With this Sunday being the last religious school session we have before Purim, it was one of my favorite sessions of the year and I am happy to share this Sample Purim Lesson with you in case you’d like to pull from it for your own classroom or at-home learning! I teach a kindergarten/first grade combo class so that’s the focus of this lesson but of course you can modify what interests you for whatever age you desire.
What You’ll Need
- Sample Purim Lesson Plan
- Whatever supplies the parts of the lesson call for depending on which ones you want to do!!
- 4 mitzvot of Purim checklist printable (optional)
- Mishloach Manot cards printable (optional)
Putting It Together
- Download the free Sample Purim Lesson Plan.
- Read through it and determine which parts of the lesson work for you. Use those and forget the rest!
Finished & Loving It!
One of the reasons I love this Sample Purim Lesson Plan, and use it year after year, is because it builds on my class’ normal flow (it’s sometimes hard for kids to break routines!) and incorporates all my goals of a Purim lesson–learning the story of Purim, the characters, the symbols, and the four mitzvot of Purim–and does so in engaging, meaningful and fun ways!
Holiday Introduction
I always introduce my holidays with a favorite PJ Library book. Hands down, The Purim Chicken is my favorite book to introduce Purim. I love how it focuses on the main value we want to teach our children about the holiday, ometz lev, or courage/strength of the heart, and it teaches us a bit about the Purim story through the animals acting out the play. Plus, the animals are cute and all the clucking and mooing is a lot of fun and a really great opportunity for the children to interact with and join in.
Four Mitzvot of Purim
The 4 mitzvot of Purim checklist is an easy way to introduce the 4 mitzvot of Purim and either perform them in class, or remind them to do it once home. In non-covid school years, we have a Purim feast in our class as our snack for the session. But this year it worked perfectly fine to discuss the mitzvah of Purim Seudah in class and provide the materials for it (the mac and cheese from the grogger!) and encourage the children to make and eat it for their Purim feast.
Pasta Groggers
The kids absolutely loved making and shaking their Purim groggers! Any groggers would work for this lesson but I loved being able to make the pasta groggers so that they could enjoy creating their own groggers, using them as we read the class Megillah, then having the opportunity to use the grogger materials (the mac and cheese) to perform the fourth mitzvot, the Purim feast. So fun!
DIY Interactive Megillah
Have you ever made an interactive Megillah before? I started doing it years ago and the kids love it! I found Purim characters online (the ones I used are from Beyond the Balagan but you could find others or draw your own … in fact I think I might encourage my kids to create their own either this year or next!) and inserted the images every time I found that character’s name in the story. I printed out the story, then taped it side by side so it made one long piece of paper. This can then be rolled up like a scroll. It’s an easy opportunity to discuss the Scroll of Esther, a unique showing of the story the kids probably aren’t used to, and a really wonderful way for them to feel engaged throughout the story since they get to call out the character’s name every time they see the familiar picture. It really is one of the kids’ favorite parts of the lesson. And of course, don’t forget to have them bring their groggers so they can shake and boo every time we read Haman’s name!
Mishloach Manot
Every year I love having the kids make their own mishloach manot to give to a friend, neighbor, teacher or family member. Because I have a large class, we always use the very economical paper bags. You can always use something fancier but these are so easy to decorate and are cheap and easy! I also include a mishloach manot card the kids can decorate. It provides a little explanation of the tradition so even recipients not familiar with the tradition of giving/receiving mishloach manot can understand its meaning.
You can also use whatever you want, or have on hand, to fill the mishloach manot bags. We always use raisin boxes, then find something prepackaged that’s inexpensive, like nuts or chips. And, of course, something sweet like chocolate candies. Yum!
Update that checklist!
At the end of class remind them to update their checklist and, of course, share all that they learned with their families! I’ve always received really positive feedback for this hands-on fun and meaningful Purim lesson. I hope you find parts of the Sample Purim Lesson that feel valuable and doable for you! Enjoy!
Chag Purim Sameach!
We also have an entire Purim Activity Bundle ready for your Purim learning and exploration fun! Check it out in the With Love, Ima Shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Check out our recommended Purim books from our Bookshop.org Shop!
The following sites are amazing resources for learning more about this beautiful holiday:
Chag Sameach!!
Looking for delicious Mishloach Manot ideas? Check out Nuts.com! So many nuts, dried fruit, and sweets. YUM!
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