Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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!