Text types: Texts for fun & leisure

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Miss Polly had a dolly 

Miss Polly had a dolly
Who was sick, sick, sick.
So she called for the doctor
To come quick, quick, quick.
The doctor came
With his bag and his hat,
And he knocked on the door
With a rat-a-tat-tat.

He looked at the dolly
And he shook his head.
Then he said, 'Miss Polly
Put her straight to bed.'
He wrote on a paper
For a pill, pill, pill.
'I'll be back in the morning
With my bill, bill, bill.'

Click here if you would like to hear this song. Sound clip  


Teaching suggestions

You can encourage the students to mime the actions while they sing this song. Example

You can also introduce vocabulary related to health and sickness eg, a broken leg, a cough, a headache, a burnt arm, a fever, a sore throat, a cold, the flu, a stomachache. Start by asking students what they think is the matter with Miss Polly's dolly. Students can mime the ailments if they do not know the English words for them. You might find it useful to use flashcards to elicit/teach vocabulary here. Example

For a PrimeTeach teaching activity related to this song, see:

A visit to the doctor

Songs

Why should we use songs in the English classroom?

Sample songs

If you're happy and you know it
This is the way we wash our hands
Ten green bottles hanging on the wall
Miss Polly had a dolly
The wheels on the bus
London's burning
Are you sleeping? (Frère Jacques)
My grandfather's clock
Three blind mice
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
Old Macdonald had a farm
The alphabet song
Mary had a little lamb
London bridge is falling down
10 little Indians
Que sera, sera (whatever will be, will be)
Did you ever see a lassie?
I know an old lady

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