Download Printable Book

THE KISS Book
of
Nursery Rhymes
A
A LLeevveell TTw
woo,, K
KIIS
SS
SG
Grraam
mm
maarr W
Woorrkkbbooookk
© Dr. Ed Vavra
Mar 7, 2006
2
IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn..............................................................................................................................................................................................33
A
Annaallyyssiiss K
Keeyyss ......................................................................................................................................................................................44
Cock-Crow (An Illustration for Teachers) ......................................................... 4
The Boy in the Barn (Simple S/V Patterns) ....................................................... 5
Humpty Dumpty (Very Basic) ............................................................................ 5
Betty Blue (S/V/(IO) DO) ..................................................................................... 5
Jack Sprat (Basic S/V/DO) ................................................................................. 6
The Tarts (S/V/DO) .............................................................................................. 6
The Crooked Sixpence (Mixed Complements) ................................................. 7
The Robin (Compounding) ................................................................................ 8
Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy, and Bess (Compounding)........................................... 8
Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy, and Bess (Punctuation) .................................................................... 9
Fingers and Toes (A Lesson in Punctuation) ................................................... 9
Little Boy Blue (Direct Address & Contractions) ............................................. 9
Rain (Direct Address, NuA, and Understood "You") ..................................... 10
To Market (The "To" Problem) ......................................................................... 10
A Robin and a Robin's Son (The "To" Problem) ............................................ 11
The Clever Hen (A Lesson in Verb Tenses).................................................... 11
TThhee E
Exxeerrcciisseess:: ................................................................................................................................................................................1122
Cock-Crow ......................................................................................................... 13
The Boy in the Barn .......................................................................................... 14
Humpty Dumpty ................................................................................................ 15
Betty Blue .......................................................................................................... 16
Jack Sprat ......................................................................................................... 17
The Tarts ........................................................................................................... 18
The Crooked Sixpence ..................................................................................... 19
The Robin .......................................................................................................... 20
Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy, and Bess .................................................................... 21
An Exercise in Capitalization and Punctuation .................................................................... 22
Fingers and Toes .............................................................................................. 23
Little Boy Blue .................................................................................................. 24
Rain .................................................................................................................... 25
To Market........................................................................................................... 26
A Robin and a Robin's Son .............................................................................. 27
The Clever Hen ................................................................................................. 28
3
Introduction
Most of these rhymes are scattered throughout the third grade book, but they make a nice
little booklet of supplementary material by themselves. If you are new to KISS, don't forget that
the "Directions for Creating Exercises for Your Students," and the analysis key "Code and Color
Key" are in a separate booklet on the KISS Printable Books Page at
home.pct.edu/~evavra/kiss/wb/PBooks/index.htm.
I have put the analysis keys first to save paper. The exercise texts are then presented one
to a page. One good way to use them is to print them as overheads and use them as quick inclass reviews. (If you have the MS Word version, you might want to change the font size of the
actual texts from fourteen-point to twenty.) Alternatively, you might want to print separate copies
of some of the exercises for each student. (In doing this, you can put two exercises on one page
by eliminating page breaks.)
The illustrations and texts are from The Real Mother Goose. Illustrated by Blanche Fisher
Wright. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1916.
4
A na l ys is K e ys
C
Coocckk--C
Crroow
w ((A
Ann IIlllluussttrraattiioonn ffoorr TTeeaacchheerrss))
I considered using this text as an exercise for the "to" problem, but it raises too many
additional questions and would probably only overwhelm third graders. Because it illustrates
some of the questions you might have if you have students analyze randomly selected texts, I
decided to put it at the beginning of this book as a background illustration for parents and
teachers. (Remember that you can always post such questions on the KISS list.) It also
suggests how grammarians disagree and why KISS sometimes accepts more than one "right"
answer.
Cocks crow {in the morn}
To tell us to rise [#1], /
And he [Adj. to "he" who lies late]
Will never be wise (PA); /
For [#2] early to bed [#3]
And early to rise [#3],
Is the way (PN) to be [#4] healthy
And wealthy and wise. /
Notes
1. "Us" is the subject of the infinitive "to rise." That infinitive phrase is the direct object of the
infinitive "to tell," and the "to tell phrase functions as an adverb to "crow."
2. "For" here functions as a coordinating conjunction -- See "So" and "For" as Conjunctions.
3. Let me begin with the question of "to bed." Is it a prepositional phrase? Or is it an infinitive?
We do not usually use the word "bed" as a verb in the sense that it is used here, but like "to
sleep," in "They went to sleep," it can be considered either a prepositional phrase or an
infinitive. It all depends on how one wants to look at it, and grammarians will argue endlessly
about questions such as this. Within the KISS framework, therefore, either explanation is
acceptable. For the sake of simplicity, however, "to bed" will be considered an infinitive in
what follows.
"Early to bed" and "early to rise" are clearly the subject of "is." Grammarians will almost
certainly disagree, however, about how to explain these two infinitive phrases. Although my
dictionary lists only adjectival and adverbial meanings for "early," it can also function as a
noun. Imagine a conversation in which one person says, "Which is better for you. Should we
leave early or late?" A person might well respond "Early is better for me." Thus "early" can
function as a subject, or, in other words, as a noun. If we take this direction, then "early" is
the subject and the infinitives "to bed" and "to rise" function as adjectives to "early." Other
grammarians, however, will argue that the true subjects of "is" are the infinitives "to bed" and
:"to rise" modified by the adverb "early." Again, within the KISS framework, either
explanation is acceptable.
4. "Healthy," "wealthy," and "wise" are predicate adjectives after the infinitive "to be." The
infinitive phrase functions as an adjective to "way."
5
TThhee B
Booyy iinn tthhee B
Baarrnn ((S
Siim
mppllee S
S//V
VP
Paatttteerrnnss))
A little boy went {into a barn},
And lay down {on some hay}. /
An owl came out, and flew about, /
And the little boy ran away. /
H
Huum
mppttyy D
Duum
mppttyy ((V
Veerryy B
Baassiicc))
Humpty Dumpty sat {on a wall}, /
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall (DO); /
All the King's horses, and all the King's men
Cannot put Humpty Dumpty (DO) together again. /
B
Beettttyy B
Blluuee ((S
S//V
V//((IIO
O)) D
DO
O))
Little Betty Blue
Lost her holiday shoe (DO); /
What (DO) shall little Betty do? /
*You* Give her (IO) another (DO) [#1]
To match the other [#2] /
And then she'll walk {upon two}. /
Notes
1. Although "another" is normally an adjective, it functions here as the direct object, since "shoe"
is understood. Technically, we could consider the missing "shoe" as ellipsed, and thus
explain "shoe" as an adjective, but do we really need to be that technical?
2. "Other" is the direct object of the infinitive "To match." The infinitive modifies "Give." I would
expect some students to mark "To match" as a prepositional phrase until they have done
some exercises specifically on the "to" problem.
6
JJaacckk S
Spprraatt ((B
Baassiicc S
S//V
V//D
DO
O))
Jack Sprat
Could eat no fat (DO), /
His wife could eat no lean (DO); /
And so,
{Betwixt them both [#1]},
They licked the platter (DO) clean [#2]. /
Notes
1. The little words cause the biggest problems. "Both" would be, I'm sure, a matter of debate for
grammarians. The easiest explanation is to consider it to be an adjective that immediately follows the
pronoun it modifies.
2. The KISS explanation of "clean" is that it functions as a predicate adjective after an ellipsed infinitive
("to be"). "Platter" is the subject of the infinitive, and the infinitive phrase, and not just "platter," is
the direct object of "licked."
TThhee TTaarrttss ((S
S//V
V//D
DO
O))
The Queen [#1] {of Hearts},
She made some tarts (DO),
All [#2] {on a summer's day}; /
The Knave [#1] {of Hearts},
He stole the tarts (DO),
And took them (DO) clean away. /
The King {of Hearts}
Called {for the tarts},
And beat the Knave (DO) full sore [#3]; /
The Knave {of Hearts}
Brought back the tarts (DO),
And vowed [DO he'd steal no more [#4]]. /
7
Notes
1. Depending on how one wants to look at it, "Queen" is an appositive to "She," or "She" is an appositive
to "Queen." Whichever is not the appositive is the subject. Obviously you should expect students to
be confused here, and I seriously doubt that you will find an explanation for this in any grammar
textbook.
2. Note that "all" can be explained an appositive to "tarts," an adjective to "tarts," and/or as an adverb
(meaning "completely") to "made."
3. When they get to infinitives (KISS Level Four), students may prefer to explain "sore" as a predicate
adjective after an ellipsed infinitive "to be." That makes "knave" the subject of the infinitive and the
infinitive phrase ("Knave to be ... sore") the direct object of "beat."
4. "More" can be explained as a pronoun that functions as an adverb [NuA], or as a pronoun that
functions as the direct object of "would steal," depending on whether one reads it as referring to
time, or to things.
TThhee C
Crrooookkeedd S
Siixxppeennccee ((M
Miixxeedd C
Coom
mpplleem
meennttss))
There [Expletive] was a crooked man (PN), / and he went a crooked mile [#1], /
He found a crooked sixpence (DO) {beside a crooked stile}; /
He bought a crooked cat (DO), [Adj. to "cat" which [#2] caught a crooked
mouse (DO)], /
And they all lived together {in a little crooked house}. /
Notes
1. "Mile" is a Noun Used as an Adverb, and not a direct object because it answers the question "Went
how far?" not "Went what?"
2. At this point in their work, most students will have trouble identifying "which" as the subject of
"caught." [Many of my college Freshmen have the same problem.] Expect them to get it wrong, but
then you can tell them the rule -- "The object of a preposition, or the complement of another verb,
can never, ever be the subject of a verb. Once they learn this rule, they will almost always be forced,
as they are here, to select the pronoun as the subject. There simply are no other options within the
sentence.
8
TThhee R
Roobbiinn ((C
Coom
mppoouunnddiinngg))
The north wind doth blow, /
And we shall have snow (DO), /
And what (DO) will poor robin do then,
Poor thing [#1] ? /
He'll sit {in a barn},
And keep himself warm [#2],
And hide his head (DO) {under his wing},
Poor thing [#1] ! /
Notes
1. Appositive to "robin," and, in the second stanza, to "He."
2. Expect students to be confused. I would accept "himself" as the direct object here, but the KISS
technical explanation for this is that "warm" is a predicate adjective after the ellipsed infinitive ("to
be"). "Himself" is the subject of the infinitive, and the infinitive phrase is the direct object of "keep."
E
Elliizzaabbeetthh,, E
Elliizzaa,, B
Beettssyy,, aanndd B
Beessss ((C
Coom
mppoouunnddiinngg))
Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy, and Bess,
All [#1] went together to seek a bird's nest [#2]. /
They found a bird's nest (DO) {with five eggs} {in it}. /
They all took one (DO), and left four (DO) {in it}. /
Notes
1. At this KISS Level, the easiest way to explain "All" is simply as an adjective to the four preceding
names, as it is later after "They,". It can also be explained as an appositive to those names, but there
is no reason to distract third graders with discussions of appositives.
2. "Nest" is the direct object of the infinitive "to seek." The infinitive functions as an adverb (of purpose)
to "went."
9
Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy, and Bess (Punctuation)
The periods, of course, end sentences. The first three commas in the first line separate items in a
series. The comma after "Bess" is optional, but in the poem it effectively ends the line and separates the
specific names from the generalizing "all." The comma after "one" in the last line is optional, and I would
expect many students not to insert it. Note that it does have a function in terms of maintaining the metrical
rhythm -- It ensures a mid-line break in the middle of the last line, comparable to the breaks in the
preceding two lines. The apostrophe in "bird's," of course, indicates possession.
FFiinnggeerrss aanndd TTooeess ((A
A LLeessssoonn iinn P
Puunnccttuuaattiioonn))
Every lady {in this land}
Has twenty nails (DO), {upon each hand}
Five [#1], and twenty [#1] {on hands and feet}: /
All this is true (PA), {without deceit}. /
Notes
I read this poem three or four times as I was browsing anthologies of children's poetry and it simply
did not make any sense to me. Then I realized that I was making the same mistake that many students do
— I was reading the lines and ignoring the punctuation. It seemed stupid to me -- how could any woman
have twenty nails upon each hand?
My guess is that many students will find it similarly confusing, and ultimately informative as well.
I'm not sure that third or fourth graders will understand the syntax involved, but the poem should still
demonstrate to them the importance of punctuation.
Perhaps the best technical explanation of "five" and "twenty" is that they are the nouns in ellipsed
noun absolutes — five *being* upon each hand, and twenty *being* on hands and feet. A conscious
understanding of noun absolutes, of course, is way out of the range of primary school students, so you
might want to show them how, in terms of meaning, the commas in the first three lines separate three
compound sentences — Every lady in this land has twenty nails. Upon each hand there are five, and there
are twenty on hands and feet.
LLiittttllee B
Booyy B
Blluuee ((D
Diirreecctt A
Addddrreessss &
&C
Coonnttrraaccttiioonnss))
Little Boy Blue [#1], *You* come blow [#2] your horn (DO), /
The sheep's {in the meadow}, / the cow's {in the corn}. /
Where is the boy [Adj. to "boy" that looks after [#3] the sheep (DO)]?
He's {under the hay-cock}, fast asleep. /
/
10
Notes
1. Direct Address. (I'm considering "Blue" as part of his name. Otherwise, it can be explained as a postpositioned adjective.
2. "Come" is not normally a helping verb, so if students asked about it, I would suggest that there is an
implied "and" in the line -- "come and blow."
3. "Looks after" means "tends," so the "after" can be considered as part of the verb. Since many third
graders might have trouble seeing that, I would also accept "looks" as the finite verb and "after the
sheep" as a prepositional phrase.
R
Raaiinn ((D
Diirreecctt A
Addddrreessss,, N
NuuA
A,, aanndd U
Unnddeerrssttoooodd ""Y
Yoouu""))
Rain [DirA], rain [DirA], *you* go away, /
*You* Come again another day [NuA]; /
Little Johnny wants to play [#1]. /
Notes
1. "To play" is an infinitive that functions as the direct object of "wants." At this KISS Level, however,
the important thing is that students not mark it as a prepositional phrase. At this level, I would also
simply accept it as a part of the finite verb.
TToo M
Maarrkkeett ((TThhee ""TToo"" P
Prroobblleem
m))
{To market}, {to market} [#1], to buy a fat pig [#2]. /
Home [NuA] again, home [NuA] again, jiggety jig [NuA]. /
{To market}, {to market}, to buy a fat hog [#2], /
Home [NuA] again, home [NuA] again, jiggety jog [NuA]. /
{To market}, {to market}, to buy a plum bun [#2], /
Home [NuA] again, home [NuA] again, market is done (P). /
Notes
1. Although the word "market" can function as a verb, here they are not going to sell (market), but rather
to buy. Thus "to market" here is a prepositional phrase. Note that there is no verb in this sentence,
but you might want to point out to students that it is a poem, and poems often break, or play on,
grammatical rules.
2. "Pig," "hog," and "bun" are direct objects of the infinitive "to buy." The infinitive functions as an
adverb to the implied "are going," as in "We are going to the market."
11
A
AR
Roobbiinn aanndd aa R
Roobbiinn''ss S
Soonn ((TThhee ""TToo"" P
Prroobblleem
m))
A robin and a robin's son
Once went {to town} to buy a bun [#1]. /
They couldn't decide {on plum or plain} /
And so they went back home [NuA] again. /
Notes
1. "Bun" is the direct object of the infinitive "to buy." The infinitive functions as an adverb (of
purpose) to "went."
TThhee C
Clleevveerr H
Heenn ((A
A LLeessssoonn iinn V
Veerrbb TTeennsseess))
Note: If the students are already very comfortable with the analysis of passages such as this
one, I would skip the analysis and simply have the students rewrite the text in the present and
then in the future tense.
I had a little hen (DO), the prettiest ever seen [#1], /
She washed me (IO) the dishes (DO) and kept the house clean [#2]; /
She went {to the mill} to fetch me some flour [#3], /
She brought it (DO) home [NuA] {in less} {than an hour}; /
She baked me (IO) my bread (DO), / she brewed me (IO) my ale (DO), /
She sat {by the fire} and told many a fine tale (DO). /
Present Tense:
I have a little hen, the prettiest ever seen,
She washes me the dishes and keeps the house clean;
She goes to the mill to fetch me some flour,
She brings it home in less than an hour;
12
She bakes me my bread, she brews me my ale,
She sits by the fire and tells many a fine tale.
Future Tense:
I will have a little hen, the prettiest ever seen,
She will wash me the dishes and keep the house clean;
She will go to the mill to fetch me some flour,
She will bring it home in less than an hour;
She will bake me my bread, she will brew me my ale,
She will sit by the fire and tell many a fine tale.
Notes
1. "The prettiest" is an appositive to "hen," in effect, a reduction of the subordinate clause "who was the
prettiest." "Seen" is a post-positioned adjective to "the prettiest." In effect it is also reduction of a
subordinate clause — "who was ever seen."
2. Expect students to be confused. The KISS explanation of this is that "house" is the subject, and "clean"
is a predicate adjective, to an ellipsed infinitive "to be."
3. "Me" in the indirect, and "flour" is the direct object of the infinitive (of purpose) "to fetch." The
infinitive is adverbial to "went."
The Exercises:
13
C
Coocckk--C
Crroow
w
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Cocks crow in the morn
To tell us to rise,
And he who lies late
Will never be wise;
For early to bed
And early to rise,
Is the way to be healthy
And wealthy and wise.
14
TThhee B
Booyy iinn tthhee B
Baarrnn
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
A little boy went into a barn,
And lay down on some hay.
An owl came out, and flew about,
And the little boy ran away.
15
H
Huum
mppttyy D
Duum
mppttyy
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses, and all the King's men
Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.
16
B
Beettttyy B
Blluuee
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Little Betty Blue
Lost her holiday shoe;
What shall little Betty do?
Give her another
To match the other
And then she'll walk upon two.
17
JJaacckk S
Spprraatt
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Jack Sprat
Could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean;
And so,
Betwixt them both,
They licked the platter clean.
18
TThhee TTaarrttss
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts,
He stole the tarts,
And took them clean away.
The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.
19
TThhee C
Crrooookkeedd S
Siixxppeennccee
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence beside a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
20
TThhee R
Roobbiinn
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then,
Poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing!
21
E
Elliizzaabbeetthh,, E
Elliizzaa,, B
Beettssyy,, aanndd B
Beessss
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy, and Bess,
All went together to seek a bird's nest.
They found a bird's nest with five eggs in it.
They all took one, and left four in it.
22
Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy, and Bess
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
An Exercise in Capitalization and Punctuation
Directions: Please fix the capitalization and punctuation.
elizabeth eliza betsy and bess
all went together to seek a birds nest
they found a birds nest with five eggs in it
they all took one and left four in it
23
FFiinnggeerrss aanndd TTooeess
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Every lady in this land
Has twenty nails, upon each hand
Five, and twenty on hands and feet:
All this is true, without deceit.
24
LLiittttllee B
Booyy B
Blluuee
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
Where is the boy that looks after the sheep?
He's under the hay-cock, fast asleep.
25
R
Raaiinn
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day;
Little Johnny wants to play.
26
TToo M
Maarrkkeett
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig.
Home again, home again, jiggety jig.
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jiggety jog.
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done.
27
A
AR
Roobbiinn aanndd aa R
Roobbiinn''ss S
Soonn
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
A robin and a robin's son
Once went to town to buy a bun.
They couldn't decide on plum or plain
And so they went back home again.
28
TThhee C
Clleevveerr H
Heenn
(A KISS Grammar Exercise)
Additional Directions: This poem is written in the past tense. Rewrite it in the present tense, and
then in future tense.
I had a little hen, the prettiest ever seen,
She washed me the dishes and kept the house clean;
She went to the mill to fetch me some flour,
She brought it home in less than an hour;
She baked me my bread, she brewed me my ale,
She sat by the fire and told many a fine tale.