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Macmillan Polska 2011

PHOTOCOPIABLE

Teacher’s Notes

ST. PaTrick’S Day facTS

by Magdalena kondro

Type of activity: individual and pair work
focus: vocabulary connected with St. Patrick’s Day,

Ireland and Irish culture; reading, listening and

speaking skills
Level: pre-intermediate – intermediate
Time: 45 minutes
Preparation: Make one copy of Student’s Worksheet

A per each student and a copy of Student’s Worksheet

B per each pair of students. Cut Worksheet B into

two parts along the dotted line.

Procedure:
1. On the board write St. Patrick’s Day. Divide

students into pairs and ask them to make as many

words as possible with the letters of the words

written on the board. Set a time limit of 2 minutes.

The pair with the longest list wins the game. Ask

the pair to read out their words. Other pairs listen

and cross out the same words that appear on their

list. At the end, they read out any words that have

not been mentioned.

2. Explain that students are going to test their

knowledge of St. Patrick’s Day and Irish culture.

Distribute Student’s Worksheets A and ask students

to complete Activity 1. Encourage them to make

guesses about new vocabulary. Students compare

their answers in pairs.

3. Students read the text in Activity 2 to check their

answers in Activity 1. Then they read the text

again and underline any words they do not know.

In groups of 4, students discuss the words and

explain those they know to their partners.

4. Elicit the answers to Activity 2 and clarify any

vocabulary students still do not understand.

5. Divide the class into pairs. Give a copy of Student

A’s task from Worksheet B to each Student A and a

copy of Student B’s task to each Student B.

Students then look at the answers, check in

Worksheet A what these refer to and write the

questions. Students work in groups with 2 or 3

other students who have the same task and

compare their questions. Make sure the questions

are correct.

Suggested questions:
Student a
1. Where is Ireland?;

2. When was St. Patrick born?;

3. How long is St. Patrick’s Day Festival in

Dublin?;

4. How many American cities hold St. Patrick’s

Day parades?;

5. Which plant brings good luck?

6. Where do leprechauns keep their pot of gold?

Student B
1. What are the official languages of Ireland?;

2. What did St. Patrick teach the Irish about?;

3. Why is St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th?;

4. What happens during St. Patrick’s Day festival

in Dublin?;

5. Where can you see the harp – the national

emblem of Ireland?; What will happen if you

take your eyes off the leprechaun?

6. Students return to their initial pairs. Student A

asks his/her questions to Student B who answers

from memory. For each correct answer, he/she is

given one point. Then they change roles and

Student B asks his/her questions to Student A.

The person with more points at the end wins the

game.

Extension:
Elicit from the class that Ireland is associated

with green colour. Divide students into teams of 3

and give them 3 minutes to write as many green

things as they know in English. The team with the

longest list at the end wins the game. The answers

may include: cucumber, frog, crocodile, leaves,

grass, peas, plants, caterpillar, broccoli, cactus,

iguana, zucchini, lime, lettuce, Christmas/pine

tree, avocado.