The Luck of the Irish

Another holiday is being celebrated in the United States this week. Green is the primary color of choice, and images of shamrocks, pots of gold and leprechauns can be seen all over. What holiday am I discussing? Saint Patrick’s Day!

Saint Patrick’s Day is a Christian holy day that is celebrated by many, but is a day of pride specifically for Irish and Irish-Americans. Ireland is a country filled with rolling green hills and meadows. The weather is cool and wet, with a lot of rain. Ireland is considered to be the “Emerald Island” because it is so green.

As a culture, the Irish were mostly poor immigrants that left Ireland for the United States, due to starvation and oppression from Britain. Eventually, the Irish became a dominant group in New York and New England. Nowadays, there is a huge Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City that has an enormous crowd. People from all over come to celebrate by drinking, dancing, and eating.

Vocabulary Words

Shamrocks- a clover (small-leafed plant), the national symbol of Ireland
Leprechauns- a playful elf who owns a treasure
Meadows- a grassy field
Emerald- a jewel that is green; a deep-green color
Immigrants- a person who moves to another country
Starvation- having extreme hunger
Oppression- suffering

Vocabulary Activity- Match the sentence to the vocabulary words found above.

1. I am so hungry; I haven’t eaten in three days!
2. There are so many clovers in Ireland.
3. The children love to run and play in the fields.
4. My favorite color is green.
5. You are afraid of all elves, even if they are nice.
6. The empire of Great Britain caused suffering to many Irish.
7. My uncle was from Ireland but he now lives in the United States permanently.

Grammar Point- Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe another person or thing in a sentence. Adjectives typically are placed before the nouns or noun phrases of which they describe.


Grammar Activity 1- Identify the following adjectives from the blog above.
Identify two adjectives of weather:
Identify two adjectives of size:
Identify two adjectives of color:

Grammar Activity 2: Compare and contrast Ireland to where live. Use as many adjectives or descriptions as possible. Don’t forget to use the phrases more than and less than. Write a total of 5 comparisons.

Ex) Ireland has more rolling hills than Farmingdale.