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Saint Patrick: Ireland's Snakes and Shamrocks

Episode of the series Legendary Worlds

CEFR: A1, A2, B1

In this episode

Illustrated slideshow (37 images)
Glossary
Comprehension quiz (45 questions)
Cultural notes

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Extract: the first 30 seconds of the episode. The full episode lasts 4 min 11 s.

Level

The episode

Shamrocks, snakes, and a saintly mission! Discover how Saint Patrick became Ireland’s most legendary figure.

Episode worksheets (2)

Student sheet In your teacher account
Teacher sheet In your teacher account

Teaching guide

Objective & content

This documentary starts with the old story of Patrick playing a drum on a hill so that all the snakes leave Ireland. It then asks "Were there ever real snakes in Ireland?" and answers with the Ice Age and the cold sea. The narrator gives the real Patrick's life: born in Roman Britain, taken to Ireland as a teenager, a shepherd for six years, and later a Christian teacher. A famous story says he used the shamrock to explain one idea with three parts. Learners practise past simple, including was and were, with the vocabulary of legends and animals, and meet the March 17th celebration. The main skill is listening comprehension, followed by the in-app quiz.

Materials & prerequisites

Printable sheets: a student sheet and a teacher sheet with the answers (PDF).
Prerequisites: present simple, past simple of "be" (was, were) and a few regular past forms, articles (a, an, the) and basic adjectives.

Curriculum alignment

Tagged c3-child-and-imagination (cycle 3, 6e). The episode targets CEFR level A1-.

Possible adaptations

Lower levels: Offer segmented listening and additional visual aids.
Advanced levels: Encourage an oral summary and a debate in English on the theme.
Large groups: Organise group work with differentiated roles.

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