Year 1 English: Learning a poem by heart
Part of the Year 1 English poems and rhymes chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Learning a poem by heart
To learn a poem by heart, you say it so many times that you can say it without looking. Learn two lines at a time, then add more lines. Say the poem with a grown-up first, and then on your own.
Read Counting Chicks aloud. Each of the first five lines starts with a number. Count the hen and the chicks in the picture, one row at a time.
Counting ChicksOne little hen sat in the sun.
Two little chicks began to run.
Three little chicks sat on a log.
Four little chicks met a frog.
Five little chicks are tucked in tight.
Mum hen hums, and they sleep all night.
Key ideas
- To learn a poem by heart, say it again and again.
- Learn two lines at a time, then add more.
- Rhyme words help you remember the poem, because each pair sounds alike.
- Say the poem with a grown-up, and then say it on your own.
Key words. A line is one row of words in a poem.
Method. Count down the poem to line 3. Do not count the title.
- Count the lines from the top. Each row of words is one line.1 · 2 · 3
- Find line 3. Line 3 is the row with the number 3.Line 3
- Read the whole line aloud. Say it with a grown-up to check you have the words right.Three little chicks sat on a log.
Check. Say line 3 again and check every word with the poem. ✓
Watch out. Do not count the title as a line. Start counting from the first row of words.
Key words. A line is one row of words in a poem.
Method. Count down the poem to line 4. Do not count the title.
- Count the lines from the top. Each row of words is one line.1 · 2 · 3 · 4
- Find line 4. Line 4 is the row with the number 4.Line 4
- Read the whole line aloud. Say it with a grown-up to check you have the words right.Four little chicks met a frog.
Check. Say line 4 again and check every word with the poem. ✓
Watch out. Do not count the title as a line. Start counting from the first row of words.
Key words. A line is one row of words in a poem.
Method. Count down the poem to line 6. Do not count the title.
- Count the lines from the top. Each row of words is one line.1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6
- Find line 6. Line 6 is the row with the number 6.Line 6
- Read the whole line aloud. Say it with a grown-up to check you have the words right.Mum hen hums, and they sleep all night.
Check. Say line 6 again and check every word with the poem. ✓
Watch out. Do not count the title as a line. Start counting from the first row of words.
Watch out
Watch out: do not try to learn the whole poem in one go. Learn two lines, say them, then learn two more and join them up.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Say one line, and let your child say it back. Then say two lines, and then the whole poem. Hide the book, and let your child say the poem with you. Ask: “What is the next line?” If your child gets stuck, say the last word of the line before, and let them find the rest.
Exercise 9D Learning Counting Chicks by heart
Key words. A line is one row of words in a poem.
Method. Count down the poem to line 1. Do not count the title.
- Count the lines from the top. Each row of words is one line.1
- Find line 1. Line 1 is the row with the number 1.Line 1
- Read the whole line aloud. Say it with a grown-up to check you have the words right.One little hen sat in the sun.
Check. Say line 1 again and check every word with the poem. ✓
Watch out. Do not count the title as a line. Start counting from the first row of words.
Method. Read the line with the gap. Then choose the word that finishes it and rhymes with its partner line.
- Read the line with the gap. The gap is where the last word goes.One little hen sat in the ___.
- Look at the partner line. Its end word is run, so the gap word must rhyme with it.partner end word: run
- Put the word in the gap and read the line. Check that it makes sense.One little hen sat in the sun.
Check. Read the whole poem line again. It rhymes with run. ✓
Watch out. The word must fit the meaning of the line as well as the rhyme.
Method. Read the line with the gap. Then choose the word that finishes it and rhymes with its partner line.
- Read the line with the gap. The gap is where the last word goes.Two little chicks began to ___.
- Look at the partner line. Its end word is sun, so the gap word must rhyme with it.partner end word: sun
- Put the word in the gap and read the line. Check that it makes sense.Two little chicks began to run.
Check. Read the whole poem line again. It rhymes with sun. ✓
Watch out. The word must fit the meaning of the line as well as the rhyme.
Method. Read the line with the gap. Then choose the word that finishes it and rhymes with its partner line.
- Read the line with the gap. The gap is where the last word goes.Three little chicks sat on a ___.
- Look at the partner line. Its end word is frog, so the gap word must rhyme with it.partner end word: frog
- Put the word in the gap and read the line. Check that it makes sense.Three little chicks sat on a log.
Check. Read the whole poem line again. It rhymes with frog. ✓
Watch out. The word must fit the meaning of the line as well as the rhyme.
Method. Read the line with the gap. Then choose the word that finishes it and rhymes with its partner line.
- Read the line with the gap. The gap is where the last word goes.Four little chicks met a ___.
- Look at the partner line. Its end word is log, so the gap word must rhyme with it.partner end word: log
- Put the word in the gap and read the line. Check that it makes sense.Four little chicks met a frog.
Check. Read the whole poem line again. It rhymes with log. ✓
Watch out. The word must fit the meaning of the line as well as the rhyme.
Method. The last word of a line is the word at its very end, just before the full stop or comma.
- Find line 5. Count down the poem to that line.Line 5: Five little chicks are tucked in tight.
- Look at the very end of the line. The last word is the one before the full stop or comma.the end word is tight
- Write the word. tight
Check. Say the whole line aloud. It ends with tight. ✓
Watch out. Do not write the full stop or the comma. Write only the word.
Method. The last word of a line is the word at its very end, just before the full stop or comma.
- Find line 2. Count down the poem to that line.Line 2: Two little chicks began to run.
- Look at the very end of the line. The last word is the one before the full stop or comma.the end word is run
- Write the word. run
Check. Say the whole line aloud. It ends with run. ✓
Watch out. Do not write the full stop or the comma. Write only the word.
Method. The last word of a line is the word at its very end, just before the full stop or comma.
- Find line 4. Count down the poem to that line.Line 4: Four little chicks met a frog.
- Look at the very end of the line. The last word is the one before the full stop or comma.the end word is frog
- Write the word. frog
Check. Say the whole line aloud. It ends with frog. ✓
Watch out. Do not write the full stop or the comma. Write only the word.
Method. The last word of a line is the word at its very end, just before the full stop or comma.
- Find line 6. Count down the poem to that line.Line 6: Mum hen hums, and they sleep all night.
- Look at the very end of the line. The last word is the one before the full stop or comma.the end word is night
- Write the word. night
Check. Say the whole line aloud. It ends with night. ✓
Watch out. Do not write the full stop or the comma. Write only the word.
Method. Look for the number word four, then find the line it is in.
- Read each line. Look for the number words.One, Two, Three, Four, Five
- Find the line with Four. Four is at the start of line 4.Four little chicks met a frog.
- Write the answer. Four little chicks met a frog.
Check. Count down to line 4 to check: 1, 2, 3, 4. ✓
Watch out. Look at the first word of each line to find the number.
(a) Mum hen hums, and they sleep all night. (b) Three little chicks sat on a log. (c) One little hen sat in the sun.
Method. Find each line on the list, then write the letters in the order of the poem.
- Find line c. One little hen sat in the sun is line 1.c = line 1
- Find line b. Three little chicks sat on a log is line 3.b = line 3
- Find line a. Mum hen hums, and they sleep all night is line 6.a = line 6
- Write the letters in order. Put them in the order of the line numbers: 1, 3 and 6.c, b, a
Check. Read the lines in the order c, b, a. They go from the start of the poem to the end. ✓
Watch out. Check the line numbers, not the order the lines are written in on the list.
Method. Count the lines, then compare with what Mia said.
- Count the lines. Count each row of words.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Compare with Mia. Five is not six.6 is not 5
- Write the answer. No. It has 6 lines.
Check. The lines make 3 pairs that rhyme: sun and run, log and frog, tight and night. ✓
Watch out. Count the lines carefully. Each pair of lines rhymes.
Method. Think about how the rhyme sounds when you say the lines.
- Listen to the first pair. Lines 1 and 2 end with the same sound.sun, run
- Think about remembering. A sound we know helps us remember what comes next.run goes with sun
- Write the answer. Rhyming lines sound alike, so the sound helps us remember them in pairs.
Check. Say lines 1 and 2 aloud. The rhyme helps you remember them together. ✓
Watch out. Give a reason about the sound, not only that the poem is short.
Method. Think about how many times a poem has to be said to be learned.
- Think about how many times. You remember a poem by saying it again and again.many times
- Think about the lines. Learning two lines at a time helps you remember them.two lines at a time
- Write the answer. No. Say it many times and learn it in small parts.
Check. Say two lines, then say them again with the next two. ✓
Watch out. Learning a poem takes time. Say it again tomorrow too.