RATTY WRITING

Slopy loops,

O’s like hoops,

b’s like d’s,

a’s like e’s,

are they m’s?

are they n’s?

c that e?

no, it’s c,

lots of blots,

lots of dots —

what a scrawl,

can’t read at all!

Teaching tip:

Ask students to bring cuttings of spring flowers.

Then invite the class to sing and clap to the tune of

“A-weema-weh… The lion sleeps tonight”.

The Lily Sleeps Tonight

A-daffo–dil, a-daffo–dil, a-daffo-dil, a-daffo-dil

A-dah-li-a, a-dah-li-a, a-dah-li-a, a-dah-li-a

A-hya–cinth, a-hya-cinth, a-hya-cinth, a-hya-cinth

A-butter-cup, a-butter-cup, a–butter-cup, a-butter-cup

In the garden, the mighty garden

The lily sleeps tonight

In the garden, the quiet garden

Its bloom is a delight

Ca–me–lli–as, ca–me–lli–as, ca–me–lli–as, ca–me–lli–as

Ra–nun–cu–lus, ra–nun–cu–lus, ra–nun–cu–lus, ra–nun–cu–lus

A-tulip-too, a-tulip-too, a–tulip-too, a-tulip-too

A-daffo–dil, a-daffo–dil, a-daffo-dil, a-daffo-dil…

A mockery of crockery

“Hey diddle diddle,”

Said the cat to the fiddle,

“The dish ran away with the spoon.”

The fiddle said, “Yo!

“That spoon had to go,

And the dish wasn’t round like the moon.”

“Hey diddle diddle,”

Said the cat to the fiddle,

“What are we going to do?”

The fiddle said, “Man,

“Eat with your hand,

“That dish and spoon belonged in a zoo.”

Make reading your secret power

Wimpy Kid and Winnie the Pooh,

Harry Potter, Peter Rabbit,

Ranger’s Apprentice and Dr Who

All give you the reading habit.

The words form pictures in your mind —

Just read a book and find out how!

You will never get left behind

When reading’s your secret power!

Dizzy Disney

The Lion King got Tangled

in Cinderella’s hair,

while Pinocchio’s long nose

tripped Mulan on the stair.

Beauty and the Beast came down

to see what was the fuss,

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

said, “please do not blame us!”

Aladdin called for silence,

The Little Mermaid cried,

Sleeping Beauty couldn’t sleep,

but Pocahontas tried.

Bambi ran Into the Woods

and hid behind a log,

and Dumbo was Frozen when

The Princess kissed a Frog.

The rat’s drum

A rat bought a drum,

A very nice drum,

And played it down in the drain.

Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat,

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

 

He played on that drum,

That very nice drum,

Until it started to rain.

Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat,

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

 

The drain filled up fast,

The water surged past,

And washed everything away.

That was the end, that was the end,

That was the end of the rat-a-tat-tat.

 

FROST IN OZ

I see icicles everywhere —

On my bike and on the stair.

Down on the gate and on the grass,

Our chooks are giving eggs a pass.

I see icicles hither and yon,

I see them hanging on Uncle Ron,

On the dunny and on the ’roo,

And on my mother’s washing too.

I reckon this year the frost is worse,

With icicles on the local hearse.

I’ve never seen this kind of dew —

What’s Australia coming to?