Nursery Rhymes

If you think about your time in nursery school you’ll remember painting， making things with your hands， listening to stories and learning nursery rhymes—short， simple songs for very young children. Parents and teachers have sung them for centuries： the first ones were written down more than 300 years ago！

Many people believe that they help children learn better. Kids love rhymes， and they learn new words and sounds as they listen again and again. Some rhymes are also fun because they have actions. ‘This Little Piggy’ is a good example. It’s about five little piggies， but in this case， the pigs are the child’s toes！ This one normally ends with a tickle！

This little piggy went to market，

This little piggy stayed at home，

This little piggy had roast beef.

This little piggy had none，

And this little piggy cried wee， wee， wee all the way home.

Other rhymes help children to learn to spell， like ‘Bingo’. The dog’s name is spelled and repeated many times， while the children sing and clap：

There was a farmer had a dog，

And Bingo was his name-o.

Other kinds of nursery rhymes tell stories. ‘Jack and Jill’ is an example：

Jack and Jill

Went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down

And broke his crown，

And Jill came tumbling after.

Jack and Jill aren’t the only ones getting hurt！ Accidents seem to be a common topic：

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！

And other rhymes tell kinder stories：

Mary had a little lamb，

Its fleece （wool） was white as snow;

And everywhere that Mary went

The lamb was sure to go.

Painful or sweet， childhood just wouldn’t be the same without them！

Activity 1

Before you read， decide which word （1-6） goes with which meaning （a-f）.

1. crown 2. nursery 3. pail

4. rhyme 5. tickle 6. tumble

a. a place where young children are taken care of while their parents go to work

b. bucket

c. fall

d. head

e. touch a part of someone’s body with your fingers to make them laugh

f. when the final sounds in different words are the same

Activity 2

Look at the names of nursery rhymes from the text.

a. This Little Piggy b. Bingo c. Jack and Jill

d. Humpty Dumpty e. Mary Had a Little Lamb e.

Which one（s）…

1. practise spelling？

2. are about accidents？

3. end with the child laughing？

4. have animals in them？

5. have rhymes？

Activity 3

English spelling and pronunciation can be very different. Do these words rhyme？ Yes or no？

1. home; come

2. water; daughter

3. ten; again

4. down; own

5. fall; tall

6. laugh; though

7. horse; course

8. gone; one

Activity 4

Write one of the words from the box in each space to complete this nursery rhyme：

wife run （x2） mice （x3） knife life

Three blind 1.______. Three blind 2. ______.

See how they 3. ______. See how they 4. ______.

They all ran after the farmer’s 5. ______，

Who cut off their tails with a carving （cutting） 6. ______，

Did you ever see such a sight in your 7. ______，

As three blind 8. ______？

Activity 5

1. Do you have the same nursery rhymes in your country？

2. What was your favourite nursery rhyme as a child？

Answers

Activity 1 1. d; 2. a; 3. b; 4. f; 5. e; 6. c

Activity 2 1. b; 2. c and d; 3. a; 4. a， b， d and e; 5. b， c， d and e

Activity 3 1. no; 2. yes; 3. yes; 4. no; 5. yes; 6. no; 7. yes; 8. no

Activity 4 1. mice; 2. mice; 3. run; 4. run; 5. wife; 6. knife; 7. life; 8. mice