Building a Leprechaun Trap
1. Bring in all the stuff from your junk drawers at home that you know you’ll never use in a million years; have students bring in “junk” from home. spools, corks, clips, string, elastic bands, ribbon, popsicle sticks, etc. You’ll need to tape lots of glue, tape, staples, and a variety of fasteners available. You will also need a variety of boxes, cans or other containers that would make a good trap.
2. Have students research leprechauns, looking for information about their habitats, and what might attract a leprechaun to their trap. Some of the websites below are useful. You can find others on the internet.
3. Divide class into teams of three to five students. This is a cooperative activity. Assign a job to each student in the group, or have the group decide who does which job. Example: All students brainstorm how to build a trap, one student takes notes or draws a diagram that they can follow as they build it, another student writes down step-by-step instructions as they go so they can tell someone else how to build it, another student draws an illustration of the final product (complete with parts labeled), another student presents the project to the class, using the illustration as a visual aid.
This activity can be used to work on a ton of IEP objectives. You can have fun with it by putting little leprechaun statues inside and taking pictures to show the children that the wee folk paid them a visit and left behind some chocolate “gold” coins for their efforts.
watching for leprechauns webcam
catch the leprechaun game
online St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt
S3CS4 System, Model, Change, and Scale
Students will use ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and technological matters.
Element: S3CS4a Describe How Parts Influence Others
Observe and describe how parts influence one another in things with many parts.
Element: S3CS4b Use Representations to Explain
Use geometric figures, number sequences, graphs, diagrams, sketches, number lines, maps, and stories to represent corresponding features of objects, events, and processes in the real world.
Element: S3CS4c ID How Representations Do Not Match Original
Identify ways in which the representations do not match their original counterparts.
S3CS5 Communicates Scientific Ideas
Students will comunicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.
Element: S3CS5a Write Instructions
Write instructions that others can follow in carrying out a scientific procedure.
Element: S3CS5b Sketch Explanations
Make sketches to aid in explaining scientific procedures or ideas.
Element: S3CS5c Use Numerical Data
Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects and events.
Element: S3CS5d Locate Information for Research
Locate scientific information in reference books, back issues of newspapers and magazines, CD-ROMs, and computer databases.
Element: S3L1d Results of Change in Habitat
Explain what will happen to an organism if the habitat is changed.