Free Resources for Teaching About St. Patrick’s Day

These resources for all grade levels include videos, arts and crafts, printables, worksheets, interactive maps, and tutorials. They will help your students learn about and explore Irish culture, history and traditions, including Irish folktales literature, recipes, Celtic art and mythology, the Great Potato Famine, and more.

For Grades K-5

1. Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato (8:08)
   An Irish folktale. A leprechaun offers Jamie O’Rourke the biggest potato in the world if Jamie will let him go. (Grades K-2)
2. History of St. Patrick’s Day
   Nine brief videos covering the history of St. Patrick’s Day and associated traditions. (Grades K-5)
3. St. Patrick’s Day Crafts and Activities
   Crafts, activities, printable books, spelling and writing pages, math activities, coloring pages, and more. (Grades K-5)
4. St. Patrick’s Day Printables and Worksheets
   Word searches and scrambles, puzzles, and coloring pages. (Grades K-5)

For Grades 6-12

5. The Great Irish Soda Bread Debate
   A traditional recipe for this quick bread and seven variations. (Grades 6-12)
6. The Great Hunger, Ireland’s Great Famine
   Between 1845 and 1852, approximately 1.5 million Irish men, women and children died of starvation or related diseases. By 1855, more than two million more fled Ireland to avoid a similar fate.  (Grades 9-12)
7. Celtic Europe
   An introduction to Celtic history and mythology. (Grades 6-12)
8. Immigration Explorer
   With this interactive map, users can select a foreign-born group to see how they settled across the United States. (Census data from 1880 to 2000) (Grades 6-12)
9. Newcomers to New York: Mapping Immigrant History
   More than 1.5 million people emigrated from Ireland to the United States during 1845-1855, with a majority landing in New York City. Includes lesson plans and PDFs. (Grades 6-12)
10. Celtic Knotwork Tutorial ( PDF, 2.2 MB, 59 pgs.)
    Introduction to Knotwork Construction: A Tutorial. This tutorial is introductory and doesn’t require prior experience in Celtic art or design. (Grades 6-12) 

Recommended Picture Books:

• Patrick: Patron Saint Of Ireland by Tomie dePaola
• St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
• St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting Illustrated by Jan Brett
• A Fine St. Patricks Day by Susan Wojciechowski Illustrated by Tom Curry
• Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola
• Brave Margaret by Robert D. San Souci Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport

Recommended Videos:

• Reading Rainbow: Two Old Potatoes and Me (about 30 minutes)
• Darby O’ Gill And The Little People (1:33:00)
• The Secret of Kells (1:15:00)
• The Song of the Sea (1:34:00)