Saint Patrick's Day

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• appropriate
• fine line
• left out
• tend to

• party
• hard
• tradition
• drunk

• over the top
• it's all about

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Every year, Ireland celebrates Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It used to be primarily a religious holiday, but it is now a national holiday in Ireland. March 17th is known the world over as Saint Patrick’s Day.

In the US, most people who are not Irish do not know much about the Irish holiday. Most people wear green on this day, and those who don’t wear green risk getting pinched!

Many American cities have big parades. Saint Patrick’s Day has a reputation for being a day that Americans party pretty hard.

Listen to Marni and Amanda talk about Saint Patrick’s Day.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Amanda

Marni

Amanda:  What kind of traditions do you associate with Saint Patrick’s Day?

Marni:  Being drunk.

Amanda:  Really?

Marni:  Not myself personally, but, just, it seems like…

Amanda:  No, other people.

Marni:  Exactly. It seems to me that that’s what, as adults, the holiday is about, is just…

Amanda:  I suppose it’s an excuse to get drunk.

Marni:  But, um, you know, with kids… I’ve worked with kids and in classrooms, you see it’s all about wearing green.

Amanda:  Right.

Marni:  And I don’t think adults do that as much.

Amanda:  No, it’s not so appropriate. And even with the children in classes, you have… For instance, I taught a class and it was Saint Patrick’s Day and I wore green…

Marni:  Mm hm.

Amanda:  And there was that fine line of what’s appropriate. They knew that they could, but should they, do the pinch.

Marni:  Exactly.

Amanda:  And some of the children, which was very unfair, were not familiar with the culture or the tradition of wearing green, so those children were all left out.

Marni:  And that’s something to consider. That’s a real cultural thing, isn’t it?

Amanda:  Absolutely. You’re not necessarily taught about Saint Patrick’s Day as being a significant holiday.

Marni:  Right. Right. And the whole pinching thing. Well, and kids tend to take that, just, you know, way over the top.

Amanda:  Absolutely. Especially the boys.

Marni:  Do you think adults do that too?

Amanda:  I think they do.

 

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Lesson MP3

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