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St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start planning if you are going to incorporate this holiday into your lesson plans! If you’ve read my blog post on thematic units, you know how powerful I think they can be. However, for reasons beyond our control, many of us can’t utilize thematic units in our classrooms. While it can be disappointing when we feel like we don’t have autonomy in our own classrooms, you can still provide your students with great learning experiences through read-alouds.
Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day books to read-aloud in your classroom. These are perfect ways to teach students some holiday-specific vocabulary, gain an understanding of why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and learn some great lessons.
St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
This is a well-done nonfiction book for primary students. I even learned a few new things the first time I read it! The illustrations were nicely done, and it is a great book to teach your class about the history of the holiday we usually celebrate by wearing green and setting up leprechaun traps with our students. I put this book on my primary list instead of my intermediate list because many of the pages are just short one-sentence facts that I would want more elaboration on if I were reading it to older students.
That’s What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting
I loved this story about three little leprechauns who head off to hide the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when they realize rain is coming. Along the way, they get distracted by their desire to play tricks on some people. I was sure their desire to stop and play tricks would impact the way the story ended, and in a way it did, just not in the way I expected.
This book would be great to use for a St. Patrick’s Day-themed writing prompt. Here are a few different wording options you could use with your students:
- I am a mischievous leprechaun when I…
- If I were a leprechaun, I would trick my (teacher, mom, dad, siblings, etc.) by…
- I was on my way to hide my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when I stopped to play a trick on _____. Then have students write about how they played a trick on this person.
The Leprechaun’s Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards
This book is a great resource for providing your students with additional practice identifying the lesson or moral of a story. The book effectively teaches students multiple lessons:
- The importance of helping others
- The negative impact greed and boastfulness can have
- Being humble about your abilities
Not only will this book add some St. Patrick’s Day spirit to your classroom, but it will also teach students valuable real-world lessons about having good character.
A Fine St. Patrick’s Day by Susan Wojciechowski
This is such a cute story of two neighboring towns that compete each year to see which town has the best St. Patrick’s Day decorations. Like The Leprechaun’s Gold, this is a great book for teaching students how to determine the lesson or moral of the story. A Fine St. Patrick’s Day will teach your students the importance of treating others with kindness and compassion. As well, it holds a valuable lesson about how there is more to life than winning.
The Gingerbread Man and the Leprechaun Loose at School by Laura Murray
I had to include this one because I just love the Gingerbread Man books by Laura Murray. The story is funny, and it includes rhymes so you can have students point those out as you read. I also love the way it is illustrated more like a graphic novel. So, if the silly story doesn’t keep your students interested, the pictures will definitely have them following along. After reading this book, you could compare and contrast this story to the classic tale of the Gingerbread Man.
Do you use any of these books in your St. Patrick’s Day lessons? Are there others you think should be included on the list? Let me know by leaving a comment below!
