Ireland and St. Patrick's Day: Free Resources, Crafts, Books, and Free Activities

March is not only the month when we celebrate St. Patrick's Day but it's also Irish-American Heritage Month. Since 1991 Presidents have recognized March as the month to recognize the contributions of Irish Americans and their descendants who have played key roles in the foundation of our history. Did you know that there were 9 Irish Americans that signed the Declaration of Independence. I hope you will take some time to celebrate their contributions, too. To see some famous Irish Americans just click HERE.

I've put together some great resources for St. Patrick's Day and always like to start with great books. I have to say that my favorite book is "Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato". If you click on the picture below you will see a great list to chose from.

Of course there is always Scholastic that has all your st. Patrick's Day need that you can access by clicking on the picture below. There are lots of materials for all elementary grades to be found.

For those of you looking for some great crafts to make with your students, games and history about St. Patrick's Day and fun facts, you should visit Kid Connect by clicking on the picture below.

For those just looking for fun crafts to make then click on the one below to get complete instructions.

I revised my St. Patrick's Day Unit to include reading and writing activities about Ireland and it's national symbols. I've included my own Shared Reading Book, Picture/Fact Reading Cards about Irish-Americans and Ireland's National Symbols, 2 Reading Texts and Comprehension Questions about Ireland and St. Patrick's Day at the 2nd and 3rd Grade levels and Map Activities and a Subject Poem about Leprechauns. Students will write a Country Report about Ireland, A Persuasive letter to a Leprechaun and a Subject poem about Ireland. There are also 4 writing prompts to include Informative text and Opinion Pieces. If you download the Preview File you will see sample pages of all the reading and writing activities in this unit. Just click on the image below.

Hope you all have the luck of the Irish and find some fun free resources for you to use with your students.

Don't forget to check out all my Pinterest Boards. Just click HERE. Would love to have you follow.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
                                                   

Chinese New Year: Free Resources, Activities, Printables, Books, and Crafts

Chinese New Year will begin on February 19th in 2015. It is the Year of the Goat/Sheep. Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days ending with the Lantern Festival. China's culture goes back thousands of years and is filled with many traditions and symbolism. I have always believed that students should study about other cultures as we are global citizens. I have put together some wonderful resources about Chinese New Year for you to access.

Let's start with good books for you to read or have your students read about Chinese New Year. You will find a summary of these 10 books by the Pragmatic Mom by clicking on the image below.

You will find this wonderful free reading text about the story of the Chinese zodiac by clicking on the image below.

There are lots of  free printables and activities about Chinese New Year that you can access by clicking on the image below.

You can always count on Scholastic to have a wealth of materials. You can check them out by clicking on the image below.

I  was hoping to put together a Chinese New Year packet last year but never did but I finally did. I uploaded it today. It not only has Reading texts about Chinese New Years and Traditions but also about China, The Legend of Nian, The Chinese Zodiac Animals and Personality Traits, and Lucky and Unlucky Chinese Symbols and Superstitions. The Reading Texts are differentiated at the 2nd and 3rd Grade Levels.

I have included the Chinese Years and Animals

And all the Chinese Zodiac Animal Personality Trait Cards so that students can find their Zodiac Animal, Read the Personality Traits, and Compare and Compare and Contrast how they are alike and different from their animal.

There are a variety of writing activities and poetry activities. You can check it out by clicking on the image below, read the description, and download the Preview file to see sample pages of all the materials and activities in this packet.

Don't forget to check out all my Pinterest boards. Just click HERE. Would love to have you follow.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin