As a teacher, I absolutely loved celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It was a magical and exciting day for students and teachers alike.

Many teachers celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by decorating the classroom, serving green treats, planning fun activities, wearing green, and doing shamrock crafts. But that gets stale for both teachers and students over time. Plus, as a teacher, I was short on time and resources to create a lesson that gets my students moving, thinking and (most importantly) LEARNING!

How can a teacher surprise students with an unexpected, engaging and educational activity on a holiday?

STEM Challenge

Because my students loved doing STEM lessons, I decided to create a Leprechaun Trap Challenge. The students had to follow specific steps that would lead them to the most effective trap that they could create. It was great, but materials were lacking. This is why I created the STEM Learning Journals™ – Leprechaun S.T.E.M. Challenge.

Teachers – this is your year to be the unexpected and exciting teacher by getting your students super engaged by incorporating STEM! Your students will complete three exciting Leprechaun themed challenges. Best of all, most of the materials that you will need are common materials that you can find in your classroom or school!

How it Works

Students are challenged to use their creativity while practicing engineering skills (win-win!). To get started, students cut out Lenny the Leprechaun and follow the instructions to make him stand up (which can be used for the STEM challenges).

Next, students create a leprechaun trap that will capture and hold Lenny the Leprechaun. They will prepare their materials, plan out their design, create their trap, reflect on the design of their leprechaun trap, and then make improvements to make their leprechaun trap more effective.

Depending on resources and grade level, you can incorporate technology by encouraging your students to do related research on school-approved websites. You can also require students to do math that is appropriate for them, such as making the trap within a specific size range.

Be the teacher that has their students going home anxiously waiting to tell their parents what they did in your class that day, and coming back to school begging to do the next lesson!

Check out the Really Good Stuff STEM Learning Journals™ – Leprechaun S.T.E.M. Challenge!

How have you paired a holiday with learning in your classroom?