic references; discovering the technique and artwork of Andy Warhol, and creating a portrait which will appear on one of the symbols of Hanukkah: the dreidel.
Identity:
Reinforce the bond with the Hannukah celebration, working on one of its symbols.
Skills:
Reproduce the necessary steps for the creation of the portrait, and which are explained in the file.
Introduction:
Briefly present the painter Andy Warhol, whose life and work are described in the third leaflet of the file.
Then present in an explicit way the process of the graphic activity: to this end, it is possible to display a model on the board, and describe the different steps to follow.
Conduct of the activity:
Follow the steps described in the fourth and the fifth file:
Step 1: the portrait
Step 2: the support
Step 3: the completion
Conclusion :
At the end of the session, it is possible to organize an exhibition with the students’ creations, so as to give importance to the work accomplished.
A black-and-white 10×10 cm portrait photo of the child on
a Canson cardstock sheet if possible.
Ink: red, yellow, blue, green
Paint brushes
Some adhesive putty
The spinning-top shaped base (see exhibit):
to be photocopied on thick paper and cut out
A Canson sheet
A tracing paper sheet
Magazines
A pencil
Markers, crayons or acrylic paint
A pair of scissors
Why do we play with a dreidle during Hanukkah?
The children are used to playing with a dreidle during the Hanukkah celebration. But what is the origin of this game? According to tradition, the Jews had to study in secret, because the Greeks had forbidden them from studying the Torah and observing the other commandments. To make believe that they were not gathered to study the Torah, but rather to distract themselves, the Jews took small spinning tops they would start playing with every time danger was close.
There are two sorts of dreidles, presenting a slight difference:
● On the Eretz Israel dreidle, there are four letters of the Hebrew alphabet (one on each side: noun (נ), guimel (ג), he (ה), pe (פ) which are the initials of: “Ness gadol haya po” – a great miracle took place here.
● On the ones from the Diaspora, the letters are the following: noun (נ), guimel (ג), he (ה), shin (ש) which are the initials of: “Ness gadol haya cham” – a great miracle took place there.