LISTENING, SPEAKING & WRITING: A nursery rhyme

HUMPTY DUMPTY
Elementary tasks

1.

Listen to the song (no text)

2.

Answer the questions:

-

Who is the song about?

Where was he at the beginning of the song? Tick the best answer ().

a)

In a wood

b)

In his house

c)

Sitting on a wall

d)

In a friends house

What happened to him? Tick.

a)

He had an accident.

b)

He helped the kings horses

c)

He never recovered (herstelde).

d)

He helped somebody who had a fall.

Listen to the song again with the help of the following word list (=
called a gloss or glossary):
1

a chimney: een schoosteen

2 a buckle: een gesp

3 the roofs: het meervoud van a roof: een dak

4 hooves: meervoud van a hoof: een paardenhoef
Note: hooves is een onregelmatig meervoud; normaal wordt het
meervoud in het Engels gevormd door woord+s

Which of the following words are mentioned in the text of the song?
Tick.

3.

a)

Roofs

b)

Shoes

c)

Bucks

d)

Generals

e)

Boots

f)

Castles

g)

The king

You are now given the text. Look at it and complete and correct all
your answers.

Basic tasks

1.

Listen to the song (no text)

2.

Answer the questions:

-

Who is the song about?

Where was he at the beginning of the song? Tick the best answer ().

3.

a)

In a wood

b)

In his house

c)

Sitting on a wall

d)

In a friends house

What happened to him? Tick.

a)

He had an accident.

b)

He helped the kings horses

c)

He never recovered (herstelde).

d)

He helped somebody who had a fall.

Listen to the song again. Which of the following words are mentioned
in the text of the song? Tick.

h)

Roofs

i)

Shoes

j)

Chimneys

k)

Bucks

l)

Horses

m)

Generals

n)

Boots

o)

A soldier

p)

Castles

q)

The king

4.

Now with the help of a dictionary, match the following words with
their definitions. Then fill the grid by putting the right letter in each
of the gaps.

1.

A wide pipe on top of a house that allows smoke to go out.

2.

A metal used to fasten a belt.

3.

The top of a house, which protects it from rain, etc.

4.

The foot of a horse.

a)

A roof

b)

A chimney

c)

A buckle

d)

A hoof
1

5.

Listen to the song again and fill the gaps with the missing words.

Humpty Dumpty
Sat on a .......
Humpty Dumpty
Had a great fall;
All the ................horses
And all the kings men,
Couldn't put Humpty
.........................again.
Humpty Dumpty
Sat on the ground,
Humpty Dumpty
Looked all around;
Gone were the .......................
Gone were the .......................
All he could see
Were .........................and ..........................
Poor old Humpty, Poor old Humpty Dumpty, Poor old Humpty Dumpty
,
Humpty Dumpty
Counted to ten,
Humpty Dumpty
Got up again;
All the king's horses
And all ....................................
Were happy that Humptys together again.
6.

Use a dictionary to complete and correct your answer.

7.

Check your answers with the help of the text.

Extra tasks UITBREIDING

1

The text is written in the past. Without looking at the text, could you
re-write the following sentences in the past:
-

We are very happy with your present.

.............................................................................

I can use my mobile for my project.

............................................................................

They always look nice.

............................................................................

I sit at my desk in the classroom.

...............................................................

They look out for their mum to arrive.

This text is a type of NURSERY RHYME. Look it up in an online

monolingual dictionary and find at least 3 typical features (=
kenmerken) of a nursery rhyme.

Extra + tasks

1.

The past tense of a regular (regelmatig) verb is formed with:

The infinitive + -ed
e.g. I work hard I worked hard.

But there are many irregular (onregelmatige) verbs. They follow no

rules. You will find them at them of your book (p..)
Just a few examples:
I go to Switzerland every year I went to Switzerland every year.
We see our parents on Sundays. We saw our parents on Sundays.

2.

Underline all the regular and irregular verbs in the text. Also add their
infinitive.
e.g. had to have

3.

Find at least two more examples of a nursery rhyme.

Humpty Dumpty
Sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty
Had a great fall;
All the king's horses
And all the kings men,
Couldn't put Humpty
Together again.

Humpty Dumpty
Sat on the ground,
Humpty Dumpty
Looked all around;
Gone were the chimneys,
Gone were the roofs,
All he could see
Were buckles and hooves.
Poor old Humpty, Poor old Humpty Dumpty,
Poor old Humpty, Poor old Humpty,
Humpty Dumpty
Counted to ten,
Humpty Dumpty
Got up again;
All the king's horses
And all the kings men,
Were happy that Humptys together again.