Monday 9 March 2020

St. Patrick's Day

On March 17th, people of Irish heritage celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with parades, wearing green, and avoiding being "pinched." Students love to hear tales of cunning leprechauns and fairies and their partaking in mischief.

So put on your green, stick a shamrock in your hair, and head on down to the end of the rainbow with this very lucky St. Patrick's Day post ! Complete with themed math centers, fun writing prompts, reading passages, craft ideas, and graphing ideas, I have shared my favourite St. Patrick’s Day activities for primary students.




Leprechaun Letters

Build excitement by leaving leprechaun "evidence" in the room before the students arrive. Mess up books, toys, papers, books, backpacks, etc. Leave glitter behind and footprints.  Leprechaun footprints can be made by stamping the side of your fist in green paint! 

Three days prior, read a letter each day left by the leprechaun and search for the leprechaun’s shoes, pot of gold, green treats, etc. that had been left behind.  See the letters in my St. Patrick's Day Activities resource! As St. Patrick's Day draws near, make the messes bigger!



St. Patrick's Day Literacy

A favourite read aloud is  Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato. The tale features a lazy man who is sure he'll starve to death after his wife becomes ill. A wily leprechaun intervenes, and one wish later, the man is the proud owner of a potato as big as a house! The story lends itself to making predictions and foreshadowing. 

Fiona’s Luck is another favorite St. Patrick’s Day read aloud.  An original folktale full of wit, magic, and leprechauns, that is sure to delight for St. Patrick’s Day as well as all year round. The luck of the Irish has waned after the greedy Leprechaun King has taken all the good fortune in Ireland and locked it away. It is up to one cunning girl, Fiona to come up with a plan to get the luck and good tidings back from the leprechauns to help the people of Ireland. Through clever charades, Fiona uses her wit to outsmart the powerful Leprechaun King and restore luck to the Emerald Isle. This folktale is perfect for introducing or reviewing theme as students learn that cleverness and intelligence is  advantageous.

Will your students be the first to catch a leprechaun? Catching leprechauns is no easy task!  An included reading passage shows students need need more than dandelion tea and four-leaf clovers! Pair the reading passage with the picture book How To Build A Leprechaun Trap - which shows builders need the perfect trap with precise calculations and proper engineering.

The reading passage and printables that accompany these book are included in my St. Patrick's Day Activities resource!






St. Patrick's Day Mathematics

St. Patrick's Day is a great time for students to practice their data management skills. The Irish are infamous for the many delicious ways they prepare potatoes, from pancakes to Irish candy style! Potato Graph Poll students to determine how they like their spuds: baked, mashed, tater tots, French fries, hash browns, or potato chips. Have students create a pictograph of their favourites.  The activity is included in my St. Patrick's Day Activities resource!



Lucky Charms cereal is perfect for St. Patrick' Day. In March, General Mills often features green boxes of Lucky Charms in stores which include a special, limited-edition marshmallow blend of pots of gold, green shamrocks and new gold coins.  Provide each student a handful of the cereal (regular or green box) and have them graph their results. The graph is included in my St. Patrick's Day Activities resource!


St. Patrick's Day Writing

Limericks are a type of nonsense poetry that are intended to be silly and fun. Limericks originated in England in the early 18th century. Legend has it that the name of the poetry originates from Ireland, which is why limericks are so popular during St. Patrick's Day.

Limericks depend on rhythm and rhyme. Lines one, two and five rhyme with each other. Lines three and four rhyme with each other (AABBA).

Share several limericks from Edward Lear's The Complete Book of Nonsense. Have students compose limericks. The limerick templates and exemplars are included in my St. Patrick's Day Activities resource!





As you can see, I always sneak many activities to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! I hope your students enjoy the activities.