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Activities with the most famous
Israeli song
as part of the 70th birthday of Israel curriculum
A lesson for the age
4-6
Written by : Efrat Srebro
About Hava Nagila
"Hava Nagila":"Let us rejoice", is an Israeli folk song, traditionally sung at Jewish celebrations. It is perhaps the first modern Israeli folk song in the Hebrew language that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and bar/bat mitzvah celebrations. The melody is based on a Hassidic Nigun and it was composed in 1917 in Ottoman Palestine, when Hebrew was being revived as a spoken language for the first time in almost 2,000 years .Today it has 58 different versions!! If you want more information ,please watch the following video
The song's words:
Hava nagila (Let's rejoice) Hava nagila
Hava nagila ve-nismeḥa(Let's rejoice and be happy)(repeat)
Hava neranenah (Let's sing)Hava neranenah
Hava neranenah ve-nismeḥa(Let's sing and be happy)
(repeat)
Uru, uru aḥim! (Awake, awake, my brothers)
!Uru aḥim be-lev sameaḥ(Awake my brothers with a happy heart)
(repeat line four times)
Uru aḥim, uru aḥim!(Awake, my brothers, awake, my brothers)
!Be-lev sameaḥ( With a happy heart)
The activities with Hava Nagila include 2 steps:
1. Activities with the traditional song
2.Activities with instrumental versions of this song
Please activate the video and listen to the song
היכרות עם השיר
First listening
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Tell your children that today you are very happy and your heart is filled up with "Gil".
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Ask them what is the meaning of "Gil"?
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Explain to your kids that "Gil" in Hebrew is joy
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The word " Gil" is hiding in the word Nagila which means rejoice.
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Tell your children that today you will learn the most famous Israeli song:"Hava Nagila".This song is asking us to be happy
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Explain the words of this song to your class
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Ask your children to listen to the song and raise their hands when ever they hear the word "Hava"("let's").
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In the "Uru" part , ask them to roll their hands.
רעיונות נוספים
More ideas
Ask the children to suggest what else the class can do when they hear the word "Hava:Jump, change the way you stand, touch a friend etc.
Ask them also to suggest what to do in the part which starts with "Uru Achim.....
For example: arrange small circles and dance together, walk in a train, walk in different ways etc.
קצת חשבון
How many times we hear the word "Nagila" in the song?
Arrange your class in 3 groups , sitting on the floor in 3 circles. Each circle will get a different number :1,2,3 as the song repeats 3 times.
Each circle will get a tray with 7 colorful beads.
The first circle will count the appearance of the word "Nagila" with their fingers, when the class hears the song at the first time: One child from that circle will put a colorful bead in the center of the circle, on a tray, in each "Nagila".
In the Uru part , that circle will stand up and walk around the tray.
The word "Nagila" appears 6 time in the first song!
The second circle will do the same as the first circle when the class hears that the song repeats.
The word "Nagila" appears 6 time in the second song!
The third circle will do the same when the class hears the song for the third time
The word "Nagila" appears 6 time in the third song!
The teacher will tell each circle when to start
!! counting
Ask your class at the end:
How many times the word "Nagila" appeared in your song?
Who had more? is it equal?
How many times did the song repeat?3
If in each time we had 6 "Nagila", how many "Nagila" we heard all together?-18
18 in Hebrew letters is chai-ח"י-which means alive
Let us watch 18 things that were invented in Israel and made the world happier and better
If you want to watch all of the 18 inventions, please klick the stapler icon
Please print the cards in the inventions ppt and explain the pictures to the children
When you repeat the game in which 3 groups count the number of Nagila in the song,use those pictures instead of the beads
מילים וכלי גוף
Words and body percussion
Ask the children to stamp their foot with the word:Hava (foot by foot)and ask how many stampings did they do?2
Ask the children to clap the word "Nagila"- How many time did they clap their hands? 3
Ask the children to tap their knees with the word:"neranena" and count how many "knee taps" they had?4
In the part that starts with "Uru" ,the children will roll their hands.
Divide the class into 3 groups-each group will be responsible for one of the words:Hava, nagila,neranena
Give each group a card with different body percussion picture that will tell them how to play the words
The body percussion pictures are in the stapler icon
Activate the song's video and act
לריקוד
Dancing with the song" Hava Nagila"
Arrange your group in a circle
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Hava- 2 stampings
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Nagila- one clap
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Venismecha-Raise your hands happily and turn shake your open hands.
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Hava Neranene-jump into the circle in the word "Hava". In the word "Neranene" you do nothing(do it twice)
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Hava neranena venismecha- going back(out) from the circle.
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Uru Achim- The circle walk clockwise.
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Please watch the video.
מה משמח אותי
What does make me happy?
The song "Hava Nagila asks us to be happy!
Ask your class what does make them happy?
Ben Zoma in Pirkey Avot said:"Who is the rich one? He who is happy with his lot!
Talk with the children about the meaning of Ben Zoma 's expression.
Ask your children to prepare their own Happiness flag and draw what makes them happy
Make the Israeli happiness flag and draw what makes you happy in Israel.
Hang your chain of happiness flags in your room and send us pictures
פעילות עם אביזר
Activity with accessory
Please give your children amovement accessory like a hoop or cardboard roll
Ask the children to suggest what to do with their movement accessory in the word "Hava" and in the part that starts with "Uru Achim"
Anchor 1
Playing body percussions with the song
This score is for the whole class to play together !
The children will clap their hands together in the word "Hava", stomp their feet together in the word "Hava" and sing the rest of the song
Playing "Hava Nagila with percussions
for printing touch the icon
Divide your class to 4 groups:the group of the rhythm sticks,the drums, the finger cymbals and the xylophones.
The harder part is the xylophones!
הבה נגילה אינסטרומנטלי
Instrumental "Hava Nagila" Darbuka dance
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Listen to the music in the upper video and after a short time,ask the children to join the music with clapping.
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While clapping,ask the children if they recognize the song which hides in this music?The song is "Hava Nagila "
Probably,all of you will clap in the same pace which is according to the music's beat.
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After a while, ask the children to join the music with body percussion like tapping your knees, your stomach etc.
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Listen again to the music and this time the teacher,will start counting the beats in groups of 8:one two three four five six seven eight.
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After a short time, the teacher will ask the children to join her counting.
As the music is long, you do not need to stop the music and you ask the children to join your counting while listening to the music
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When the teacher feels that the whole class is counting with her, she will ask them to clap their hand in number 1 out of 8 , jump in number 1, say yoo etc.
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Ask the children for more suggestions as for what to do in beat number one(out of 8)
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Later on you can relate to number 4 and number 8.
Instrumental "Hava Nagila" in a Hasidim style with Andre Rieu orchestra
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Andre Rieu plays"Hava Nagila" in a Hasidim style while accelerating the speed of the music. It is called in music Accelerando
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Arrange the children on the floor in a circle and let them move a ball from child to the other, without dropping it.
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Put paper cups on the floor in distance from each other and ask the children to walk between the cups without touching the cups and according to the speed of the music.
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Instead of cups , you can put pictures from Israel
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