Robin Murphy

Saint Patricks Day Unit

Third grade
Objectives:
Students will understand that there is more to Saint Patricks Day than just wearing green
and leprechauns.
Students will be able to perform one Irish dance move.
Students will be able to speak a few words of the Irish language.
Students will know what makes Irish music unique from other types of music.
Students will know some of the Irish folk tales.
Students will gain an understanding of who Saint Patrick was.
Materials:
-Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland, by Tomie de Paola. Holiday House. ISBN:
0823409244
-This youtube video of how to do one of the steps for the Irish step dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL3TjwL0zFg
- The Irish music clip that is used on this webpage:
http://caldwellorganizedchaos.blogspot.com/2016/03/teacher-tuesday-irish-music-in.html
-Fin Mcoul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill, by Tomie de Paola. Holiday House.
ISBN:0823403858
-Irish Fairy Tales (Dover Childrens Thrift Classics), by Philip Smith. Dover
Publications. ISBN-13: 978-0486275727
-Handouts with the Irish words and pronunciations on them. (one for each student)
-Word search with the Irish words. (one for each student)
-This youtube video of an Irish step dance some girls did at the world championships:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPylYGoquqM
Curricular Connections: Social Studies, Dance, Music, Literature, and Language
Procedure:
1. Discuss what we know about Saint Patricks Day.
2. Read the story Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland. (Social Studies)
3. Begin teaching the Irish words. (Language)
4. After pronouncing them all as a class, pass out the word search and let the students

work on it individually or in pairs.

5. Have the students go back to their seats and tell them a little about the Irish Stepdance.
(Social Studies)
6. Show them a short video of the Stepdance being performed.
7. Next, have the students stand up in order to learn the Irish Stepdance step. Explain that
since the Stepdance is so complicated, we will only be learning one part of the dance.
(Dance)
8. Follow along with the video and learn the dance.
9. Next, put on some of the Irish music and let students practice the dance. (Music)
10. After the students return to their seats, discuss with them what made the Irish music
sound different from the music they usually listen to. When they mention the instruments,
talk to them a little about the history behind the Irish bodhran.
11. Lastly, read to the students one of the stories from the Irish fairy tales book or read the
Fin MCoul story, depending on how much time is left in the day. (Literature)

Teaching about who Saint Patrick was:

The Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland book teaches a ton about him. In the back of
the book they talk about the various legends surrounding him and if they are true or not,
like the story of him banishing snakes from Ireland.

Teaching the Irish language:

For this, give each student a piece of paper with the following words on them, and how to
pronounce them. We will pronounce each one slowly together as a class. Next I will hand
out a word search that has each of the words hidden in them. Students can do these
individually or in pairs.
Hello: Dia duit. This is pronounced as dia gwit.
Mother: Mathair. Pronounced as MAW her.
Father: Athair. Pronounced as AH her.
Grandfather: Daideo. Pronounced as Da-joh.
Grandmother: Mamo. Pronounced as Mamm oh.
Sister: Deirfiur. Pronounced as Dre-foor.
Brother: Dearthair. Pronounced as Dre-hawr.
Thank you: Go raibh math agat. Pronounced as Guh rev mah ah-gut.

Please: Le do thoil. Pronounced as Leh duh hull.

Youre Welcome: Ta failte romhat. Pronounced as taw FAWL-cheh ROH-ut.
Goodbye: Slan. Pronounced as Slawn.
Word Search Hand out:

Irish Words
STFTLFDPQOIHLXZ
TIADINREBVTEGHX
ROAFQUBSRYDTEBZ
IXJYADDIAONFLCM
AWDBTIAATHSMQBO
HNEBMHLHIMLDDNR
TCAATYOTLDAMXJV
AKRAKIAPEDNJAZH
MGTMLRUIFRIEDMO
GSHNPVEWIMOAFCO
FCAKOAESDWJMKNN
YFITEHMDUHFWHAS
GORAIBHMATHAGAT
DAIDEOTKKZEPJHT
OUGVXARGWYZLDMI
ATHAIR
DAIDEO
DEARTHAIR
DEIRFIUR
DIADUIT
GORAIBMATHAGAT
LEDOTHOIL
MAMO
MATHAIR
SLAN
TAFAILTEROMHAT

If the students ask about yes and no, tell them this. If they do not ask, it may be best not
to as verbs having positive and negative forms may be a tough concept for them to grasp:
In the Irish language, they do not have an equivalent to yes and no. Instead, verbs have
positive and negative forms. So if you want to say yes to something, you respond with
the positive verb form and for no you respond with the negative form.

Irish Step Dance:

The Irish step dance grew from the traditional Irish dances. To dance it properly, you
need to have hard shoes, like tap shoes, and a hard surface. When doing the dance, your
upper body is supposed to be very stiff and there are no arm movements at all.
This is a video of some girls doing the Irish step dance at the world championships. Play
this for the class before teaching them the step so they have an idea of what the Irish step
dance looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPylYGoquqM
Teach an Irish step dance step. This video goes through everything involving the step and
it is important to practice it before playing the video and teaching alongside it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL3TjwL0zFg

Music:
Irish hornpipe music from this website:
http://caldwellorganizedchaos.blogspot.com/2016/03/teacher-tuesday-irish-music-in.html
The Irish hornpipe is a dance, not an instrument.
Irish bodhran music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbNUgreiBrw&nohtml5=False
It is disputed as to when the bodhran was invented, sometime in the late 1800s or early
1900s. It is like a tambourine in appearance. It is played by beating it with a small stick.

Literature:

Read the Fin M Coul story and if there is time, read aloud some of the fairy tales from
the Irish fairy tales book. This will help students realize that leprechauns are not the only
piece of Irish folklore.

Common Core State Standards:

Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine
the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details
in the text.
Phonics and Word Recognition:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

Dance Standards:
A. Motor Learning: A.4.8 Demonstrate movements using various pathways (such as
straight, curved, zig-zag, twisted, or turning) on the ground and in the air

Music Standards:
History and Culture: I.4.2 Listen to and identify, by genre or style, examples of music
from various historical periods and world cultures