St. Patrick’s Day Activities in the Elementary School Library
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato
I like incorporating St. Patrick’s Day activities in my elementary school library each March. March is the perfect time to teach my students Irish folktales and legends, letting my studetns explore the wonders of storytelling from different cultures. One of my favorite readalouds is “Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato” by Tomie DePaola. This book and engaging activities are the perfect way to encourage students to delve into the history and customs of Ireland. I created these activities for my students to do that go along with the book. These activities are great for my kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade students.
How To Catch A Leprechaun
Another fun St. Patrick’s Day book and activity I like to do in the library in March is How to Catch A Leprechaun. I like to read this book and let the students build their very own leprechaun trap using materials from our maker space.
I find it helpful for my kindergarten, first, and second-grade students to get the materials ready ahead of time. I learned this one the hard way after letting them go into the maker space and choose their materials. That was a mess ( click here to read my post about that) and used up a lot of our time! Now I fill a tub with craft sticks, small plastic cups, unifix cubes, and small pieces of cardboard. I let the students work in groups of 3-4 to create their leprechaun trap.
I read them the book, let them design their leprechaun trap, build their trap, and present their trap. The students love this and it’s a great way to incorporate STEAM into your library lesson.
Screen Free Coding
Help the Leprechaun get his pot of gold! I love doing coding with my students. To introduce coding I like to first do screen free coding activities with my kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students.
I love this St. Patrick’s Day Screen Free Coding Activity. Students create an algorithm using arrows to program the leprechaun to “move forward,” “turn left,” and “turn right”. Students will understand that they are creating sequences of actions to guide the leprechaun to his pot of gold. I start with the interactive Google Slide so we can do the activity together. The students will then do the cut and paste version on their own during book check out. My students love it and it’s a great way to introduce coding without the extra screen time.
