• Reading, writing

• St. Patrick’s Day, Chicago River, traditions

• B2/C1

• Individually, groupwork

• 120 minutes

Every year on March 17, people from all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick’s Day: the anniversary of the death of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. For this occasion, the Chicago River is dyed bright green, by shaking an orange powder into the river. The recipe? That has been top secret for over 50 years. This learning activity zooms in on this particular phenomenon. Students learn about St. Patrick’s Day and immerse themselves in a special day they would like to know more about. Finally, they put their newly acquired knowledge into practice by writing an essay about their special day.

Activities

Click here for the article and assignments.

This learning activity starts with assignment 1, in which students expand their vocabulary. First, they individually indicate which words they do and do not know. Second, they team up and discuss the words in small groups. Third, they look them up in an English–Dutch dictionary. Subsequently, students read the article The dyeing of the river. Then, in assignment 2, they decide whether the statements made about the article are true or false. Students team up with a classmate and compare their answers. Together they decide on their final answers and correct the statements that they think are false. Assignment 3 takes the form of a word puzzle. By solving clues, students fill in the squares with letters, forming words. In preparation for the final writing assignment, students carry out assignment 4 and 5. In assignment 4, students go on the Internet and search for information on a special day celebrated in the UK, USA, or in Australia. They choose a day they would like to work on, collect information about their day and summarise the main points. In assignment 5, students learn about structuring an essay in paragraphs. The final exercise is assignment 6, in which students write an essay about their self-chosen special day.

Click here for the teacher file with answers.

Deze opdracht komt uit het Engelstalig tijdschrift WaspReporter. Wil je jouw leerlingen nog meer Engelse teksten laten lezen over actuele onderwerpen? Bestel dan een beoordelingspakket van WaspReporter, neem een abonnement of bestel eens een los nummer.