St. Patrick's Day Writing, Read Alouds, and a FREEBIE
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It’s almost March! And all the teachers said HALLELUJAH AND AMEN. 🙌
March means Spring. It means Spring Break. It means longer days. More sunshine. Only a couple more months until summer! It still feels like winter for many of us, but the promise of Spring is here, and that’s all we need to keep going!
Today, I have two great books to share with you for fun St. Patrick’s Day read alouds, along with a cute writing/art activity I plan to do with my kiddos this year! PLUS, if you’re part of my email list (or you want to be), there is a free little gift from this post! Scroll to see! 🍀
How to Catch a Leprechaun is a classic that lends itself perfectly to building a leprechaun trap, which is the perfect STEM activity for a fun St. Patrick’s-themed afternoon.
I have a book companion for this one, and like all of my book companions, pre-reading questions, vocabulary, a writing extension, graphic organizers for close reading, and a think-pair-share activity are all included. I love how versatile these book companions are! I get feedback from teachers everywhere that they were able to adapt the materials in these units to perfectly fit what they were doing at that moment in their rooms…but with a seasonal read aloud. That’s my goal and I’m so glad I can help provide that!
Another classic is Jamie O’Rourke and The Big Potato. I love Tomie dePaola’s books. I love the way he takes folktales from different cultures and keeps them alive with his beautiful illustrations and funny writing. Jamie O’Rourke is an Irish folktale about a lazy man who catches a leprechaun and gets tricked into giving up the pot of gold for a potato seed. It’s funny, and teaches a good lesson!
My favorite part of the book companion I have for this one is the writing extension. After reading, you can have your students publish a newspaper article titled “Man Grows World’s Biggest Potato”. They will include an interview with Jamie, imagining his answer based off of what they learn about his character in the book! It’s great fun, and lends itself to practicing lots of critical thinking skills!
Besides just reading this year, I will also have my students complete this writing flip book!
The title is “My Pot of Gold is Filled With…”, and then each flap has a blank space on the front for students to fill in with the things they are lucky to have! (family, friends, school, etc.) I printed this on rainbow colored paper, because…of course! 🌈
Printing/prepping this activity is quick and easy! Directions for assembly are included in the product, so you could easily have a parent volunteer, TA, or any other assistant help you knock these out in no time!
Something that has been a big hit with my students this year has been these themed homework passes. My kids love buying homework passes, and they get a kick out of it when I surprise them with one of these on their desks for a special occasion! This little freebie is exclusive to email subscribers, along with several other freebies in my ever-growing resource library!
