# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Learn the top 50 nursery rhymes of all time

Lyrics included, so you can sing along with your little ones

Read about the origins of these popular children's rhymes

Plus: More links to articles about YouTube videos for kids

It's a rite of passage for everyone growing up to memorize a dozen or so nursery rhymes along with our siblings and classmate. The list of nursery rhymes we could recite from the top of our heads along with the actions they come with seem very natural to many kids and adults up to today.

These nursery rhymes playlist can be heard in classrooms and kiddie parties all over the world and it adds a little bit of fun into the ambiance with the fun words and clever rhymes.

But have you ever wondered where these nursery song lyrics came from and what they mean? Here's the list of popular nursery rhymes and their origins to add to your stock knowledge:

1. A Wise Old Owl

Meaning/Origin:

The classic nursery rhymes list continues with this next 19 th Century rhyme. This is a more interactive nursery rhyme commonly played by children during their break or free time from school.

Lyrics:

Baa, baa, black sheep,

Have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir,

Three bags full;

One for the master,

And one for the dame,

Who lives down the lane

4. Bingo/Bingo Was His Name-O

5. Bye, Baby Bunting

Meaning/Origin:

The famous nursery rhymes lyrics listed above is the most modern and shortest version to date. The lyrics of the rhyme originated in England during the 1600's where the children were mocking the crow of the rooster.

7. Ding Dong Bell

Lyrics:

Ding, dong, bell,

Pussy's in the well.

Who put her in?

Little Johnny Flynn.

Who pulled her out?

Little Tommy Stout.

Meaning/Origin:

Considered as one of the most popular kids nursery rhymes lyrics this one has a long list of variations. The origins can be traced back to the street of New York City during 1815.

9. Five Little Speckled Frogs

The All Around the Mulberry Bush nursery rhyme lyrics is known in many different names like "Mulberry Bush" or "This is the Way". The first recording of the rhyme is traced back to the mid-19 th Century where it was most popularly used as a children's game.

Some historian believe that the song lyrics may have started at a Women's Prison where the inmates were able to witness the growth of a mulberry during their allotted moonlit walks, but there are no clear evidence that is theory is true.

Today the song is sang while children hold hands in circle and make different actions to go with the lyrics of the song as the verses change.

13. Hey Diddle Diddle

Meaning/Origin:

Just like many in the nursery rhymes list, lyrics are hard to trace when it comes to their origins.

The first two lines of the song can be found on Mother Goose nursery rhymes lyrics back in 1912. The song was first ever recorded in 1939 in New York and has since become a famous and popular nursery rhyme sung across the globe.

The meaning behind the lyrics can be easily interpreted. The song talks of a man who suffered from a head injury and was not able to get back to his daily routine the following day because of his injury.

The method of interpretation is commonly referred to as a "classic description" as the words directly describe the events in the song and there is no need to further analyze the lyrics.

20. Itsy Bitsy Spider

Meaning/Origin:

Yet another nursery rhymes playlist that is speculated to trace its origins in English history and the royal court.

Meaning/Origin:

One popular suggestion for the origin of this song that made it to this nursery rhymes lyrics list is that it pokes fun at King Charles I of England and his wife Henrietta Maria of France.

wagging their tails behind them

Lyrics:

The sheep's in the meadow,

The cow's in the corn.

Under the haystack,

Meaning/Origin:

Much like the many of the nursery rhymes list lyrics this rhyme's precise origins cannot be pinpointed. Many however, believe that it could have been the work of one Dr. Thomas Muffet around the early 1600's for his step daughter Patrice.

Meaning/Origin:

The London Bridge lyrics nursery rhyme which is also called the My Fair Lady nursery rhyme lyrics can be traced back to the 1600's, but the exact origins are still up for debate.

Meaning/Origin:

It may be impossible to trace the true identity of the actual King Cole if there really is such a monarch, but like many nursery rhymes there are theories behind the song.

Meaning/Origin:

The origins of the rhyme are mysterious and unknown much like many of the classic nursery rhymes. In this case the lyrics simply talk about Pease porridge also called Pease pottage in Middle English.

Meanin/Origin:

This nursery rhyme was once a tune used in dance music in the mid-1800's in England before the words were added to the melody.

Meaning/Origin:

A popular classic nursery rhymes lyrics where there is no doubt it is about the English royalty.

The rhyme was first published in 1805 in England and the question this time is which Queen is referred to in this nursery rhyme?

Meaning/Origin:

Another nursery rhyme believed to have a historical origin, but has no viable proof is about the old woman who lived in a shoe.

Meaning/Origin:

One of the most famous nursery rhymes lyrics is the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It's popularity may be attributed to children's fascinations with the stars above them. The lyrics were first recorded in the 19 th-Century.

The tune that accompanies the lyrics is very easy to remember as it is similar to many other nursery rhymes being sung today.

The meaning behind the song emphasizes the love for the stars above, their grace, beauty, and mystery and the fact that they are very unreachable. It encourages children to think beyond the usual and to look higher in the skies. It is a great rhyme to encourage imagination.

50. The Muffin Man

Meaning/Origin:

Drury Lane was an actual lane in Victorian England where many of their food would be delivered right at their doorsteps. The "Muffin Man" was the one who would deliver the "muffins" which was the general term for produce and various other goods.

Our Ultimate List of Popular Nursery Rhymes

There are a lot more nursery rhymes being sung today that have many different origin stories. It is not just limited to the popular ones like the London Bridge nursery rhyme lyrics.

Some may teach valuable lessons and other may just be fun to sing along to.

Whichever may be the case for these nursery rhymes and others like it; they have been a part of our culture for many centuries and will not be lost in time. Sing along with your kids with the knowledge that the words you are singing have been passed on for many generations before you and you are now passing it on to the next generation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 50 Nursery Rhymes (LYRICS, ORIGINS AND MORE)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn the top 50 nursery rhymes of all time Lyrics included, so you can sing along with your little ones Read about the origins of these popular children's rhymes Plus: More links to articles about YouTube videos for kidsIt's a rite of passage for everyone growing up to memorize a dozen or so nursery rhymes ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The ABC Song | Easy Alphabet Song | ​​🌈 Super Simple ABCs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ABC Lullaby | Alphabet Lullaby | The Singing Walrus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Letter Game | Find the Letter A | The Singing Walrus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by Claudia Pesce 353,424 views

But becoming simply literate is not enough. For academic and professional success, you need to learn how to read well. ESL students, in particular, need to develop the reading skills that will enable them to not only comprehend texts in English, but also obtain what they need to deliver a response, whether this is a written/oral reply or an action they must take. These are the essential reading strategies that you should be teaching your students - at any level.

7 Reading Strategies Your ESL Students Must Know

1. Previewing

Previewing is absolutely essential for students to get a sense of what the text is about. Elements that are usually helpful for previewing are newspaper headlines or titles; images or photos; and signal words or format. For example, if the article has words like first, second, third, etc... at the beginning of each paragraph or is a numbered list, students will get the sense that the text lists steps or is a roundup article.

Reading Exercise: Choose a newspaper article with a great headline. Before reading the article, ask students what they think the article will be about, based on the headline.

2. Contextualizing

It is always helpful for students to learn to place the text within a context. Is the news article centered on something that happens everywhere in the world, or just in one specific location? Is this something that affects you, the reader, or other people in the world? Does the main character in the story go through something you can relate to, or something you have no experience in? These are great questions for students to think about as they read.

Reading Exercise: Before reading this text about Education in Britain, discuss the educational system in the country your students are currently in: How many years of grade school are there? How many years of high school? Students read about what it's like to go to school in Britain and compare it to their country.

3. Visualizing

Some students, especially those who are visual learners, need to "see" the information. Can you see the main character in your mind's eye based on the description? Can you picture the contaminated river as described in the news article? Visualizing also involves organizing the information in a visual way, usually through the use of a mind map or other graphic organizer.

Reading Exercise: Have students read a text like By the Water. After the reading, ask students to record the images that come to mind as they read: I can picture the sun shining on the water and the birds flying above ...

4. Asking and Answering Questions

What questions come to mind when you preview an article? How will the main character solve this problem? Students need to come up with questions they would like answered in the text and pay attention to how they are answered.

Reading Exercise: Read a news article or a piece like this one about the Boston Marathon. After reading the title, ask students to come up with three questions they expect the article will answer and then read to see if they find the answers.

5. Summarizing

After the reading, students should be able to summarize what they've read. This may be a short oral summary or a full paragraph. Summarizing includes a very important skill: getting the gist. What was the main point in the story? Summarizing is not retelling everything that happened as it happened, and students need to not only tell the difference, but also learn to give back information in a clear concise manner.

Reading Exercise: Ask the class to read the story of Helen of Troy. Then, ask them to summarize in just one sentence or two what caused the Troyan War.

6. Skimming

Skimming and scanning are usually considered speed-reading skills because they are not used for intensive reading. They are essential skills nonetheless, and students need to know that sometimes intensive reading is not necessary.

Skimming a text involves running your eyes over it quickly to get the main idea. It also allows you to identify which parts of a long text you might want to read more closely. This skill is particularly useful, for example, for Business English students who have to read long reports that are several pages long. By skimming the report, they can still follow the gist and stop when they find something of particular interest to them.

Reading Exercise: Hand out different magazines or newspapers in English, and tell the class they have five minutes to skim one. After they're done skimming, ask them what stories they remember reading.

7. Scanning

Scanning, on the other hand, allows you to quickly search a text for a particular piece of information. Scanning is ideal when students need to find a phone number in a directory, the date of a historical event or the time their train is leaving.

Reading Exercise: Show the class this PowerPoint slide about Jobs. Divide the class into groups and give each group 2-3 questions to answer. You can use the same questions that appear on the right but in a different order. Each group must scan the text to find the information they need to answer the questions.

Sometimes teaching ESL is more than "teaching English".

We must also teach skills and strategies that will help our students succeed in whatever they choose to do.

What other reading skills do you think are useful for ESL students? Share your thoughts below!

P.S. If you enjoyed this article, please help spread it by clicking one of those sharing buttons below. And if you are interested in more, you should follow our Facebook page where we share more about creative, non-boring ways to teach English.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 Essential Reading Strategies Your ESL Students Must Know (and YOU Must Teach)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
No one is born knowing how to read. But becoming simply literate is not enough. For academic and professional success, you need to learn how to read well. ESL students, in particular, need t

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When teaching ESL reading skills to second language learners, the most important concept to convey is that reading, like writing, is a process. Strong readers don't just sit down with a text, read it once, and completely understand it. Whether readers are aware of it or not, they employ techniques like pre-reading and making predictions to connect the particular text they are presently reading with texts they have read before. For ESL students, breaking this process down into distinct steps is an effective way to build reading comprehension.

Pre-read Technique

Getting ready to read is one of the most important parts of the reading process. Situating the text in terms of its genre and audience can help ESL students approach reading with a critical mindset. Before reading the assignment, ask students to think about the following questions to encourage them to construct a context for the reading:

Where did the material come from? Is it an excerpt from a book, a magazine, an online article, or a journal? Knowing where the material comes from tells a great deal about how the piece of writing may be arranged and its purpose. An editorial is intended to persuade readers to believe what the author believes, whereas an article from a scholarly journal is typically written to inform.

Who wrote the article? Do you know anything about the author? What other types of materials has he/she written? How could you find out more about the writer? Knowledge of who the author of the material is allows ESL students to enter into the conversation as active participants in the rhetorical process and not passive observers.

What is the title of the piece? Can you determine the topic of the issue that will be discussed from the title? What else has been written about this topic? What do you already know about the issue at hand? Having ESL students relate to readings through their existing knowledge system will inspire a more personal interaction between the reader and the text.

How many groups of people can you think of that have strong feelings about animals?

What are the feelings of these groups towards animals? How are they similar? How are they different?

What might cause someone to change how they feel about animals?

Judging by the title, what do you think the purpose of this article is?

The article first appeared in People magazine? Who do you think the audience is?

Who are the intended readers? What does the writer know or assume about his/her audience? How does the author address this audience? Who might have a strong opinion about the topic the reading addresses? An understanding of audience allows ESL students a chance to better understand how writing functions to persuade, influence, entertain or inform.

Make Predictions

Instructors will assist student comprehension by constructing questions about the reading for students to answer before they read the assigned text for the first time. Doing this helps students make predictions about the text and encourages critical interaction when they read. For example, if the students will be reading an article on animal rights, you may ask questions that help provide a background on the issue.

Introduce Vocabulary

Did any of your predictions about the text based on the title turn out to be true?

What, if anything, surprised you?

What is the author's purpose or argument? Is he/she trying to persuade, inform, describe, etc?

What kinds of support are provided by the author to make his/her case?

Does the author want the readers to take an action of any kind?

ESL students often struggle to understand new words and phrases. Reading exercises are an ideal way for these students to expand their working vocabularies. Instructors should create a vocabulary list of important or challenging words from the reading to hand out. Students can look up the words in a dictionary and write down the definitions. This exercise encourages ESL students to both learn the meanings of new words and phrases and to apply those meanings to the understanding of the assigned text.

First Reading

Highlight the major points of the writing. Note the thesis statement (the paper's main point) and the other major claims the author makes.

Highlight the evidence and supporting information the author provides in a different color than you used to mark the major points.

Mark up the text! Ask questions and write comments in the margins.

What is the style of the article? Formal? Informal? Funny? Scholarly? Is it effective?

Have the students read through the text one time. Their main purpose during the first reading is to achieve a working understanding of the text. After they finish reading, have them answer questions that connect the earlier steps of the reading process with their working understanding of the text.

Re-Reading

After developing a working understanding of the text, students should look for the author's claims and assertions and determine if he/she backs them up effectively. Also, look for stylistic choices the author makes and analyze them for their effectiveness.

Final Thoughts

The above process of how to teach ESL reading skills can be extended in many different directions depending on the purpose of the assignment, the level of the student population, etc. Students could summarize the reading or respond to it by extending an aspect of the reading they found interesting. Instructors could also assign short answer questions that further encourage critical thinking or use the exercise as a starting point for a larger writing assignment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When teaching ESL reading skills to second language learners, the most important concept to convey is that reading, like writing, is a process. Strong readers don't just sit down with a text, read it once, and completely understand it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
You can find all the stories at https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-stories. Here are some tips for using and exploiting the stories in the classroom.

A. Activities to prepare children for reading

1. Using illustrations
It is always a good idea to exploit pictures to help the child understand and visualise the story. Illustrations can be used to introduce the story, elicit vocabulary, introduce difficult words, and generally excite the interest of the child for the story. Ask learners questions such as 'Who are the people?' 'What are they doing?' 'What is this?' 'What is the story about?' etc. Learners will be introduced to vocabulary, will be better able to understand the text, and will be more engaged in the reading task, because they want to find out if they were right. The stories on LearnEnglish Kids have 'preparation' picture and word matching games with some of the key vocabulary from the story.

2. Pre-teaching vocabulary
Many of the stories on LearnEnglish Kids are related to a lexical theme. You will usually find links to other related exercises on thematic vocabulary which can be taught first. For example, you can find related activities to practise the names of farm animals before you read a story about farm animals. To find related activities browse the A-Z of Topics list on the right of any page, type your topic into the search box at the top of any page or go to the resources page for a more detailed search:
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/resources

3. Introduce the theme
Stories are often related to a topic. It can be a good idea to familiarise learners with the topic before reading, by trying activities related to the topic on the site, by setting a task to find out about the topic (this could even be for homework), or by discussion (in your own language with lower level learners if you like).

4. Input cultural background
Some stories assume a knowledge of cultural norms in the UK, for example, the daily school routine. Children are usually interested in finding out the differences between their own culture and the lives of children in the UK. Some stories have more overt cultural background. If your story mentions typical sights in London you could use a map or guidebook to find out what these are before children read or listen to the story.

B. Activities during reading

1. Use a variety of ways to read
There are many different ways to approach a story. It is quite likely that younger learners will want to read, hear, or listen to the story several times, particularly animated ones. This should not be discouraged as it helps learners to equate oral and written forms which is important for the development of reading skills. In the classroom it is important to vary the kind of reading.

The teacher could use a data projector for a class to listen to/read a story as a whole-class activity

The teacher could read the whole or parts of the story to a class with the text

The learners can read by themselves silently, either on-screen at school or as homework

Some stories can be read as texts with illustrations and then children can watch the movie version, or this order could be reversed

2. Sustaining reading
If the story is very long then it is important to keep the class motivated to read. The teacher could stop at convenient 'cliff-hanger' points and ask the class 'what happens next?' This use of prediction skills makes the learners want to read on to the end of the story to find out if their own idea is correct.

3. Total physical response
With very young or active learners the story can be mimed while the teacher reads and the children listen. A story like 'The snowman' could be used for this. The actions of waking up, running into the garden, building the snowman and the 'melting' are all easy to mime.
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-stories/the-snowman

4. Characters and voices
In stories which have a lot of characters you could ask learners to read the dialogue of the characters. The teacher could read the dialogue in different voices first, or even with funny voices and nonsense words! To extend, the class could rewrite the story as a play which could be performed - perhaps with costumes.

5. Vocabulary help
If a child is reading individually at school or at home they could also use a dictionary (online or printed) as they read, if the learner is at a high enough level to use this independently.

C. Post-reading activities

1. Quick comprehension check
It is always a good idea to do a quick comprehension check when your learners have finished reading the story, or at the end of each page of text. This may take the form of a few 'gist' questions about the text in oral or written form, or asking children for a response e.g. why is this person sad, which character did they like, etc. All LearnEnglish Kids stories have worksheets for follow-up work.

2. Make a poster/illustrate the story
You can use any story as an opportunity for some creative drawing and illustration, perhaps with vocabulary labels in English.

3. Stimulus for writing
Many stories can act as a stimulus for creative writing, depending on level. Younger or low-level learners could use one of the simpler stories as a model for a story of their own. Learners with a higher level of English could write more complex stories, for example, their own story set in a haunted house (Where did they go? What did they see? What happened?). Other ideas for follow-up writing are writing a letter to a character, writing diary entries for a character, or writing extra dialogues between the characters.

4. Role-play/acting out
Interpreting stories as role-play can be as simple or complicated as you like. It could start with miming basic actions, then speaking or improvising dialogue. In the classroom the teacher will need to be organised in advance with moving furniture, providing simple props etc. You could even use facepaints.

D. Fairy tales

Fairy tales are a rich source of motivating learning content for our younger learners. You will find LearnEnglish Kids stories and materials on three very well known fairy tales:

1. Primary and Early Years
You could start your lesson by introducing the story of Goldilocks, which your learners will probably know already. If you can, try to get hold of a big storybook with illustrations. Read or tell the story to your learners, exploiting the visuals and asking questions throughout. Make sure the children understand key words for the story e.g. Goldilocks, bear, porridge, bowl, chair, bed.

Now show your learnerss the story on LearnEnglish Kids. After they have watched the story once or twice you could ask them to do the downloadable worksheet (under the story). Once children are familiar with the story, they could act out a play version of Goldilocks. You can download masks of the three bears and Goldilocks, and you could also collect a few props for use in acting out the story e.g. bowls, spoons, cushions as 'beds'. Depending on the level of your learners, you could ask the children to work in groups of four to practise the dialogue, or do this as a whole-class activity. Find the masks and play here:
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/crafts/goldilocks-play

You could do similar activities with the Jack and the beanstalk story and the Little Red Riding Hood story. You can download finger puppets for the latter here:
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/crafts/little-red-riding-hood-finger-puppets

2. Lower Secondary learners
With learners who are a little more advanced you can exploit their knowledge of universal fairy tales and perhaps some local ones. Begin the lesson by asking the learners which fairy tales they know and write up the names on the board in English. Other well-known fairy tales include Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast.

Ask your learners to tell the basic plot of one of the stories. Write up key vocabulary and characters on the board e.g. prince, castle, ogre, ugly sisters, wicked queen, frog. Your learners could compare the stories - which characters or objects appear most?

Now discuss the typical plot of a fairy story. What usually happens? If you like you could show your learners one of the fairy stories on LearnEnglish Kids. After the vocabulary and story input, as a lead-in to a creative activity, you can use the Story Maker interactive activity. Learners choose all the variables in the story - character, setting etc - but the basic framework of the story stays the same.
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/games/story-maker

Finally you can ask your learners to write their own fairy tale, or a modern fairy story. Ask your learners to think about what would be different if the tale were set in modern-day society. Think of the places, characters, events, etc. In pairs or groups learners could write their modern-day version and illustrate them for display work. Or your class could use them to make a book of modern-day fairy tales.

Updated by the TeachingEnglish team
When you have used some of these ideas, why not come back to this page and leave a comment below to tell us how your class went. Let us know if you have any additional ideas!
Find out more about storytelling with primary learners in our teacher development module Understanding picture books for primary.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You can find all the stories at https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-stories. Here are some tips for using and exploiting the stories in the classroom. A. Activities to prepare children for reading 1. Using illustrations It is always a good idea to exploit pictures to help the child understand and visualise the story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This site helps children learn English through reading short stories. They are free to use as teaching materials or extra homework.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
© British Council
The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).

ICP#: 10044692

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you like reading in English? Reading is a great way to improve your vocabulary and learn new things. We have lots of interesting texts for you to read. Read, play games, print activities and post comments too!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you like listening to and reading stories? Reading stories is a great way to improve your vocabulary and we have lots of great stories for you to watch. Watch stories, print activities and post comments!