Do you know why the leprechaun decided to bury his gold at the end of the rainbow? Katherine Tegen does and she explains it all in her book, The Story of the Leprechaun. Today I’m here to share some activities you can use with this story in your classroom.

comprehension

After reading any story, I like to make sure my students are comprehending the text. I have comprehension questions to guide students through the text. There are also two graphic organizers to help students summarize the story.

If you focus on story elements, you can incorporate these spinners. The colored copies can be used with the whole group to retell the story. Or, you can print off the black and white copies for each pair of students. The students take turns spinning, naming the story element, and coloring in that section of the spinner. If a student lands on a space that is already colored, he still identifies the story element, but chooses a section of the leprechaun to color.

leprechaun craft & writing

I also like to have my students respond to the text through writing. I have included four writing prompts, but you can pair these writing papers with one of your own prompts.

Once the students are finished with their writing, they can attach this leprechaun craft to their writing.

beyond the text

I’ve also included a couple of activities to extend the text. Do you think leprechauns are sneaky or smart? Your students can find out with this spin, tally, and graph activity. You could also skip the spinner activity, take a class poll, and graph those results.

Since the story focuses on the leprechaun also being a shoemaker, I thought it would be fun to have students help design shoes based on written descriptions. This requires students to read and follow the directions carefully.