St. Patrick’s Day Writing Activities: Prompts, Poems and Summaries

When I was teaching, I liked to incorporate holidays into the curriculum. With its rich history, colorful symbols and sly leprechauns, St. Patrick’s Day provides students with plenty of inspiration to write. While I like to do some silly writing, I also think it’s important for students to know the meaning and origins behind the holiday. Here are some St. Patrick’s Day writing activities including prompts, poems and summaries.

Pot of Gold Poem

This is a simple writing activity for the primary grades. For this poem, teachers or parents can give their students a rainbow coloring page with a pot of gold at the end (or free draw a rainbow). On each line they need to write a color and then an object of the same color. I chose to stick with fruits and vegetables but kids don’t have to follow this rule.

Red Raspberries
Orange Carrots
Yellow Lemons
Green Spinach
Blue Blueberries
Purple Plums

Slide into a Pot of Gold

Then, students can go over their poem with a thin black, washable marker. Finally, have them color their picture.

St. Patrick’s Day Writing Prompt

For this narrative story starter, students should continue the story. The blank lines are for the main character’s name. Before your students begin writing, you should have them use a story map for the main events, conflict, setting and resolution.

_______woke up and saw green footprints on her bedroom floor. He/she jumped out of bed and started to follow the footprints. When ______ turned the corner, she/he saw…..

Why Do We Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Read students a few picture books about the origins and traditions of St. Patrick’s Day. Two suggestions are St. Patricks Day by Gail Gibbons and The Story of St. Patrick by James A. Janda. Afterwards, have kids answer the question “Why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?”

My Leprechaun is……

Brainstorm some characteristics of a leprechaun. For instance, sneaky, cute, orange beard and tall hat are some words and phrases you might brainstorm. Then, you can have your students write a descriptive paragraph beginning with My leprechaun is. Encourage kids to use one or two types of figurative language in their paragraph..

For instance: My leprechaun is a sneaky sprite who hides from me. His hair is orange like a carrot. He wears a tall hat with a brass buckle and carries a pot of gold. If I find him, my leprechaun may grant me three wishes.

Discover Ireland

Have students research Ireland and pick one aspect about it to summarize. For instance, they could choose to write about the capital Dublin, tourism, geography, weather or traditions. Try having kids go to Timeforkids.com or use books such as The History of Ireland by Richard Tames to help inform their writing. Finally, remind students to write in their own words.

These St. Patrick’s Day writing activities will help inform students and encourage them to be creative.

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