Did you know that blue was the color originally associated with
St. Patrick’s Day? Over the years that’s changed to green, and these days
celebrations on or around March 17th are a cornucopia of four-leaf clovers —
along with leprechauns, rainbows, and pots o’ gold!
In the classroom, laughing with limericks is a fun activity to
celebrate this festive holiday.
Limericks are a type of nonsense poetry that are meant to be
silly and funny. Legend has it they
originate from Ireland which is why we
often hear them around St. Patrick’s Day.
The name is often taken as a reference to the City or County of Limerick
in Ireland.
Limericks
have only 5 lines and the poem depends on the rhythm and the rhyme.
Lines
one, two, and five rhyme with each other. Lines three and four rhyme as well.
Have
the students think of it this way…A-A-B-B-A.
Students can have fun using one of the following templates to
help them get started creating their own
silly limericks…
There once was ___________ from _____________.
Who always wanted to ___________.
But whenever s/he ___________,
The ___________
That silly __________ from
_______________.
Or
Introduce a person or a place (think of a
name/word that is easy to rhyme)
Describe a unique or funny feature of the
person/place.
Describe an activity or silly problem on
this third line
Continue describing the activity on the
fourth line
Wrap it up with a funny punch line!
Have
fun and Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!
