It’s always fun to celebrate holidays with themed games or activities, to add that little bit of extra sparkle to your lessons. Since Paddy’s day is coming up I knew I had to create something really fun for you.
There are no leprechauns in this St. Patrick’s Day music game though. (Sorry to disappoint!) What I’ve gone for instead is some genuinely Irish landmarks from around Dublin.
I love my little city and I hope this will help start some chats in your studio about what Ireland is like and what it’s known for.
It’s also significant that the game starts and ends in a park! We have a lot of green spaces here, even in our cities, and it’s one of my favourite things about my country.
I’ve only put one Irish phrase on the board: Áras an Uachtaráin. This essentially means “the president’s house” but we would never say this in English. As far as Irish goes, this is a relatively easy one to pronounce (trust me, this is surprisingly phonetic for Irish!) but if you want some help it would be something like: “Ar-us an ook-ter-awn”.
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How to Play
- Each player places a game token in St. Stephen’s Green.
- Players take turns to roll the die and move forward that many shamrocks/coins on the path.
- If a player lands on a shamrock they must draw a shamrock card and try to name the note on the back.
- If they are correct they keep the card.
- If they are incorrect they move back one space on the path.
- If a player lands on a coin they must draw a coin card and try to name or explain the term/symbol on the back.
- If they are correct they keep the card.
- If they are incorrect they move back one space on the path.
- When a player collects three shamrocks or one gold coin, they may trade the cards (returning them to the bottom of the pile) for an extra roll of the die.
- The winner is the first to reach Phoenix Park.
Assembly
To assemble this game:
- Print out the game board (pages 3-6). Trim along the dotted lines and tape the board pieces together.
- Print out the game cards (pages 7-18) double-sided. Cut along the dotted lines and laminate if desired.
- You will also need a game counter (button, eraser, small toy, etc.) for each player and a die.
Learning Objectives
The objective of Journey to Phoenix Park is to practice note naming and music signs and symbols at the late beginner level. They might even learn something about Ireland at the same time!
- Theory Concepts Covered: Note names & music terms
- Student Level: Late beginner
- Activity type: Board game
- Number of players: 2-6 players
- Seasonal: Not season specific
Download the Game
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Do your students have questions about the landmarks on this board?
I’d be happy to help you answer them. Write in the comments or in the Facebook group to let me know how you get on with this St. Patrick’s Day music game.
How fun! Thanks for sharing. I started my career with an internship with the Irish embassy. I had a fantastic time working with the Irish and even made a trip or 2 to Dublin. What a great fun way to combine my 2 world 🙂 Thank you!
What a nice connection! 🙂
My students love this game! I teach voice and general music but the game is great for my studio; we love that it is more complex than some other music theory games, dealing with multiple levels of theory while still being fun. We will be playing it long after St. Patrick’s Day!
Woohoo! Any day is a good day to take a tour of Dublin in my opinion. 😀