shamrock activities
1-2-3 Come Do Some Sequencing & Retelling a Story Activities With Me
Do you read "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" by Lucille Colandro?
My students absolutely love this collection of stories, and they are perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.
With that in mind, I designed these quick, easy & fun storytelling slider craftivities that will help your students retell the "Granny Clover" story in the proper order.
This simple craft is a great addition to your St. Patrick’s Day activities too.
There are 5 “cover” options available. Pick your favorite or give children a choice.
All of them are easy-peasy to cut, as they are in a box shape; however, you can also choose to cut around the patterns as well.
Check out the photo to the left to see which style you like best.
I’ve also provided two smaller patterns with a shorter slider for little ones.
You decide what’s best for your students’ abilities. I personally like the cut out covers, which I do for all of my teacher samples.
As always, both color, as well as black & white patterns are included.
Children color, cut & glue their slider strips together, then insert it into the “slits” of their cover.
Since it only takes me about 8 minutes, to pre-cut the slits for my students, I do this prep with an X-acto knife, which saves me classroom time, by doing this step for my kiddos.
As they pull on the end of their “slider” the various pictures go through the “window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner.
I introduce the lesson by reading "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" , then share my sample with the children.
We retell the tale together, using the picture prompts on the slider.
My students now know what’s expected of them, and are very excited to transition to making a “Granny Clover” slider of their own.
When they complete the craftivity, they pick a partner & take turns retelling the tale.
For an easy & interesting way to assess comprehension, I’ve also included a “Let’s sequence the story” worksheet, where students color and trim the picture tiles then glue them in the correct order on their worksheet.
Use the teacher’s colorful copy as a whole group activity, sequencing the story as you read it, then again as a review afterwards. Grab that teachable moment to practice ordinal numbers as well.
For writing practice, there’s also a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet, as another way to check comprehension, plus practice sequential writing.
Use the colorful template to do this as a whole group activity with younger kiddos, discussing beginning, middle & end.
If you aren't familiar with the book, you can click on the LINK & check out a reading of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" on YouTube. It's less than 3 minutes long.
I like to show a quick video at the end of our day, which reinforces the lesson.
I also encourage my students to share their slider & storytelling skills with their family when they get home.
Since St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, today's FREEBIE is a shamrock-themed set of 10 frames, which includes some quick, easy & fun math activities.
Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
The sun is endeavoring to peek out from behind the clouds, so I think I'll venture out with my pup Chloe, to breathe in some nice fresh air.
Wishing you a wonderful week, and a happy-go-lucky St. Paddy's Day.
"May the dreams you hold dearest be those which come true, and the kindness you spread, keep returning to you."
1-2-3 Come Do Some Saint Paddy's Day Activities With Me
St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, so I've been busy designing a few things for that week. Today's blog features 4 of my favorites, plus the featured FREEBIE of the day.
First up is the quick, easy and fun "Pot Of Goals" writing prompt craftivity. Students complete the "goal" coin sentence prompts.
Coin Prompts: "I want to...", "I want to be...", "I want to go...", "I want to learn...", "I want to see...", "I want to read..."
Younger kiddos can dictate a one-word response, while older students also include a reason why.
So that you can program your own, I've also included a set of blank coins.
Mount on rainbow-colored construction paper, and hang in an arch in rainbow-color order, on a large wall.
Your title can be: "A Rainbow Of Wonderful Writing".
Next is a shamrock glyph, which is a super-fun little something to do on St. Paddy's Day, or whenever...
No matter what grade I taught, my students LOVED making glyphs. They are a quick, easy and interesting way to practice and assess listening and following directions.
Since this is one of my report card standards, glyphs also provide a "hard copy" to use as proof that a child does or doesn't, and are also an interesting way to get to know your students; plus completed projects make an adorable bulletin board, as each one will be different!
To practice data collection & analysis, as well as process of elimination, have students pick a partner to "interview", to help them figure out which glyph is their partner's. I've included a data collection worksheet for this, challenging them to try and solve the "mystery" with the least amount of questions.
I've also included 6, whole-group graphing extensions, to practice another math standard.
A Shamrock Venn Friend is also a super-fun way to get to know your students better. These too make an adorable bulletin board for March, and are a visual way to practice "comparison-contrast" writing.
Introduce the lesson with the "What's a Venn diagram?" poster, then have children partner up.
To help them do a thorough job completing their Venn diagram and jump start the writing process, I've included a list of 40 questions that they can choose from to discuss with their partner.
Each student does their own "different" portion of their shamrock. Afterwards, the two-some glues their shamrock to the “pot of gold”, and takes turns filling in the “same” section oval, which is then glued to the top of the pot.
For that finishing touch, students color their leprechaun, add a school photograph on the leprechaun’s face, then glue it to their side of the Venn diagram.
For added fun, and to practice another standard that mixes math with literacy, I’ve also included a graphing extension.
Finally, the St. Paddy's-Themed CVC Word Packet is a personal favorite.
To break things down, the packet focuses on 100 CVC words that begin with the letters "L is for leprechaun"; "M is for March"; "P is for Patrick", and "S is for shamrock.”
The packet includes:
* A Celtic shamrock craftivity that reinforces CVC words beginning with the letter S
* A leprechaun craftivity that reinforces CVC words beginning with the letter L.
* I’ve also included dice and spinner games, plus …
* A whole-group "Feed the leprechaun” review game, with a matching, mini- independent "Feed the leprechaun" activity.
There are…
* Long and short vowel sorting mats, 5 bookmarks for CVC word writing, 26 alphabet shamrock cards, with 20 extra vowel shamrock cards, plus 4 CVC worksheets with 4 anchor chart answer keys. I've also included . . .
* 100 black & white “trace & write” CVC word cards, with covers to make Itty Bitty booklets, 100 mini-CVC word cards, and 100 full-color CVC word cards to use for flashcards, pocket charts, games, puzzles etc.
Finally, there's a "Super Shamrock Sentences” worksheet, 4-page tip list of ideas, games and activities to use the various word cards for, plus a certificate of praise for "wonderful word work."
Today's FREEBIE also has a St. Paddy's Day theme. It's a set of 16 number "strip" puzzles, which help practice sequencing numbers from 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 10s to 100.
I've included full-color puzzles to use in a center, as well as some black and white ones, so that kiddos can make their own. They are vertical as well as horizontal.
Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.The sun is shining and even the tall, ugly piles of dirty snow have started to melt.
Hooray! Spring is finally on its way. Wishing you a carefree day filled with springtime fun.
"Spring: The season of rebirth, renewal and regrowth!" -Unknown
1-2-3 Come Do Some "SH Word Blend" Shamrock Activities With Me
Since shamrock begins with the SH word blend, I thought it would be fun to design some March word activities with them .
I had so much fun, that one thing led to the next 'til I had a whopping, 112-page, "Shhh! It's a Shamrock" packet, filled to the brim with a huge variety of activities for teaching and practicing the SH blend.
The packet includes:
* A “Shhhh! It’s A Shamrock” slider craftivity. There's one for beginning SH blend words, as well as one for words ending with the blend.
* A “Riddle Time” leprechaun poster that challenges students to guess the 2 words that “begin and end with the SH blend”, with matching shamrock "guessing cards", and a definition answer key poster.
(Want to know the answer? Shhhh! It's a secret.)
* 9 worksheets
* A graphing activity
* A “Blend to the End” worksheet board game. This is my personal favorite.
I designed the game board in the shape of an S, and incorporated a bit of math with literacy.
So that my students can quickly do the calculations, I have them use two different color markers to write down beginning & ending SH blend words.
They have the option to roll a dice or flip a coin to see which type of word they'll write down. I've also included . . .
* A beginning & end sorting mat.
* 18, SH blend picture cards in color for a center activity, plus black & white, so that students can make their own game, with 2 size options.
*18 matching shamrock word cards to play a variety of games
* The super-fun “Shhh!” whole group word game, where the teacher reads the beginning sound and students complete the word by saying shhhhhh! "fishhh fish!".
* An alphabetical list of 43 beginning sh blend words.
* An alphabetical list of 68 ending sh blend words.
* A 4-page tip list of things you can do with the “trace & write” word cards, including the “Kaboom!” game.
* A “What Word Card Is The Leprechaun Hiding?” flip the flap poster game.
* 38 “trace & write” ending SH word blend cards, with 40 for beginning SH blend words, along with an “Itty Bitty” book cover for both the beginning and ending word cards.
Before my kiddos turn these into an Itty Bitty Blend booklet, we do a variety of activites with them. So the cards don't get lost, my students make ...
* A cute mini envelope craftivity to keep the word cards in. (My kiddos absolutely LOVE this!)
I have a theory that if children make something, instead of just giving them an envelope, they truly appreciate it more, which results in them taking better care of their word cards. I've also included . . .
* A set of beginning and ending SH blend picture puzzles .
These are number “strip” puzzles for sequencing numbers from 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s.
They come in color, so you can use them as a center, plus black & white, so students can make their own.
Click on the link to zip on over to see my latest packet of fun: Shhh! It's A Shamrock.
Today's FREEBIE also features shamrocks.
It's a set of 10 Frames, with math symbol cards and manipulatives for playing a variety of math games. I hope you find them useful.
Well that's it for today. I have a few more Saint Paddy's Day things to finish up, them it's on to kites.
Wishing you a day filled with the luck of a leprechaun.
"Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me." - Saint Patrick
I continue to plug along completing the Telling Time Cards for each month, and just finished the March clock set with shamrocks. Click on the link to view/download them.
I also have a variety of other telling time games with a shamrock theme, that are great throughout the month of March, but especially nice to plug in for St. Patrick’s Day, when you might want to add a bit more fun to the day because it’s “special”.
Start off by offering a quick and easy Make A Shamrock Clock center. Students cut out the circle, glue it to a paper plate and then count by 5’s to write in the helpful numbers around the clock.
Punch a hole in the center, fasten a brass brad and attach a small and large paperclip and you’re done! Students can take turns calling out a time. Everyone manipulates the paperclip hands to make that time and holds up their clock to show the answer. It's a quick & easy way to whole-group assess.
I’ve also included a plain clock so that you can use it anytime, without the shamrock theme idea. Click on the link to view/download the Shamrock Clock
Bingo Dot Clock is another fun way to whole-group assess students. Call on a quiet child to “spy” a time to the hour.
Students trace the number, bingo dot the circle, manipulate the paperclip hands to show the correct time and then hold up their clock when done.
The first child with the correct answer gets to spy the next time for everyone to find. Click on the link to view/download Bingo Dot Shamrock Clock game.
Spin to Win also reinforces time to the hour. Students can either spin the shamrock clock spinner or roll a pair of dice.
Rolling dice involves simple addition and subtraction. Students trace the digital time on their time card and then write it. The first student to completely fill their time card in is the winner.
This game also includes traceable digital time cards to the hour and half hour + a certificate of praise bookmark. Click on the link to view/download Shamrock Spin To Win game
Shamrocks on a Roll also involves dice and addition and subtraction. Students have the option to trace the numbers on their shamrock clock or write them in. Click on the link to view/download Shamrocks on a Roll
Finally, Shamrock Skip Counting includes a shamrock spinner for counting by 2’s, 3’s, 5’s, and 10’s. There is also a spinner for counting by 1’s for younger students.
Knowing how to skip count is important in telling time. Click on the link to view/download Skip Counting With Shamrocks
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to PIN away. I hope your “time” playing some of these games on St. Patrick’s Day is delightful!
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." -Benjamin Franklin
I have quite a few shamrock themed activities for reading and writing, so I wanted to make sure that you had some for math as well.
Shake Your Shamrocks is a simple game to help your students review skip counting by 2’s 3’s and 5’s.
I’ve also made a game board for counting by 1’s for younger students. These games would be perfect any time, but a great addition to your St. Patrick’s Day activities.
The object of the game is to help the leprechaun get to his pot of gold by rolling a pair of dice and taking the face value of the number needed or adding and subtracting to get there.
For example, in order to move one space ahead, if you are skip counting by 3’s, you need to roll a 3, or a 2 and a 1 (add) or a 4 and a 1 (subtract) etc.
Encourage students to count out loud as they move their marker around the board. Plastic gold coins, shamrock erasers, and small rocks (Blarney Stones) make great markers.
If you are counting by 1’s, you play with only 1 dice. This game has a different set of rules, where students lose a turn, switch places with their partner and move backwards one space, depending on the roll of the die.
Click on the link to view/download Shake Your Shamrocks skip counting game.
Another game I think that your students will enjoy playing is Spin To Win-Dollar Holler where strategy counts or does it?
Children choose 1 of 3 columns, that they try and fill, in their quest to reach the amount of $1.00.
Includes a graphing extension. All games include a certificate of praise for participants as well as winners.
Click on the link to view/downoad Dollar Holler a fun game for St. Patrick's Day!
Coin Shamrocks makes a nice math center activity for March/St. Patrick’s Day. The object here is to identify the coins and figure out the total value that is displayed on each shamrock.
I’ve included an identification shamrock sample for each coin that will help students who still struggle with this concept.
Students can play independently or with a partner to see who can fill in their shamrock cards first. Students can use coin manipulatives as well as the little matching value cards to cover the shamrocks.
Includes a blank shamrock template to program your own coin cards + a certificate of praise. Click on the link to view/download Shamrock Coins
A wonderful little easy-reader booklet that involves both counting and coins is How Much Is This Shamrock?
It’s a terrific transition into a reading-writing block after students have completed the above math stations and is a nice Daily 5 activity for St. Patrick’s Day.
Students help the leprechaun purchase a variety of rainbow-colored shamrocks as they cut and glue the appropriate coins to the matching pages. Click on the link to view/download the shamrock coin booklet.
Finally, there are a variety of other shamrock counting booklets available as well. Simply click on the link to zoom to the Shamrock section and scroll down to download whatever fits your needs.
Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away. I hope all your Irish eyes, are smiling during your St. Patty's Day activities.
"A child educated only at school, is an uneducated child." -George Santayana
Get Shakin' With Shamrock Games And Spice Up Reading Routines!
Blend To Get To The End involves the Sh for shamrock blend, as well as 23 others!
Students pretend to be leprechauns whose goal it is to get to their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, by skipping along a shamrock trail.
In order to do that they need to identify shamrock cards with either a blend on them or one with a blend and an example of a word with that blend in it.
This game includes a game board, 42 word - blend shamrocks, 24 shamrocks with just a blend on them, a blank sheet of shamrocks to make your own templates, + 2 certificates of praise.
Review another standard; by having students trace their trails in an ABAB pattern. Click on the link to view/download Blend To Get To The End Shamrock Game
Shhh it’s a Shamrock is a slider that specifically works on the sh blend at the beginning and end of 56 words. Choose which strips you want to work on.
Students enjoy this hands-on manipulative, as they trace the words with markers or crayons. Again, this can be done in an ABAB pattern.
Includes 56 traceable word cards, a cover to turn them into an Itty Bitty booklet, tips of what else to do with the cards, a student log and a certificate of praise.
Click on the link to view/download Shhh It’s A Shamrock Packet
Finally, your students will enjoy putting shamrocks together to make CVC words beginning with the letter L for leprechaun in CVC Shamrock Word Fun
This packet includes a skill sheet for students to make a letter L CVC word list on, + an answer key.
21-traceable word cards with a cover so students can make an Itty Bitty booklet; vowel and consonant shamrocks and a blank set of shamrocks so you can make your own templates + a certificate of praise.
Click on the link to view/download the CVC Shamrock Word Game
Scroll down for an awesome reading-writing activity with a spring theme. I know you're going to really like this one!
If you stop in any store you’ll see shamrocks galore. It’s a well-known and loved symbol for March.
A shamrock theme is easy and fun to implement during the week of St. Patrick’s Day. Since it has three leaves, it’s a perfect die cut to have students use to count by 3’s or pattern with.
I’ve made 168 traceable mini flashcards for the upper and lowercase letters. Run them off on two different colors to make playing a Memory Match game easier.
I’ve also included cards for skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's + counting by 1's to 30.
Each set has their own cover so students can make Itty Bitty booklets.
Children enjoy these just-my-size booklets and like collecting and sharing them with their families, which reinforces lessons learned at school.
I’ve also included directions with tips of how to use the cards to play a variety of games to make learning with shamrocks interesting and fun!
Click on the link to view/download Shamrock Letter and Number Flashcards.
Looking for a shamrock booklet?
A few of my favorites that help teach a variety of standards are:
My Shamrock Shape Book, and The Colors Of My Shamrocks.
The Colors Of My Shamrocks includes a graphing extension and song.
Click on the links to view/download the shamrock booklets.
For more shamrock items click on the link to go to my Shamrock section
I’ll be designing new shamrock word, number and coin games all week so be sure and check back and pop in tomorrow for a shamrock rainbow spinner "craftivity."
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