Maggie’s
Activity Pack
Name __________________________
Date ___________________________
What Are Limericks?
How Do You Write A Limerick?
March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day. People wear green. They may talk
about leprechauns. Many people also read and write limericks. A limerick is
a fun, five line poem. No one is really sure where limericks came from, but
we do know that a limerick is fun to read and fun to write!
Read Limericks
We have written a few limericks about Maggie. Watch the cartoon, “You
Must Be Choking” at www.missmaggie.org. Then read these limericks.
There once was a girl named Maggie,
Whose dog was brown and quite shaggy.
The two needed to find
Evidence of a crime
So pollution they put in a baggie!
There once was a dog named Dude
A cute poodle he always pursued
Up a building he went
But couldn’t make the descent
So a helicopter came - he was rescued!
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Find Out About Rhyme in Limericks
What is the pattern of a limerick?
Let’s find out.
Circle the lines that end with the same rhyming word.
Underline the lines that end with a different rhyming word.
There once was an Uncle AG
He’s mysterious we all do agree.
His voice we do hear
But he doesn’t appear.
Why is it his face we can’t see?
Did you circle AG, agree, and see? The words at the end of lines 1,2,
and 5 of a limerick all rhyme.
Did you underline the words hear and appear? The words at the end
of lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
Find Out About Line Length in Limericks
Now let’s look at the length of the five lines in a limerick.
Which two lines are shorter than the other lines?
Circle the two shorter lines in the following limerick.
There once was a dog named Dude
Who loved smells both strong and subdued.
He played and he clowned
Then rolled on the ground.
He came in and was promptly shampooed!
You can see that lines 3 and 4 are shorter in a limerick.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Get Ready to Write Your Own Limerick
Choose three rhyming words from this Word Bank. Circle them.
ache
awake
backache
bake
brake
cake
cheesecake
cupcake
daybreak
earthquake
fake
flake
handshake
headache
Jake
keepsake
lake
make
milk shake
mistake
newsbreak
pancake
quake
rake
rattlesnake
shake
snake
snowflake
steak
take
toothache
wake
Use two of the words to write the first two lines of your limerick in the
box on the last page. Save the other word for the last line of your
limerick.
Choose two words from this Word Bank. Put a box around them. Use these
two rhyming words to write lines 3 and 4.
ballet
hay
bay
highway
birthday
may
clay
neigh
day
Norway
delay
obey
display
okay
essay
pay
fray
play
gray
pray
hallway
sleigh
ray
relay
say
spray
stay
stray
sway
they
today
tray
way
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Write Your Own Limerick!
Now use the words you circled to write lines 1, 2, and 5.
Use the words you put a box around to write lines 3 and 4. Remember, these lines should be shorter than
the other lines.
___________________________’s Limerick
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________________________________
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Dear Colleague,
Dear Colleague,
I have always believed that when asking elementary age children to write poetry, you
need to keep your fingers crossed! That is why I have provided children with a template for
writing this special type of Irish verse and list of possible rhyming words to use. I’m sure
you’ve thought of the many art connections and have your students create various depictions
of any poems they read or even write. One cross-curricular project will bring together those
different thinkers in your classroom. Why not take your current math topic and have children
write poetry to illustrate the concepts of this topic? Adding fractions? Write a poem about it!
Our Maggie’s Archive contains activities showing how to write poems utilizing a variety of
poetic forms. Take a peek and see how many various kinds of poems can be written about
those math chapters. What a way to encourage your math minds to think about poetry and
vice versa!
Happy teaching,
Kathy
Goals:
The “formula” for a limerick is explained. Intermediate students read about the history of this
poetic form. Both primary and intermediate students read several limericks and are given a
word bank. They then compose their own limerick. The activity correlates with the IRA/NCTE
Standard, “Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing
process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of
purposes.”
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.