St. Patrick’s Day Party

St. Patrick’s Day Party

Objectives:

- to gain an understanding of the origin of St. Patrick’s Day

- to develop communicative skills, students’ creativity on the topic;

- to foster students’ ability to work collaboratively;

- to promote the broadening of students’ general outlook;

- to encourage students to generate and express their ideas through projects;

- tо develop pupils’ understanding and respect for other peoples’ traditions.

Materials: St.Patrick’s Day banners, PPT, video, puzzle, pictures,  Irish music (mp3 tracks)

Preparation for the lesson:
1. Traditional St. Patrick's Day poems and songs.
2. Symbols of Ireland.
3. Handouts for the competition: matching cutouts.
4. St. Patrick's Day posters.
5. PowerPoint presentation .

6. The British Isles map.

7. Clover emblems for each student, pins.

8. Generated QR codes for two teams with tasks and tips for the Treasure Hunt Quest.

PROCEDURE:

I.                   Organising the class

While entering the classroom, the pupils are to draw a paper shamrock leaf with a team number on it ( one or two). They take their seats accordingly. The desks are decorated with pictures of rainbows, leprechauns, pots of gold and team labels. The national music is being played while the pupils are entering the classroom

Teacher: Good morning, everybody! Glad to see you, dear friends! The 17th of March is on the calendar. It means that we’re going to have some fun today. Do you know the reason why? I am sure you do! (Map) Today marks a special holiday in Ireland — a beautiful country with ancient traditions and rich culture. Of course, it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Although this is an Irish holiday, a lot of English-speaking countries and other countries of the world celebrate it as well. Before we start, I suggest that we see what exactly you know about this country, this peculiar day and its customs and traditions.

One of the best ways to get to know the people is by getting to know about their holidays. ( the presentation is on the screen)

•        Who can show Ireland on this map?
•        What colours is the flag?
•        What are the neighbouring countries?
•        What is the capital city?
•        What language is spoken in Ireland?
•        Do you know anything about Ireland from your Geography and History lessons?
•        Do you know any national symbols of the country?
•        Who is the patron saint of Ireland?  (pupil’s suggested answers)

Pupil 1 :Saint Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. St Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. According to different versions about St Patrick and his life story, it is said that he was born in Britain, around 385 AD. His parents, Calpurnius and Conchessa, were Roman citizens living in either Scotland or Wales. As a boy of 14, he was captured and taken to Ireland, where he spent six years in slavery herding sheep. He returned to Ireland in his 30s as a missionary among the Celtic pagans.

Pupil 2: About St Patrick and the snakes…. He is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been – the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the “Holy Wells” that still bear this name.

( the answers are shown on the slides as well, the presentation is added)

II. What’s your Irish name?

One more specific thing about any country is the way people make up their names and surnames. What is the traditional way of making up a surname in our country?  Do you have any clue of how the Irish do it?

Well, now you will be provided with cards with special clues to turn your name according to the Irish mode. You have 2 minutes to do it, after that write your name on the piece of paper and insert it into the badge. Do you like it? ( pupil’s attention is drawn to traditional prefixes Mc and O’ in the traditional Irish surnames)

III. Word search

The next task for us is connected with the topical vocabulary. For today you were asked to watch the videos in the classrooms and get yourselves acquainted with the main symbols and traditions of this holiday. So, here is a grid for both of the teams and your aim now is to find as many topical words as it is possible. The winner is the team with the most words found. The time limit is 3 minutes.  Good luck to you! Ready? Steady! Go! ( the examples of the pages with crossword puzzles is in the additional materials)

IV. Leprechaun’s treasure hunt (throwing coins into the pot)

We’ve been sitting at our desks for quite a long time, so I suggest that you  move a little! Here is the challenge for you! Let’s test your throwing accuracy in the Coin toss game! The team with the most coins in the pot is the winner! ( one player is given 3 coins to be thrown into the pot, the pot is placed at some distance from the players)

V. Word creation 

One more task for you to show your wit - here is the phrase on a sheet of paper - St. Patrick’s Day. You are supposed to make up as many words as you can. They don’t need to be related to the holiday. You can use any nouns, verbs, or adjectives you can think of. In order to win the list of created words is to be longer than the one of your opponents’.

VI. Idioms

One more symbol of this holiday is the green colour. You have idioms related to it on one sheet, and their meanings on another. Match each idiom with its correct meaning. (The results are discussed and the players are asked to make up sentences with the idioms and suggest the situations where they can be used).  

 VII. Quest

You will have eight tasks with clues encoded in QR codes. Here’s how it works: at each destination, you must complete a task assigned to you. Only after completing the task will you receive a QR code containing a riddle that reveals the next destination. The team that completes the entire route and returns first wins.The locations for the riddles are chosen randomly so that the players move around ( entrance door, different floors, specific places such as reception desk, medical room, a gym, some classrooms, etc.).

VIII. Summing up, praising 

When the team returns to the starting point ( the classroom), they are praised for their persistence and cleverness. Everyone is provided with a special greeting card, bearing the words, such as

•        I am not Irish, but kiss me anyway
•        You are the cutest clover in the patch
•        Your knowledge is your treasure, etc.

 Teacher: Our lesson is coming to an end. Let me summarize. I think you have found out a lot about St. Patrick's Day. What was the most memorable for you?

(Pupils answer the question)

Teacher: Well done, guys, you have worked very well. The party is over. Thank you for your work. I am sure it was a useful pastime.  

Additional material:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VzBjLXzjLjVa__8zfN4MkcvpsZXT_kjl?usp=sharing