St. Patrick’s Day is about more than just green beer – really, it IS. Although it is a holiday that marks the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The present day traditions of St. Patrick’s Day parades, green beer and pinching if you’re not wearing green were started in the US. It is always fun to share the history of holidays not normally celebrated in the country you are teaching with your students. Save the green beer for your friends and let your students know a bit about this celebration.
Begin the lesson by reading out loud the brief summary of St. Patrick’s Day below. Discuss the vocabulary words so that the students understand the meaning of each. You can also go into more detail regarding the history of St. Patrick’s Day depending on the level of your students. Check out the following link for more information - http://www.marvelicious.com/stpatrick.html
A Bit About St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day honors St. Patrick who was a very important person in Ireland. He is said to have chased all of the snakes out of Ireland which made all the people happy. We celebrate this holiday on March 17th each year. You should wear green on St. Patrick’s Day and if you don’t you might get pinched.
When we think of St. Patrick’s Day we think of leprechauns. Leprechauns are very small creatures that live in the forest. They are smart and tricky. Many people say that leprechauns are not very nice, do not like people and have a hidden pot of gold. Leprechauns wear green and, some people say, they hide their gold at the end of rainbows.
Other items that represent St. Patrick’s Day are shamrocks. These are four-leaf clovers and are considered very good luck if you find them because most clovers only have three leaves.
This St. Patrick’s Day make sure you wear green and if you see a leprechaun, follow him and maybe you will find some gold.
St. Patty's Day Vocabulary
- St. Patrick’s Day
- St. Paddy's
- Celebrate
- St. Patrick
- Ireland
- Pinch
- Leprechauns
- Rainbows
- Shamrocks
- Four-leaf clovers
- Pot of gold
- Tricky
Once your students have a clear understanding of what St. Patrick’s Day is all about, have them do a story activity where they choose the correct word such as the one below or you could create a fill in the blanks version of a story.
Chose the Correct Word
Once upon a time there was a (monster/leprechaun) named Dave. All of Dave’s clothes were (purple/green) and he had a pot of (gold/chocolate) that he wanted to keep in a very safe place so that nobody would ever be able to (steal/stole) it. First Dave thought that he should (hide/run) his pot of gold in a tree. He tried and tried to fit it into the tree but it was too (big/soft). Then Dave thought that he could (fish/hide) it in a lake but thought that it might not be good for the gold.
Dave was wandering through the (forest/city) where he lived thinking and thinking about his (breakfast/gold). It started to rain and Dave was about to give up when all of a sudden there was a (puddle/rainbow). Dave had a GREAT idea, he would hide his gold at the end of the (rainbow/table) that way it would always be easy to find!
Write a Story About a Leprechaun
Have your students select 10 words from a list and have them write a short story about a leprechaun or St. Patrick’s day using those words. Obviously using the words included in that day’s vocabulary is a good place to start but also include additional words that would be fun to fit into a story.
Word List
St. Patrick’s day
Dance
St. Patrick
Forest
Ireland
Green
Pinch
Celebrate
Luck
Leprechauns
Rainbow
Small
Shamrock
Trick
Rain
Four-leaf clovers
Pot of gold
Happy
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