Set up a bulletin board that features a “lucky leprechaun who loves to write!”
Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers!
Help kids see…the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be.
If you’ll be celebrating “the luck o’ the Irish” with your class on March 17 (when everyone who wants to be is Irish), use this powerful message to add some punch.
Set up a A Lucky Leprechaun Loves to Write! Bulletin Board in Your Classroom – Clear space on a large bulletin board in your room.
Center an attention-getting poster on the board that reads “A lucky leprechaun loves to write!
Announce that everyone is invited to join the “lucky leprechauns” who have learned that luck may come by chance, but is much more likely to come with hard work. See if students agree.
Strengthen this message by posting luck-related and hard work-related Story Starters, including one titled,
The Harder You Work, The Luckier You’ll Be!
Consider rewarding students for hard work with paper bookmarks and “lucky coins”…all to remind them…The Harder You Work, the Luckier You’ll Be!
Begin brainstorming time by asking students to think about the luck they have had in their lives and how their luck may be tied to hard work.
Note that different kinds of work may seem easy to do while other tasks are tough; all can be rewarding.
Challenge students to write stories using the title, “The Harder You Work, the Luckier You’ll Be!”
Part of the fun and function of this writing activity is to point out that each student’s story will be different even though the titles are the same.
Post students’ stories on your A Lucky Leprechaun Loves to Write! Bulletin Board.
As time permits, invite volunteers to read their stories aloud.
Consider giving small rewards, like paper bookmarks and “lucky coins,” to your class to reward their hard work writing stories.
How else can you help kids see…the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be?
Kids love shape poems! Invite them to write Hats Off to Hard Work Shape Poems to post on your Lucky Leprechaun Loves to Write Bulletin Board.
Learn the Legend of the Leprechaun – Help kids learn that the legend tells…the luck of a leprechaun is no luck at all…but rather the result of “good old-fashioned” hard work.
The legend describes leprechauns as “believed-to-be male fairies” taking the form of little old men who live on the island of Ireland; funny little characters who love to make mischief (something children always seem to enjoy!)
The legend of the leprechaun seems to have been used from one generation to the next as a story to model good behavior in children…follow the leprechaun’s lifestyle…work hard, be thrifty, tell the truth but protect the “fruits of your labor.”
Write a Lucky Leprechaun Hats Off to Hard Work Shape Poem – Make copies of a Leprechaun Hat” using my blog pic here or a hat from a St. Patrick’s Day card as a guide to draw a master.
Distribute the copies and invite students to write Hats Off to Hard Work shape poems.
Instruct kids to write a first draft on notebook paper.
When they’re ready, ask the kids to re-write the finished poems around the outside of the hat or inside below the brim.
Post students’ shape poems on the A Lucky Leprechaun Loves to Write! Bulletin Board.
Color a Magic Shamrock – Help kids see…the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be by inviting them to color a magic shamrock.
The magic message?
Hard work works magic in bringing luck and success to us in and out of school.
Give kids copies to “color a magic shamrock” for your bulletin board border.
Make copies of a large shamrock on white paper (patterns are usually available in teacher supply stores and party supply stores).
Distribute the shamrocks to students and tell them that you plan to post their “magic” shamrocks to make a border for your Lucky Leprechaun Loves to Write! Bulletin Board
Helping kids see…the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be…presents a theme that is “a pot ‘o gold” to use on St. Patrick’s Day and throughout the school year.
Please send comments about how you encourage kids to work hard.
Remember, you don’t need to be a magician to work magic in any instructional setting!
Talk with you again soon,
Barbara ♥ The Lovable Poet
