Title – Lucky Clovers

By – Jennifer

Primary Subject – Math

Grade Level – K-1

Objective:

The student will create and interpret a bar graph.

Materials:

• poster boards
• crayons or markers
• a few scores of cut out shamrocks – only if your school does not have real ones on the playground
• small bags

Preparation:

If the school does not have shamrocks growing in the schoolyard, cut out as many as you think you’ll need and

prior to class

– sprinkle them in the grass on the playground.

Pre-Activity Lesson:

• Introduce the concept of a graph to the students, show them examples, model creating one on the chalk or whiteboard
  
• Practice creating a bar graph by using the children’s hair color, favorite food or anything else you choose. Draw it on the board, explaining the concept as you go along.
  
• After you are sure that children understand what a graph is, take them outside for the activity.

Activity:

1. Divide the students up into four groups to work with. Explain that they only have 30 seconds to collect as many shamrocks as possible. (IF you are using fake ones, don’t time them; just let them find all the shamrocks.) Hand out a bag to each student.
   
2. Have them race through the schoolyard on the count of three. If you want, you can give the winning team a piece of candy or something, but it is not necessary.
   
3. When finished, go back into the classroom and have the students sit with their groups, holding their shamrock bags.
   
4. Give each group a poster board and marker. Each group will be instructed to make a graph using the names of the students in their group and how many clovers each person found.

Additional ideas:

Many other subjects can be integrated into this lesson. For example, you can have a science lesson on camouflage after talking about how hard it was to find the green shamrocks in the green grass. Also, it can integrate art by letting students draw leprechauns on the back of the poster. You can choose which art concept from the framework to address. Finally, you can integrate language arts speaking skills, by having the students present their finding to the class.

Note:

If you have any physically disabled children in your room, it is not advisable to include the race. Have them slowly gather the shamrocks with no competition.

E-Mail

Jennifer

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