A Guide To Choosing The Best English Poems For Recitation
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.”
I have a strange connection with this nursery rhyme. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star may have been published way back in 1806. However, when I sang this in front of hundreds of parents in 1987 as part of a class recital – complete with actions, music, and my tiny hands clasped tightly behind my back – I knew poetry recitation was something I wanted to keep doing and exploring.
Image Courtesy: Wikipediacommons
Simple, easy rhymes like the Twinklw Twinkle Little Star have been taught in schools and sung by generations of kids. The first lessons taught in school are set to rhymes such as the clean up song, the good morning song, or even the magic words song.
Studies show that children learn and remember simple songs and words that rhyme. This is a great way to get younger kids to learn new lessons. When words are set to a tune and reinforced it helps them learn the lesson faster. The phonological awareness rhyming words create also helps them later on to read, write, and spell.
When we think of nursery rhymes we immediately associate them with kindergarten children or even toddlers. However, a nursery rhyme in its most basic form is a poem. So, what is it about simple English poems for kids that makes them our fall back option?
Take this rhyme for example. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has been used by generations of parents to make their child smile. It is a lullaby, the perfect rhyme for a recital for a kindergarten class and maybe even the first step for a child into the world of poetry.
Nursery rhymes combine the wonderful world of fantastical stories with easy to grasp music and make it easy for younger kids to learn and listen to the sounds of language. The rhymes in these poems help kids learn them really quickly.
Nursery Rhymes for School Recitation
Apart from introducing children to poetry and phonetic sounds, nursery rhymes lend themselves well to school recitations too. Simple English poems, known or unknown, that talk of everyday events or of fantastical adventures are all part of choosing the perfect nursery rhyme for school recitation programmes.
Keeping this in mind, I’ve is a curated list of rhymes to choose from.
English Poems for Recitation for Kindergarteners
1. Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey, diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
2. A Sailor Went To Sea
A sailor went to sea, sea, sea
To see what he could see, see, see
But all that he could see, see, see
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea!
A sailor went to knee, knee, knee
To see what he could knee, knee, knee
But all that he could knee, knee, knee
Was the bottom of the deep blue knee, knee, knee!
Sea, sea, sea
A sailor went to chop, chop, chop
To see what he could chop, chop, chop
But all that he could chop, chop, chop
Was the bottom of the deep blue chop, chop, chop!
Knee, knee, knee
Sea, sea, sea
3. Monday’s Child
Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go.
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath Day,
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.
Some other really famous nursery rhymes for kids which work well for recitation include – Baa Baa Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall, Jack And Jill, If you are happy and you know it, and Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Short Rhyming Poems for Recitation
The key to choosing poems for children at this age would be to keep it short and exciting. They might easily get bored with a poem that is too verbose and longwinded. But one that is catchy, funny, and short is sure to keep them entertained and wanting for more! Here are a few that work perfectly as short poems for recitation.
1. There Was An Old Woman
Image Courtesy: Mamalisa.com
Tossed up in a basket,
Seventeen times as high as the moon,
And where she was going,
I could not but ask it,
For in her hand she carried a broom.
“Old woman, old woman, old woman,” quoth I,
“Oh whither, oh whither, oh whither so high?”
“To sweep the cobwebs off the sky!”
“May I go with you?”
“Aye, by and by.”
2. Lady Who Swallowed A Fly
Image Courtesy: Smithosonian Asian Pacific American Center
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly;
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she’ll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider;
that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly – Perhaps she’ll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly – Perhaps she’ll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat;
Imagine that! She swallowed a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly – Perhaps she’ll die!
3. This Is Just Going To Hurt A Little Bit, By Ogden Nash (Excerpt)
One thing I like less than most things is sitting in a dentist chair with
my mouth wide open.
And that I will never have to do it again is a hope that I am against hope hopen.
Because some tortures are physical and some are mental,
But the one that is both is dental.
It is hard to be self-possessed
With your jaw digging into your chest.
So hard to retain your calm
When your fingernails are making serious alterations in your life line
or love line or some other important line in your palm;
So hard to give your usual effect of cheery benignity
When you know your position is one of the two or three in life
most lacking in dignity.
Classic Poems For English Recitation
1. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud By William Wordsworth
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
2. The Tyger By William Blake
Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water’d heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
3. Turn Off the TV! By Bruce Lansky
My father gets quite mad at me;
My mother gets upset—
When they catch me watching
Our new television set.
My father yells, “Turn that thing off!”
Mom says, “It’s time to study.”
I’d rather watch my favorite TV show
With my best buddy.
I sneak down after homework
And turn the set on low.
But when she sees me watching it,
My mother yells out, “No!”
Dad says, “If you don’t turn it off,
I’ll hang it from a tree!”
I rather doubt he’ll do it,
’cause he watches more than me.
He watches sports all weekend,
And weekday evenings too,
While munching chips and pretzels—
The room looks like a zoo.
So if he ever got the nerve
To hang it from a tree,
He’d spend a lot of time up there—
Watching it with me.
English Funny Poems For Recitation
As children grow older they tend to out grow simple nursery rhymes and crave something more exciting. This is a perfect time to play to their developing sense of humour and choose funny poems. To keep their interest going choose something that combines silly verse and humour – like Dr Seuss, Sandra Boynton and Julia Donaldson.
1. Oh The Places You Will Go by Dr Seuss (Excerpt)
Image Courtesy: Flicker.com
Dr Seuss books are a treasure trove for kids just learning to read. They even work perfectly for bedtime stories. Written almost entirely in rhyme, these books have been read and enjoyed by generations of kids. The Cat in the Hat, Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, and Green Eggs and Ham are some of his most popular works.
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
2. But Not The Hippopotamus, By Sandra Boynton (Excerpt)
Sandra Boynton is an American author and illustrator who has many bestselling children’s books to her name. She is well known for her catchy rhyme scheme and the most funny illustrations of animals that have a starring role in her books. Some of her books like ‘The Going to Bed Book’ teach children about their daily routine but in rhyme so it is easy to remember.
A hog and a frog cavort in the bog
But not the hippopotamus.
A cat and two rats are trying on hats
But not the hippopotamus.
A moose and a goose together have juice
But not the hippopotamus.
A bear and a hare have been to a fair
But not the hippopotamus.
3. Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson (Excerpt)
Image Courtesy: Tallstories.org.uk
Who doesn’t love Julia Donaldson? Her books and quirky characters have delighted children. Her words set in easy to recite rhyme are perfect for recitation by grade schoolers. Julia’s popular books ‘Room on the Broom’ and ‘A Squash and A Squeeze’ use rhymes similar to her smash hit publication Gruffalo.
A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood.
A fox saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good.
“Where are you going to, little brown mouse?
Come and have lunch in my underground house.”
“It’s terribly kind of you, Fox, but no –
I’m going to have lunch with a gruffalo.”
“A gruffalo? What’s a gruffalo?”
“A gruffalo! Why, didn’t you know?
He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws,
and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.”
“Where are you meeting him?”
“Here, by these rocks,
And his favourite food is roasted fox.”
4. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (Excerpt)
Image Courtesy: Barnesandnoble
Goodnight Moon is an evergreen classic published in 1947 and a must have in every child’s first bookshelf. The rhythm of the book is perfect for an end of the day read and literally lulls a child to sleep. Children will love the simple musical tone and even begin reciting the book.
In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of
The cow jumping over the moon
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs
And two little kittens And a pair of mittens
And a little toy house and a young mouse
And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
And a quiet old lady who was whispering, “hush”
Interested in exploring some more? Why not delve into the wonderfully, whacky world of Shel Silverstein? The author of the very popular children’s story, “The Giving Tree” is well known for his funny and irreverent poems. “Sick” and “The Loser”, two perfect poems for recitation are from his collection “Where the Sidewalk Ends”.
Who doesn’t love Winnie The Pooh? A.A. Milne, the author of that very popular series is also well known for the poems he wrote for children. “Now we are Six”, “Waiting at the Window” are some of his best known poems for recitation. There are many more poems to choose from his poetry collections, Now we are Six and When We Were Very Young.
Books Written in Rhyme for Kids
If you have enjoyed reading through this varied selection of English poems for kids and are still thirsting for more, then here is a wide range of books written in rhyme you’re your child will surely love. Find them all on GetLitt! and get reading today!
1. The Right Kind of Dog by author Adil Jussawalla
This collection of poetry may not be funny or rib-tickling like most poems for kids are, but it definitely will make you think. Thought provoking and brilliantly written about everyday things that young people go through. This collection by well known poet Adil Jussawalla is a must read.
Read The Right Kid of Dog HERE
2. Mongol Stole Pongol by author Abhi Krish
What can you expect a grumpy monster, who hates anything that is bright and colourful and happy, to do when Tamil Nadu’s famous festival Pongal rolls around? Mongal plans to steal the sun! What? What happens next?
Read Mongol Stoe Pongol HERE
3. The Zoo Around You by authors Katie Bagli and Medha S Rajadhyaksha
How would it be to live in a zoo? Imagine you living with animals all around you. Now imagine there are no animals left anymore, how does that make you feel? This collection of poems not only makes you long to go visit your local zoo but also makes you aware of the zoo living around you, in your very house!
Read The Zoo Around You HERE.
Loving Katie Bagli’s work? Read an exclusive interview with Katie Bagli right here!
4. On The Wild Side by author Katie Bagli
What a wonderful book to introduce children to the wonders of the animal world! This exciting book of poems does just that and takes kids through the animal world – hermit crabs, whales, ants, owls and many more – with the help of rhyming verse to keep their interest going!
Read On The Wild Side HERE
5. Tara’s Elephant by author CG Salamander
How do you hide an elephant in your house? Tara tries and tries but realises that she has made a friend for life and got what she always wanted! This is a hilarious book about a little girl who longs for a pet and finds herself one, albeit a rather large one!
Read Tara’s Elephant HERE
6. Big Bad Bull by author Karishma Mahbubani
For how long can the big, bad bull be a bully? What happens when Azgul the mean bully meets his match with a crow? You’ll have to read to find out what happens when a village works together to stand up to a bully!
Read Big Bad Bull HERE
7. Sit Still by author Karishma Mahbubani
Watching a fidgety, restless child is quite a workout in itself, isn’t it? This story with its very evocative illustrations talks about Viji who simply can’t sit still, try as she might! What makes her finally settle down?
Read Sit Still HERE
Watch Storytelling expert Deepa Kiran read from the book Sit Still HERE!
Final Verdict: Poems For Kids Are Awesome!!
Rhymes and books with a rhyme scheme never go out of style and they are perfect to start a child off on their lifelong love for reading. Start stocking them in your baby’s first library and watch as the child grows to love them.
Remember to role play and use different and interesting voices when you are reading characters in a rhyme. You could sing them to tunes of very common nursery rhymes, this makes recalling poems and rhymes very easy.
We hope you enjoyed our recommendations and if you want to know more click to read all about books that will help introduce the world of poetry to your kids.
Many of thebooks mentioned here are available to read on GetLitt, so subscribe today and get access to over 200 children’s books!
Happy Reading!
