St. Patrick’s Day is such a fun holiday! It’s not about gifts or planning a huge get-together. It’s about having a little bit of fun and celebrating Irish history!
Want to do some fun activities with your students for St. Patrick’s Day but feel like you have no time? Read on to find out four easy St. Patrick’s Day activities that take little to no prep!
Math Escape Rooms
Escape rooms are my FAVORITE way to review any math concept. My students look forward to them at the end of each math unit we complete. There is always a collective “YES!” when I announce we’re going to be doing an escape room.
If you’re intimidated by escape rooms, mine are the perfect starting point! They come with all of the directions you need. They also don’t require you to have any materials outside of paper and printer ink!
My St. Patrick’s Day escape rooms are available in the following topics:
- Area and Perimeter (3.MD.5, 3.MD.7, & 3.MD.8)
- Decimal Notation and Decimal Fractions (4.NF.5, 4.NF.6, & 4.NF.7)
- Multiplying Fractions, Whole Numbers, and Mixed Numbers (5.NF.4, 5.NF.5, & 5.NF.6)
Math Riddles
Math riddles are another fan favorite in my classroom! They are perfect for:
- morning work
- homework
- centers
- substitute plans
- … and so much more!
My St. Patrick’s Day riddles are available in the following topics:
- Area and Perimeter (3.MD.5, 3.MD.7, & 3.MD.8)
- Decimal Notation and Decimal Fractions (4.NF.5 & 4.NF.6)
- Multiplying Fractions, Whole Numbers, and Mixed Numbers (5.NF.4, 5.NF.5, & 5.NF.6)
Read Alouds
I’m no longer an ELA teacher (thank you, departmentalization!), but I LOVE a good read aloud! I’m always pleasantly surprised at how much my 5th graders lose their “I’m too cool for this” attitude when it’s time for a read aloud!
When it comes to St. Patrick’s Day read alouds, I like to mix it up between fun leprechaun stories and actual history. Here are some of my favorite titles (not affiliate links):
- Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola
- Leprechaun in Late Winter (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne
- That’s What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting
- St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
Classmate Compliments
Everyone loves to receive a compliment! We are in that “spring fever” part of 5th grade in my classroom. This means meanness can run rampant if we’re not careful!
To create this poster, all I did was use the die-cut machine at my school to cut out shamrocks. Then, I wrote each student’s name on a shamrock.
For morning work one morning, students had instructions to pick a classmate’s shamrock and write a compliment. Students were not allowed to write about appearance. Then they gave our compliments to their recipient and it was smiles all around!
There you have it! Four easy activities that will give your St. Patrick’s Day a little boost! Do you do anything fun for St. Patrick’s Day? Let me know in the comments below!
