
St. Patrick's Day Activities for the classroom
I want to share a few of my favorite St Patrick’s Day activities and book ideas. There is nothing like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or falling for those little leprechauns trap! You will find lesson plans, literacy centers, sight words fun, math centers, and so much more for the month of March!
St. Patrick’s Day Books for Kids
The first St Patrick’s Day picture book I’d like to share is Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaola. This classic book is filled with Irish folklore. He is the laziest man in Ireland, and he happens upon a mischievous leprechaun. Jaime tries to get the leprechaun’s gold coins, but instead, the leprechaun gives him a seed so Jaime can continue to be lazy! The students have so much fun with this story!
We use this Irish folktale as part of our interactive read-aloud lessons. It is a great book to get us in the mood for St. Patrick’s Day! Young readers love how old Jaime stumbles into his good luck.
We spent the week working on this fun book by Tomie DePaola. It is perfect for getting us in the mood for Saint Patrick’s Day!
Reading Comprehension Questions for Jaime O’Rourke
Before discussing the fun St. Patrick’s Day activities you can do with this book, I’d like to first talk about an interactive read-aloud.
Interactive St. Patrick’s Day Read Aloud
An interactive read-aloud encourages us to go through the book several times. The teacher takes on the decoding part, while the students discuss the meaning of the text in thoughtful conversions. This is a great way to strengthen students’ oral language, vocabulary, and listening comprehension. You see, young children’s listening comprehension skills far exceed what they can decode independently. Research suggests teachers help students strengthen these skills through engaging read-aloud books.

1. Making Predictions with Jaimie O’Rourke
On the first day with this book, we worked on predictions. Making predictions is a key reading comprehension strategy in which students anticipate what might happen next in a story. This engages them actively with the text, encourages critical thinking, and helps them connect new information with what they already know, enhancing their understanding and enjoyment of the story.
We will read until we get to the point in the book where Jaime has let the leprechaun go, and the leprechaun has scampered away.
Here is the prompt we give the students:
- We are now going to make a prediction about what will happen in our story. The author has already given us some clues! First, there is a leprechaun. What do we know about leprechauns? (They are magical but they can be tricky.) Also… think about the title of the book. Does that give us a clue about what might happen?
These teaching slides make instruction simplified! These are intended to help you with your classroom discussion. The discussion is the gold at the end of the rainbow (actually the gold all the way through the rainbow!)
2. Retelling the Story in Sequential Order
Retelling a story in sequential order is a powerful reading comprehension strategy. It encourages students to recall and organize the events from the story, reinforcing their understanding of the narrative structure. This process not only solidifies memory but also enhances their ability to summarize and communicate effectively.
Not all children’s books lend themselves to retelling, but since this light-hearted tale is told sequentially, it is perfect! Students put the retelling cards in order and then complete their own versions.
There is also a digital version of this slide!
3. Making Connections
Connecting with the story involves students relating the text to their own experiences, other books, or the wider world. This active engagement deepens comprehension and makes reading more meaningful for young learners.
On the third day with this book, we ask the students to make a connection to the story. We like to use an anchor chart to help organize our thoughts.
Here is the discussion prompt we use:
- In our story, Jamie grows a BIG potato. Imagine you had a massive potato growing in your backyard. What would you do with it?
4. St. Patrick’s Day Book – Sharing Opinion
On the fourth day, we ask our students to state an opinion and support it. Sharing an opinion about a story encourages students to critically engage with the text, articulate their thoughts, and justify their viewpoints. This strategy fosters critical thinking, self-expression, and the ability to engage in constructive discussions, laying the foundation for lifelong reading and analytical skills.
This is the comprehension prompt:
- Jamie O’Rourke was a lazy man. Do you think it was fair that the villagers gave him their food?
As you can see, these children do not have a problem sharing their opinions. LOL
5. St. Patrick’s Day Books – Inferring Within the Text
What is inferring? Inferring involves reading between the lines to understand what’s not explicitly stated in the text. This strategy enhances reading comprehension by encouraging students to use clues from the story and their own knowledge to draw conclusions, fostering deeper engagement with the text and developing critical thinking skills.
The discussion prompt is:
- The leprechaun told Jamie O’Rourke that he only had two pieces of gold. How do you know he was not telling the truth?
6. Jamie O’Rourke Craft and Retelling
Just because this is a fun holiday book doesn’t mean we can’t use the craft. This easy craft is here. Here are a few photos of the sentence study and retelling craft.
7. St. Patrick’s Day Themed Sentence Study
As you can see above, we also include a sentence study in each of our read-aloud books. Again, the teaching slides are really helpful in guiding your instruction!
You can find all of these St. Patrick’s Day reading comprehension activities in our Engaging Readers Units.
These literacy activities will not only transform the way you teach reading comprehension in your classroom. It includes hands-on activities perfect for kindergarten students and students in first grade. The best part visit requires very little prep on your end.
If you’d like to learn about the power of interactive read-aloud lessons, you can check this blog post out:
8. Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato Video
I always like to have a video version of books so my students can experience another model of reading fluency…plus I can’t do an Irish brogue. It starts out in Ireland and ends up somewhere in Australia!
Here Are a Few Other Favorite St. Patrick’s Day Books
These children’s books are great for classroom use or in your own child’s home library!
9. How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace
This is a hilarious rhyme book is filled with colorful illustrations and it must go on your book list. It is also one of my favorite books. The book shows so many examples of leprechaun traps that you can use as a springboard for your own STEAM classroom activities!
We have some reading comprehension units that go with this book too!
10. St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
This St. Patrick’s Day book is written by the infamous nonfiction author Gail Gibbons. You will learn about the history of St. Patrick, both the story of Saint Patrick, Irish legends, and the history of the holiday. Do you want to know about four-leaf clovers, Irish culture, and St Patrick’s Day parades? This is a good book to pick up to learn all about the patron saint of Ireland.
11. Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting
In this fun holiday story, Rabbit is growing shamrocks in a pretty yellow pot–he’s getting them ready for St. Patrick’s Day so he can wear them for the parade but his shamrocks go missing! I love Eve Bunting and this book is a keeper.
12. The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day by Natasha Wing
The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day is a story about two children who set out to catch a leprechaun. The story is told him the familiar rhythm of Clement Moore’s Night Before Christmas. This is a fun book filled with laugh-out-loud moments. This fun and simple text will become a classroom or family tradition!
13. Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk by Gerald McDermott
This s a cute Irish story about a man and his wife who are down on their luck. Then they stumble upon a group of “wee folk” who bring him good fortune… but not without some mischief.
14. The Leprechaun’s Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards
This is a classic Irish legend, two harpists enter a contest to be named the finest harpist in all of Ireland! When Young Tom realizes that Old Pat is truly the better musician, he schemes to be the winner—but he doesn’t reckon with the clever trickery of a mischievous little leprechaun.
15. O’Sullivan Stew by Hudson Talbot
I love the illustrations in this book! This is a funny story bout a young girl named Kate who saves the day with her quick wit and storytelling ability.
16. Fiona’s Luck by Teresa Bateman
This is the story of how Fiona outsmarts the greedy leprechaun king and restores good fortune to the Irish people.
17. The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever by Teddy Slater
The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever is the story of a leprechaun family’s charming St. Patrick’s Day celebration, complete with a fun parade and an Irish feast!
19. Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute
Tom thinks it is his lucky day when he finds a leprechaun. Tom has his sights set on pots of gold and what is at the end of the rainbow, but the leprechaun is pretty clever too!
St Patrick’s Day Centers for Math and Literacy
I love having a few fun St. Patrick’s Day activities for our week-long fun!
21. Leprechaun Trap Literacy Word Work Center
These games are a fun way for students to practice sight words or other literacy skills. They also make great warm-up activities for your small groups. Because most of these literacy centers are editable, you can edit the words to fit your current word list or phonics-based focus.
22. St. Patrick’s Day Spin and Read Game
Here is another fun game. It is also editable to customize the words to meet your classroom needs! You can use all of those mini erasers you have found at Target!
23. Shamrocks Spin and Cover Addition Math Game
Can you tell how much I love games? Learning games are the best because the amount of time spent on tasks goes through the roof when they are having fun!
This game format can be used for so many different math skills. This game mat is about adding one more!
24. St Patrick’s Day Spin and Read Ten Frame Game
I like games that have extended play opportunities. This math center has students working on reading ten frames. The idea is to add fluency through practice. As with most of my math centers and games, students don’t just move forward on the game board.
Differentiated Cube Activities for St. Patrick’s Day
I fell in love with these pocket cubes back in 2012. I love how you can customize the tasks students practice!
You can find these activities by clicking:
Morning Work and Worksheets for St. Patrick’s Day
Here are a few activities that work really well for morning work, early finishers, quick assessments, or just for fun!
29. St. Patrick’s Day Handwriting Practice
This activity is pretty self-explanatory. Students trace, write, then build the sentence. Then they illustrate it! This is a great confidence booster!
30. St. Patrick’s Day Letter and Word Mazes
I made a free version of these for New Year’s Eve a long time ago, and students seem to really love them! These skills are perfect for kindergarten age students.
This is the beginning sound version, but the download also includes CVC words.
31. Color by Code St. Patrick’s Day Activities
These are also really fun for students! You can add math manipulatives and make these interactive worksheets.
32. St. Patrick’s Day Math Worksheets
Here are a few other low-prep activities that students seem to enjoy!
34. Out of Sight – Hide the Leprechaun Activity
This activity can be used for all different types of skills. This particular one is for base ten recognition. As students select and read a card they look behind the card to see if the hidden picture is there.
This is a great whole group activity to have up all week.
There is a free version of this activity at the end of this blog post.
35. St. Patrick’s Day Snack Idea
I love Rice Krispie Treats, so when I saw this St. Patrick’s Day treat, my eight year-old-self got a little excited. Kids of all ages would love these (raising my hand). How cute would this be for a St. Patrick’s Day party?
Brace yourselves for the sugar rush! This image and recipe can be found on The Kitchn website.
ST PATRICK’S DAY ACTIVITIES FOR KINDERGARTEN
I hope you found a few fun ideas for your St. Patrick’s Day theme extravaganza!
If you like to grab this free lesson plan template? Just click the lesson plan image below, and you’ll be able to easily download the file from my Google Drive. It’s as simple as that! Plus, the PDF version of these lesson plans is conveniently linked to the resource for quick access.
Want to see other weekly lesson plans like this?
To see additional Lesson Plan Posts like this, click
Bonus St Patricks Day Free File
Here is a fun activity you can do with your whole class. Simply add your email to the boxes and it will be sent to your inbox.
Additional Spring Blog Posts
Here are few other articles you may find helpful for Spring!
4 Responses
This looks great! I’d love to have the free Jamie O’Rourke plan. I’m not sure how to have it sent to me. I would really appreciate any help. Thanks so much!
Hi Kate,
The free file is the activity at the end of the blog post. You just put your email in box at the bottom and it will go to your email account as long as your school does not have a firewall that blocks it. 🙂
This resource is AWESOME! I can’t access the free lesson plan. I’m not sure what happened. I typed in my name & email address (& submitted them); but I never received the resource. I’d really appreciate any assistance you could provide. Thank You So VERY Much!
I’m so sorry! I just sent you an email. 🙂