St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and I want you to know a few things about me as a teacher:
- I am not cutesy
- I forget things – a LOT- I’m probably forgetting something right now.
- The smaller holidays escape me until the night before. If we don’t get the day off…
- I HATE buying “gifts” that will almost immediately be garbage (this very much causes inner conflict with #3)
Small Holiday: Phase 1
That’s me in the dollar section of Target the night before St. Patrick’s day scraping through the leftovers convincing myself that 3rd graders really DO love a mix of plastic mini shamrocks, green glitter eyebrows and plastic gold coins.
I leave these trips empty handed or with a pack of cheap pencils that will fray as soon as they are sharpened. At least I have SOMETHING and they will not be thrown directly into the garbage. I’ll find something fun on-line that I can print out.
Small Holiday: Phase 2
Then, I spend a few hours at home searching Pinterest or TpT for “St. Patrick’s Day Math for 3rd”, hoping to find something easy to use, cutesy when on their desk, but that also covers the standards. Poking me in the back of my mind is always “THE TEST” anxiety and the fear that kids are quickly forgetting how to find area and perimeter. I can see it draining from their brain when we introduce 2×2 multiplication. There isn’t TIME for the whole curriculum, let alone REVIEW what we have already done! It HAS to be meaningful.
After scrolling for an hour, I leave these frantic sessions with an empty cart too, deciding that nothing fit my needs. How I wish I had grabbed those $2 flashing green glasses frames.
Small Holiday: Phase 3
In the morning, I carefully place the lone pencil in the most festive spot on their desk and steal a glance across the hall. My teammate has her kids working on adorable leprechaun traps for which they brought the materials in all last week. *Sigh*, maybe next year.
Does this sound familiar?
If You Want Something Done Right…
Hence the old adage “If you want something done right, you must do it yourself”. So, I did. I want to share with you my St. Patrick’s Day Math for 3rd Grade! You will LOVE it!
First, it is targeted practice, covering over 20 third grade math standards. You can pull one activity or use the entire packet to review. Even touch on upcoming skills (anyone else NEVER get to that Geometry unit?!). I LOVE having it available as a “go to” that is USEFUL.
The most important thing is that it’s FUN! I have never seen kids more engaged in an activity than when it is a game or hidden code. This pack includes secret messages, St. Patrick’s Day jokes and a 100s chart 100 problem hidden picture. Give them a 100 problem hidden picture and kids will rush to be the first to finish. Even the word problems are silly. Print it out in color, black and white or digital. The digital version is optimized for Google Slides with movable pieces wherever possible.
Did you say self checking? Yes, yes I did. Because this St. Patrick’s Day math packet is made of secret codes, color by number, etc. their answers won’t make sense unless the problem is done correctly. The color by answer lists all of the correct answers for the colors. This can be a quick assessment tool to determine what that student needs to work on.
So many uses…
Throughout the years, I have revised and tweaked these St. Patrick’s Day Math worksheets, but I use it year after year. I made a 4th grade one when I taught 4th. Here are a few ways I have used it:
- tuck in a report folder with prongs to use as an early finishers activity
- Use for extra practice
- great for morning work
- an option for independent work durning centers
- put them in your emergency sub folder
- offer as extra credit and practice to students who are struggling
You are busy, so I have included an answer key. Just because you CAN do third grade level math doesn’t mean you want to.
To learn more and to see a full preview, check out the product in my TpT store!
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