Happy St Patrick’s Day Week!
St Patrick’s Day Books can be so fun. Here are 5 examples of read alouds worth their weight in gold. I have to admit, there are things about St Patrick’s Day I like and there are things I don’t. Encouraging everyone to wear green is fun. But when you teach kindergarten, the last think you need is a reason for kids to pinch each other. I am also not a fan of green pee in the toilet in our classroom. It just grosses me out. AND I don’t want anything about the bathroom to be a game.
I do like the thought of rainbows and pots of gold. I don’t like the idea of a leprechaun making a mess in the classroom, but I do like talking about vocabulary words like “sly” and “sneaky.”
Regardless, enjoy 5 St Patrick’s Day books with a little FREEBIE for each!
Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Parade
I think this is a funny book. I feel sorry for Jamie O’Rourke’s wife. As the book says, Jamie is the laziest man in all of Ireland. From the beginning, you aren’t sure if Jamie is going to always be lazy or if Jamie will have a change of heart and behavior. The FREEBIE contains a character analysis using potatoes, of course, for your students to write about Jamie at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Another great activity is using Mr. Potato Head to disguise the potato as it was stuck in the wall. Similar to Disguise a Turkey, these potatoes can be a great start to creative writing.
St Patrick’s Day in the Morning
There is something so sweet about this book. The focus of the book is on another Jamie. This Jamie is the youngest in his family, but he is definitely enthusiastic about the St Patrick’s Day parade even though his family thinks he’s too small to walk to the top of the hill. This book follows Jamie’s journey to the parade Jan Brett’s illustrations are beautiful, but I love that the color palette is sparse. The FREEBIE activity in this pack is all about creating shamrocks with rhyming words. Another writing lesson would be asking students to write about something everyone else thinks they are too little to do.
The Night Before St Patrick’s Day
This book has the same fun as The Night Before Christmas and the Night Before Thanksgiving. In this book, we find Tim and Maureen learning about the traditions of St Patrick’s Day and devising a plan to catch the leprechaun in hopes of getting his pot of gold. The rhythm of the story is delightful and recognizable. The FREEBIE is related to catching a leprechaun. The students are provided a paper with a leprechaun and they must devise a plan. One year I had a student say, “You just need a box of Girl Scout cookies. No one can so no to those.” Could be the best plan I’ve heard.
There Was and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover
This is another book in the series from Lucille Calendro. Students love the growing pattern of the story and the surprise at the end of the story. This story has the same charm. The FREEBIE is a story card with all the different items the old lady ate. Students can use the cards to retell the story to their friends or to rewrite the story in their own words.
Leprechaun in Late Winter
Finally, this isn’t a book you can read in one day. I have written about the Magic Tree House series before. Sharing 1 chapter a day with students can create excitement and stamina. Students will need to review the previously read chapters, predict what will happen next, and summarize the chapter of the day. They get to know Jack and Annie and enjoy all their adventures. This freebie includes a vocabulary poster. HOWEVER, the entire mini-set is now available as a stand alone set or in a GROWING BIG BUNDLE in my TPT store.
If you’d like to find these books, check out the links below.
- Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato
- St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning
- The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day
- There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover
- Leprechaun in Late Winter
If you’d like the Leprechaun in Later Winter Magic Tree House Companion Set, click the link or cover below.
