Text types: Texts for fun & leisure

Poems & rhymes Back

Some nursery rhymes

Nursery rhymes have strong rhythms and appeal to very young children. (They are often set to music). Not all will be appropriate for students at this level, so you should make yourself familiar with a wide range and decide which ones you think your students will like. Nursery rhymes are very short, so you can develop a routine of reading one a day with students.

Some of these rhymes can be used to introduce or revise number words. For more information, see Grammar: Word classes: Number words: Overview

Below is a small selection. For more examples of nursery rhymes which are usually sung, see the menu on the left: Songs.

You might also like to visit the following websites:

http://www.hkedcity.net/english/fun-and-games/poetry/ (Poetry for children)
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/dreamhouse/nursery/sources.html (The Mother Goose Page, very useful for nursery rhymes)

Humpty Dumpty Sound clip

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king's horses and all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again. 

Hickory, dickory, dock Sound clip

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock. 

Thirty days hath September Sound clip

Thirty days hath September, 
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone,
Which has but twenty-eight days clear
And twenty-nine in each leap year.

Five little rabbits Sound clip

Five little rabbits sat under a tree.
The first one said, "What can I see?"
The second one said, "A man with a gun."
The third one said, "Quick, let's run!"
The fourth one said, "Let's hide in the shade!"
The fifth one said, "I'm not afraid!"
"Bang!" went the gun and missed every one.

Five little ducks Sound clip

Five little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck said, "Quack quack quack quack."
But only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck said, "Quack quack quack quack."
But only three little ducks came back.   etc

Ten fat sausages Sound clip

Ten fat sausages sizzling in the pan.
Ten fat sausages sizzling in the pan.
One went pop and one went bang.
That left eight fat sausages sizzling in the pan.

Eight fat sausages sizzling in the pan.
Eight fat sausages sizzling in the pan.
One went pop and one went bang.
That left six fat sausages sizzling in the pan.   etc

One, two, buckle my shoe Sound clip

One, two,
Buckle my shoe.
Three, four,
Knock on the door.
Five, six,
Pick up sticks.
Seven, eight,
Lay them straight.
Nine, ten,
A big fat hen.

Tell me more!

Why should students read poems?
Different types of poems
Helping students to read and recite poems
Helping students to write poems


Sample texts

Some nursery rhymes
Counting out and skipping rhymes
Tongue twisters
Action rhymes
Mike Murphy's Hong Kong poems

Back


To give us feedback about this section, click here or on the Comment button at the top of the screen.

If you have any questions about this section, visit the Language Corner.

If you have any questions or suggestions about how to teach this section, send a message to the Teaching Corner.