ELA engagement can be tough this time of year, especially with test prep and spring fever thwarting your English teacher efforts. While these fun ELA activities or the calming techniques in this post can help, St. Patrick’s Day provides an extra opportunity to shake things up in March. These St. Patrick’s Day ELA activities for middle and high school students will up your luck and engagement this spring!
St. Patrick’s Day ELA Activities
Here are some fun ELA activities for St. Patrick’s Day that work well with middle school or high school students. Most of these ideas fit seamlessly into whatever text or skill you are currently teaching, so you won’t have to disrupt your pacing guide to add a festive touch. 🙂
Read informational text about luck
While there are a number of St. Patrick’s Day informational texts topic options, one I recommend that applies to both ELA themes and real-life connections, is luck. Did you know that the concept of luck has been studied by scientists and psychologists? It’s an interesting rabbit hole and these articles will set you and your students on the way:
- This Researcher Reveals How Lucky People Differ From Unlucky People
- Why Are Some People Luckier Than Others?
- The Science Of Luck: Is the phenomenon real? Can it be harnessed?
After reading, you can:
- Host a fun class discussion on the topic of luck
- Ask students to connect the information in the article to the novel they are reading. Which characters attract luck? Which characters repel luck?
- Have students do a quick write about luck in their lives.
Write any answer as a limerick
One of my favorite ways to teach poetry is by incorporating it into ELA curriculum in creative ways. For instance, instead of students writing a plain answer to something you are teaching on March 17th, surprise them by letting them create a limerick answer instead!
Limericks are silly in nature but require a lot of creativity to form the AABBA rhyme scheme. So by having students answer any question as a limerick, you’ll not only plan a fun St. Patrick’s Day ELA activity, but you’ll also challenge students as they show what they know.
Do you want a FREE St. Patrick’s Day ELA worksheet? Get it by joining my Building Book Love Letter:
Explain the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby in limerick format:
There once was a man who stood at the end of his dock
He watched a green light around the clock
Some say he was envious. Others say obsessed grossly
These can be argued as true, but mostly
He didn’t have the key to the American dream lock
Explain what rhetorical appeals are in limerick format:
There once were three ways to persuade,
That everyone must have obeyed,
Logos, Ethos, and Pathos,
Each with its own path to prowess,
For a convincing argument that won’t fade.
Without any spoilers, write a summary of the free-choice book you are reading in limerick format:
Example in this post: Spring Activities for Secondary English Language Arts
Listen to a St. Patrick’s Day themed podcast
My long-time followers know that I love providing podcast recommendations for text pairings and holidays. Here are few St. Patrick Day podcast recommendations for ELA:
Yeats in Ireland from Rick Steves (If you need a lesson plan for this, I have one here!)
Myth and Legends Irish Tag (I haven’t previewed these, but this podcast is great for folklore around the world!)
Use Lucky Charms cereal in a creative way
If you have the means and permission to bring in snacks, Lucky Charms cereal is a great choice to enhance your St. Patrick’s Day ELA activities. There are a number of creative ways you can use this snack within lesson plans and here are some ideas:
- Give each student a Lucky Charms snack and have them practice writing from different perspectives. Click here for a great example from Room 213!
- Do a mini lesson on symbolism then have students brainstorm as many meanings they can think of for the charms in Lucky Charms (balloon, rainbow, horseshoe, star, moon, heart, clover, unicorn).
- Learn more about good luck charms around the world and have students make a text to text connection by discussing which character needs which good luck charm and why.
- Have students practice persuasive writing by designing a new charm for the cereal and writing why it should be included.
- Incorporate STEM in ELA by doing the maker challenges Lucky Charms has on their site (this is a little young for secondary students, but could pair well with folklore story assignment).
Read an Irish author for St. Patrick’s Day ELA Activities
A list of St. Patrick’s Day ELA activities would not be complete without adding some Irish authors. You can find a big list of Irish authors here, but a few of my favorites include:
- Poetry by W.B. Yeats (I’ve been obsessed with him since college and my intrigue only grew deeper after visiting the Yeats exhibit in Dublin!).
- A Modest Proposal by Johnathon Swift (Always a hit in the grossest way!)
- Poetry by Oscar Wilde (Keep reading for how he can help you add diverse voices to your British Literature curriculum).
I hope these ideas for St. Patrick’s Day ELA activities have helped you plan a fun yet educational day for your students on March 17th! Good luck!
