Saint Patrick’s Day Fun for Your ELT Classroom: The Green Song Relay

Introduction to the Green Song Relay Activity

Saint Patrick’s Day is a holiday filled with joy and celebration, and what better way to get your English language students into the spirit of the holiday than with a fun and interactive activity? Introducing the “Green Song Relay,” a 15-minute activity that will have your students singing, dancing, and learning new vocabulary words related to Saint Patrick’s Day.

Description

Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with your ELT class through the Green Song Relay. Divide the class into teams, each student taking turns singing a simple Saint Patrick’s Day song with holiday-related vocabulary. Practice and then race to see who can finish singing the song the fastest. End with a class sing-along for a festive atmosphere.

This activity is a great way to incorporate the celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day into your English language lessons, while also building your students’ listening, speaking, and vocabulary skills. So put on your green, grab a pot of gold, and get ready to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with the “Green Song Relay.”

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Rules of the Green Song Relay

Divide the class into teams of 4 students each. (This way each student has to memorize 2 lines) in smaller classes students will have to memorize more lines each.
Explain the rules of the relay game: each student in a team will take turns singing a Saint Patrick’s Day song while wearing green, and the team that sings the song faster wins. The teacher will chronometer the singing time.
The lyrics of the simple Saint Patrick’s Day song include the vocabulary words related to the holiday such as “leprechaun,” “pot of gold,” “shamrock,” “green,” and “rainbow”

Learning and Practicing the Saint Patrick’s Day Song

4. Give the students time to learn the song and practice singing it.

To get the best results from this activity, it is important to give your students enough time to learn the song and practice singing it before starting the relay game. Here are some tips to help you make the most of this step:

Allocate enough time: Make sure you have enough time to go over the song with your students, answer any questions they may have, and give them an opportunity to practice singing it.
Use visual aids: Consider using visual aids such as lyrics sheets or a whiteboard to help students learn the words and melody of the song.
Model the song: Start by singing the song yourself so that students can hear the melody and get a sense of how it is sung. (see an example rhythm below)
Encourage participation: Encourage your students to sing along with you as you go over the song the first or second time, before they practice in their teams.

Starting the Green Song Relay

5. When everyone is ready, start the relay game by having the first student in the first team stand up and sing the first line of the song.

6. After the first student finishes singing, they must pass a green item (e.g. a green hat, a green scarf) to the next student in their team, who must then stand up and sing the next part of the song.

7. The team that finishes in less time, with all students singing the song, wins the game.

Celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day Together as a Class

8. Finally, invite all teams to join in and sing the song together as a class.

After all teams have finished singing the song, it’s time for the finale of the activity. Invite all teams to join in and sing the song together as a class. This will create a festive and inclusive atmosphere, as everyone comes together to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. Encourage the students to sing along with the song, even if they don’t know all the words. This will not only help them to practice their English skills, but it will also help to build a sense of community among the students. If possible, you can even record the students singing the song and play it back for them to see how well they did. This will not only be a fun memory for the students, but it will also show them how much they have improved in a short amount of time.

This activity should take about 20 – 30 minutes to complete, including time for the students to learn the song and practice singing it.

Song Lyrics:

(Verse 1)
Green is the color, green is the way
Leprechauns are out, on Saint Patrick’s day
With a pot of gold and a shamrock too
We’ll dance and sing, the whole day through

(Chorus)
Saint Patrick’s day, let’s celebrate
With green and gold, and a rainbow so great
We’ll sing and dance, and have lots of fun
Saint Patrick’s day, it’s second to none!

Here’s me singing it with a rhythm I invented LOL, But you can give it the rhythm you want, ok?

These song-based lesson plans are sure to spice up your classes! However, would you like to think, feel and act more creatively on your own to be able to turn ANY song you want into an engaging lesson plan?
HERE are TIME-SAVING ideas that do the heavy work so you can focus on the most important: INSPIRING and MOTIVATING YOUR STUDENTS to learn CREATIVELY!