ESL St. Patrick's Day Lessons Worksheets and Reading

St. Patrick's Day offers a wonderful opportunity to infuse the ESL classroom with festive and educational activities. These celebrations not only add a touch of cultural richness but also provide valuable language-learning experiences for English language learners. Here are five engaging activities designed to enhance vocabulary and language acquisition:

1. Write the Room: Discovering St. Patrick's Day ESL Vocabulary 

Transform your classroom into a St. Patrick's Day wonderland with vocabulary cards strategically placed around the room. Students, armed with clipboards, move around to find and write down the words they discover.

Benefits to ELLs:

- Encourages movement and engagement.

- Reinforces vocabulary through visual association.

- Fosters a contextual understanding of St. Patrick's Day terms.

2. I Have Who Has: Interactive ESL Vocabulary Game

Distribute St. Patrick's Day-themed vocabulary cards to students. The game begins with one student reading a card aloud, stating, "I have [word], who has [next word]?" The chain continues until all students have participated. 

I have Who Has Game : ESL St. Patrick's Day Alphabet Edition for your Kinder students.

Students will have fun while practicing letter recognition. Each student gets a card (or double up if you have less than 26). When they hear “who has…__” they’ll say that they do and so on until you get to Z (letters are not in alphabetical order).

Can also be done with letter sounds

These sets include a capital letter and lowercase version

I have Who Has : St. Patrick's Day COLORS Edition for your Kinder- Second grade or Newcomer students.

Colorful Shamrocks Edition will reinforce your ELLs' knowledge of colors. Try this resource here for FREE!

Benefits: to ELLs

- Enhances listening and speaking skills.

- Reinforces vocabulary in a dynamic and interactive way.

- Builds a sense of community within the classroom.

 3. ESL Picture Read Aloud: Connecting Images with Language

Select a captivating St. Patrick's Day picture book and read it aloud to the class. Pause at key moments to discuss the images, encouraging students to describe what they see and predict what might happen next.

Benefits to ELLs

- Strengthens listening and comprehension skills.

- Builds vocabulary through visual context.

- Promotes critical thinking and prediction.

4. Emergent Reader: See, Think, Wonder Critical Thinking

Create an emergent reader focused on St. Patrick's Day for newcomers. Include simple sentences with images. After reading, engage students in more vocabulary and sight words activities.

Benefits to ELLs

- Tailored for newcomers with simple language.

- Develops critical thinking and observation skills.

- Encourages language production through discussion.

5. See- Think- Wonder 

"See, Think, Wonder" is a critical thinking routine developed by Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

This routine involves observing an image or an object, then making observations, interpretations, and asking questions about it. The steps are:

- See: What do you see? Describe the image or object in detail.

- Think: What do you think is going on? What might be happening?

- Wonder: What questions or wonders do you have? What would you like to know more about?

This routine helps students develop their observation skills, think critically about what they see, and ask meaningful questions. It encourages them to be curious and to make connections between what they see and what they already know. This routine is particularly useful for English Language Learners (ELLs) because it provides them with a visual and interactive way to practice their language skills. It also allows them to engage in meaningful discussions and build their vocabulary. Additionally, this routine is helpful for all students, as it promotes creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking skills that are valuable in many areas of life.

Benefits:

- Explores cultural aspects of St. Patrick's Day.

- Enhances descriptive language skills.

- Fosters critical thinking and cultural awareness.

6. Finally, unlock the magic of St. Patrick's Day in your classroom with this Leprechaun's Hat Writing Craft. Print a template of a hat, or draw it (this will be the cover). On the inside, give students prompts about what makes then LUCKY, or what their LUCKY number is, etc. Have them color and decorate their covers. Staple everything together and decorate your bulletin board. 

Don't have time to create it on your own. No problem, I got you covered. 

My my writing template in 4 different options to meet different needs and proficiency levels of your students:

Just lines (advanced students)

No drawing boxes or lines

With drawing boxes and lines (beginners & intermediate)

Just drawing boxes (newcomers)

Each writing  template is scaffolded with sentence starters, word banks/ phrases/ sentence banks & visuals

6 different cover pages in color

6 different cover pages in BW

Incorporating these St. Patrick's Day activities into the ESL classroom not only makes learning enjoyable but also facilitates language acquisition in a meaningful context. Through interactive and culturally rich experiences, students can build their language skills while celebrating the spirit of St. Patrick's Day.

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