11 St Patricks Day Books in the Classroom with a Free St Patricks Day Activity
I want to share a few of my favorite St Patricks Day Books. There is nothing like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or falling for a leprechaun trap!
The first St Patricks 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 and it is the laziest man in Ireland who happens upon a mischievous leprechaun. Jaime tries to get the leprechaun’s gold but instead, the leprechaun gives him a seed so Jaime can continue to be lazy!
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 spend the week working on this fun book by Tomie DePaola. It is a perfect book to get us in the mood for Saint Patrick’s Day!
St. Patrick’s Day Books for Kids in the Classrooms
Each day, we focus on a different comprehension strategy.
On day 1, we work on predictions. 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?
On day 2, we work on retelling the story in order. Not all children’s books lend themselves to retelling, but since this light-hearted tale is told in sequential order, it is perfect!
Students put the retelling cards in order, then complete their own version.
On day 3 , 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 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?
On Day 4 we ask our students to state an opinion and to support their opinion. As you can see, this is the comprehension prompt: Jamie O’Rourke was a lazy man. Do you think it was fair that the villagers game him their food?
As you can see, these children do not have a problem sharing their opinions. LOL
On day 5, students are asked to infer. 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?
Jamie O’Rourke Craft and Retelling
Just because this is a fun holiday book, it doesn’t mean we can’t put the craft to work. Here a few photos of the sentence study and retelling craft.
You can find all of these reading comprehension activities for St. Patrick’s Day in our Engaging Readers Units.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Interactive Read Aloud Activities
Are looking for more interactive read-aloud activities for your classroom? You may want tobrowse a few similar blog posts:
If you’d like to learn about the power of interactive read-aloud lessons, you can check this blog post out:
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.
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Deedee Wills
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
Hi, I'm DeedeE.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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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. 🙂