Luck o' the Irish: St. Patrick's Day Goodies

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, and we all know what that means: rainbows, pots o' gold, adorable leprechauns, and green everything. It's ALSO a great opportunity for students to pick up new skills with fun St. Patrick's-themed activities in a variety of subjects.

Leprechaun-Lucky Math Activities

PLACE VALUE CRAFTS -- Teaching math and numbers skills can be hard to keep interesting, so ​why not add some color and craft to it? Place value crafts are just the thing.  Students can practice different ways to represent numbers, easily differentiated with higher or lower numbers. The Rainbow, Shamrock, and St. Patrick's Day Mobile activities ALSO double as great bulletin board material to show off your students' hard work and learning.
​
GOLD COINS FOR NON-STANDARD MEASUREMENT -- For this activity, you'll need gold coins from the dollar store. Students are challenged to find things around the room that equal 1, 2, etc., giving them a great hands-on learning activity appropriate to the seasonal theme.

Shamrock Science

The Shamrock Shimmer may sound like a popular dance move, but it's actually a great way to teach states of matter (with some reading, comprehension, writing, and sequencing skill-sharpening thrown in for good measure). Students follow the recipe for this St. Paddy's twist on a rootbeer float, and even get to enjoy a treat at the end of the activity!

Writing at the End of the Rainbow

I've heard it said before that a quick way to get to know someone is to ask them what they would do if they won a million dollars. Maybe that's true, maybe not, but what IS true is that writing prompts get students' brains warmed up in no time to learn. For St. Paddy's Day, ask them to answer the following prompt to work on their writing skills: What would you do if you found  a pot of gold? If students need a little more prompting, try adding these further questions: 

• Would you keep the money? If so, what would you spend it on?
• Would you give the money away? If so, to whom? Why?
• What about the leprechaun the gold belongs to? How would you deal with him?

You're sure to get some interesting answers!