Poems

POEMS

The Little Scarecrow

I'm a little scarecrow

raggedy and worn

I wear a hat

and my shirt is torn

When the crows fly here

I wave and shout

"Away from my garden!

Now, get out!"

Poems are a good tool to approach English to young learners. Through them we can practice speaking and listening as this resources emphasizes the importance of intonation, rhythm and pronunciation. Poems can cover a great amount of topics and forms and it can help to widen children's imagination, even though poems for the youngest learners should be focused on familiar topics such as the family, the weather, the animals, the seasons, the emotions... It is still a very creative form and that will undoubtedly help children build their imagination.

Today the teacher farted.
It was an awful smell.
It was just like a rotting egg,
Straight from the depths of hell!

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/today-the-teacher-farted

Today the teacher farted.
It was an awful smell.
It was just like a rotting egg,
Straight from the depths of hell!

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/today-the-teacher-farted

Today the teacher farted.
It was an awful smell.
It was just like a rotting egg,
Straight from the depths of hell!

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/today-the-teacher-farted

Today the teacher farted.
It was an awful smell.
It was just like a rotting egg,
Straight from the depths of hell!

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/today-the-teacher-farted

I own a big fat cat-
The fattest for miles around.
Wherever there's lots of food,
That's where he'll be found.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/children/funny/

 I own a big fat cat-

The fattest in miles around

Wherever there's lots of food

That's where he'll be found

To introduce poems for the first time, it's a good a idea to start reciting to the children some fun, short poems and let them react to them. They will enjoy them and understand them, and some humour always helps learning. This way, children will begin to get familiar with the melodic rhythm of poetry and will start enjoying the way it sounds. 

It is always recommendable to add some visual support or use our body and facial expression to help convey the meaning.

Internet offers many sites where we can find a big amount of children poetry. 

LIMERICKS

A limerick is a short, silly poem with five lines. They are normally funny and don't make much sense, but they are easy to learn and have a particular rhythm that makes them easy to learn. 

Limericks became popular thanks to Edward Lear who wrote the Book of Nonsense and have now become part of English-speakers popular culture.  

The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 8 or 9).
The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 5 or 6)
Limericks often start with the line "There once was a..." or "There was a..."