St. Patrick’s Day Quiz: lesson plan + worksheet

Saint Patrick’s Day is almost here, and if you’re still looking for some ideas, I have a short lesson plan you can enjoy with your students. If you’re already familiar with my lesson ideas, then you won’t be surprised that this is yet another plan where your students do the actual work and you monitor them.

Level: A2+ and above
Age: teens and adults
Time: 45 mins

Introduction: 5 min

Ask your students whether they know anything about Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day. Listen to their answers and explain that today you are going to talk about this event in a slightly different way – you will listen to your students (which means they can talk as much as they want to!). Divide your class into two groups.

No Internet Quiz: 10 min

Ask your students to put their mobile aside for ten minutes. Then hand out the worksheets and ask your students to answer as many questions as they can without checking the Net. You may download the page here:

What Do You Already Know?: 5 min

Spend 5 minutes on checking which questions are fairly easy to answer, but at this moment do not verify the answers. Ask whether they find the quiz easy or difficult, and tell them to get their mobiles back.

Let’s Find the Answers: 10 min

Give your students 10 minutes to find the answers to all the questions – tell them the more details they’ll be able to give you, the more points they will get.

Yes, What’s More…: 10 min

Once your students complete the task, explain, you’re going to play the game. You are going to ask questions to both groups – which group answers the question first, gets one point. However, once the answer is given, the other group may add extra details, and if they say something more, they also get a point.

This will motivate your students to listen carefully to what the other group says!

Cool Down: 5 min

Reflect on the role the Internet access had on completing the quiz. What would your students do if they were supposed to answer all the questions without the Internet? Would they ask someone else or maybe go to the library?

Quiz Answers:

…because I know you wouldn’t like to look for all these answers!

1 Retell the story of Saint Patrick (check here: click!)

2 Explain the saying luck of the Irish (check here: click!)

3 Draw the flag of the Republic of Ireland (check here: click!)

4 Who is a leprechaun? (check here: click!)

5 What is a shamrock? (young clover)

6 Where can you find a pot of gold? (at the end of a rainbow)

7 What’s the meaning of a Claddagh ring? (check here: click!)

8 What is the national symbol of Ireland? (harp and shamrock)

9 What is the Irish name for Ireland? (Éire)

10 Which river flows through the centre of Dublin? (River Liffey)

11 What does O’ in Irish surnames mean? (grandson)

12 What does the Irish slang word craic mean? (fun and enjoyment)

13 Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin is the full name of which Irish singer? (Enya)

14 Which Irish author wrote “Ulysses” in 1922? (James Joyce)

15 In which language did Samuel Beckett originally write “Waiting for Godot”? (French)

16 What is the most popular sport in Ireland? (Gaelic football)

17 Which famous HBO show was mainly filmed in Northern Ireland? (Game of Thrones)

18 Where are St Valentine’s ashes buried? (Dublin, Whitefriar Church)

19 The Great Famine was caused by a shortage of which crops? (potato)

20 Which is the best selling Irish Whiskey in the world? (Jameson)

21 What is the main ingredient in a boxty? (potato)

22 What is an Ulster fry? (fried bacon, sausages, black pudding, mushrooms, tomato and eggs served with fried soda bread and potato farls)

23 What’s the most popular Irish beer? (Guinness)

24 What is the name of the fairy that in Irish cultures is said to forewarn families of death? (banshee)