Luck of the Irish Game

Luck of the Irish: Math & History FREE Resources “California Gold Rush”

There are many ideas as to where the phrase “Luck of the Irish” originated. During the California Gold Rush there were many successful Irish miners. When they found their “pot of gold,” Americans called it “The Luck of the Irish.” Meaning that the Irish miners were lucky, and this is why they found gold, not because of their hard work. This is an interesting story and helps children relate to history in a fun way. This post has several links to videos we recommend watching before sharing this game with your children. When they have questions and their interest is piqued, you will be equipped with some cool technology to help elevate their curiosity.

This post was originally created for St. Patrick’s Day. The lesson planning ideas can be used with any St. Patrick’s Day, Gold Rush, or Irish-American study.

Online Videos

Technology in the classroom is important and these videos are introductory to the California Gold Rush.

California Gold Rush Cartoon 1849

The California Gold Rush is a short video with a cartoon overview and is a little over two minutes in length.

Gold Rush Promo for Kids

Next, is a short clip from Answers VBS YouTube Channel. I adore this cute little video about the curiosity of a young child.

Be a Rock Detective

This last video recommendation is one of my favorite YouTube Channels for kids called SciShow Kids. This episode is about rocks. It will give a general introduction to the three forms of rocks, in a very entertaining and kid friendly presentation; “Be a Rock Detective!”

I thought I would add a couple of tidbits about gold. Gold is soft, easy to scratch, and is heavy. On the periodic table it is represented as “Au” because of the Latin origin “aurum”. Gold is categorized as metamorphic and according to minerals.net metamorphic rock is described as an “environment where minerals are secondary in origin forming from alteration through heat and pressure.”

Playing the Game

Materials

• 15 Rocks – 8 yellow & 7 green
• Container
• Sand
• 2 Spoons

Directions

1. Bury all the rocks in the sand.
2. Take turns using the spoons to mine one rock at a time.
3. When all rocks have been mined players add their points.
4. The player with the most points wins and says, “Luck of the Irish!”

Key:

• Yellow rocks = 2 points
• Green rocks = 1 point

Alternate: 

If you don’t have sand, this game can be played by putting rocks in a durable bag. Take turns pulling rocks out of the bag, no peeking!

Online Books

Arnold and Louis Gold Rush

After your students have played the “Luck of the Irish” game check out this fun fictional story about two characters who embark on a modern day treasure hunt and discover an old Gold Rush mine. The moral of the story is about being honest and having common decency to hold true to one’s word. This online reading is from our friend the Storyteller over at Kid Time Story Time.

This game is one of the items included in our full digital download and free sample version. This packet includes Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, History, Art, and XTRA cool stuff. Some of the cool stuff are games, puzzles and no-prep worksheets. We had a great time creating this companion packet and look forward to hearing how much fun your kids had playing “The Luck of the Irish!” Thank you, see you soon!

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