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Readers’ Theater
S c r i p t s f o r Yo u n g R e a d e r s

Nursery
Rhymes

Primary Concepts®
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Editor: Nancy Tune

Illustrations: John Palacios
Design and Production: Candace Wesen

©2005 Primary Concepts

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission
from the publisher. All rights reserved. Published in the U. S. A.

Cat. No. 3830

ISBN: 1-893791-36-x
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Contents

The Eency-Weency Spider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Pease Porridge Hot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Star Light, Star Bright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Rain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Jack Sprat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Sally, Go Round . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Charlie Over the Ocean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Chocolate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

My Hat, It Has Three Corners . . . . . . . . . . .13

Jack, Be Nimble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Humpty Dumpty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Jack and Jill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Higglety, Pigglety, Pop! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

©Primary Concepts 3 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Three Men in a Tub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

There Were Two Blackbirds . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep ................. 21

To Market, to Market ................... 22
Three Little Kittens ..................... 24
Michael Finnegan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe .. 28
Wee Willie Winkie ...................... 29
There Was a Crooked Man ............. 30

A Note to the Teacher .................. 31

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 4 ©Primary Concepts

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The Eency-Weency Spider

1 The eency-weency spider
2 Climbed up the waterspout.
3 Down came the rain
4 And washed the spider out.

1 Out came the sun

2 And dried up all the rain,
3 So the eency-weency spider
4 Climbed up the spout again.

©Primary Concepts 5 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Pease Porridge Hot

1 Pease porridge hot,
2 Pease porridge cold,
3 Pease porridge in the pot,
All Nine days old.

1 Some like it hot,

2 Some like it cold,
3 Some like it in the pot,
All Nine days old.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 6 ©Primary Concepts

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Star Light, Star Bright

1 Star light,
2 Star bright,
All First star I see tonight,
1 I wish I may,
2 I wish I might,
All Have the wish I wish tonight.

©Primary Concepts 7 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Rain
1 Rain on the green grass,
2 Rain on the tree,
3 Rain on the housetop,
All But not on me!

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 8 ©Primary Concepts

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Jack Sprat
1 Jack Sprat could eat no fat.
2 His wife could eat no lean.
3 And so between them both, you see,
4 They licked the platter clean.

©Primary Concepts 9 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Sally, Go Round
1 Sally, go round the sun.
2 Sally, go round the moon.
3 Sally, go round the chimney pots
4 On a Saturday afternoon.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 10 ©Primary Concepts

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Charlie Over the Ocean

1 Charlie over the ocean,
2 Charlie over the sea,
3 Charlie caught a blackbird,
All Can’t catch me.

©Primary Concepts 11 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Chocolate
1 Uno, dos, tres, cho --
2 Uno, dos, tres, co --
3 Uno, dos, tres, la --
4 Uno, dos, tres, te!
All Bate, bate chocolate.

1 One, two, three, cho --

2 One, two, three, co --
3 One, two, three, la --
4 One, two, three, te!
All Stir, stir the chocolate.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 12 ©Primary Concepts

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My Hat, It Has Three Corners

1 My hat, it has three corners,
2 Three corners has my hat;
3 And had it not three corners,
4 It would not be my hat.

©Primary Concepts 13 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Jack, Be Nimble
1 Jack, be nimble!
2 Jack, be quick!
3 Jack, jump over
3 The candlestick.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 14 ©Primary Concepts

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Humpty Dumpty
1 Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
2 Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
3 All the king’s horses
4 And all the king’s men
All Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

©Primary Concepts 15 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Jack and Jill

1 Jack and Jill went up the hill
2 To fetch a pail of water.
3 Jack fell down
4 And broke his crown,
All And Jill came tumbling after.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 16 ©Primary Concepts

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Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!

All Higglety, pigglety, pop!
1 The dog has eaten the mop.
2 The pig’s in a hurry,
3 The cat’s in a flurry,
All Higglety, pigglety, pop!

©Primary Concepts 17 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

1 Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
2 How I wonder what you are!
3 Up above the world so high,
4 Like a diamond in the sky.
1 Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
2 How I wonder what you are!

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 18 ©Primary Concepts

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Three Men in a Tub

1 Rub-a-dub-dub,
2 Three men in a tub,
3 And who do you think they be?
1 The butcher,
2 The baker,
3 The candlestick maker,
All Turn them out, knaves all three.

©Primary Concepts 19 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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There Were Two Blackbirds

1 There were two blackbirds
2 Sitting on a hill,
1 One named Jack,
2 The other named Jill.

1 Fly away, Jack!

2 Fly away, Jill!
1 Come again, Jack!
2 Come again, Jill!

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 20 ©Primary Concepts

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Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

1 Baa, baa, black sheep,
1 Have you any wool?
2 Yes sir, yes sir,
2 Three bags full.
3 One for the master,
4 And one for the dame,
3,4 And one for the little boy
3,4 Who lives down the lane.

©Primary Concepts 21 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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To Market, to Market
1 To market, to market,
2 To buy a fat pig.
All Home again, home again,
2 Jiggety jig.

3 To market, to market,
4 To buy a fat hog.
All Home again, home again,
4 Jiggety jog.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 22 ©Primary Concepts

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1, 2 To market, to market,
3,4 To buy a plum bun.
All Home again, home again,
All Market is done.

©Primary Concepts 23 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Three Little Kittens

1 Three little kittens lost their mittens,
2 And they began to cry:
3 “Oh, Mother dear, we very much fear
4 Our mittens we have lost!”

1 “What! Lost your mittens? You naughty kittens!

2 Then you shall have no pie.”
3 “Meow, meow, meow, meow.”
4 “No, you shall have no pie.”

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 24 ©Primary Concepts

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1 The three little kittens found their mittens,

2 And they began to cry:
3 “Oh, Mother dear, see here, see here,
4 Our mittens we have found.”

1 “What! Found your mittens? You good little kittens.

2 Now you shall have some pie.”
3 “Purr, purr, purr, purr.”
4 “Yes, you shall have some pie.”

©Primary Concepts 25 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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Michael Finnegan
1 There was an old man named Michael Finnegan.
2 He had whiskers on his chinnegan.
3 They fell out and then grew in again.
4 Poor old Michael Finnegan,
All Begin again.

2 There was an old man named Michael Finnegan.

3 He went fishing with a pinnegan.
4 Caught a fish and dropped it in again.
1 Poor old Michael Finnegan,
All Begin again.
Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 26 ©Primary Concepts
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3 There was an old man named Michael Finnegan.

4 He grew fat and then grew thin again.
1 Then he died and had to begin again.
2 Poor old Michael Finnegan,
All Begin again.

©Primary Concepts 27 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

1 There was an old woman
2 Who lived in a shoe.
3 She had so many children,
4 She didn’t know what to do.

1 She gave them some broth

2 Without any bread;
3 She kissed them all quickly
4 And sent them to bed.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 28 ©Primary Concepts

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Wee Willie Winkie

1 Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
2 Upstairs and downstairs, in his nightgown,
3 Rapping at the window,
4 Crying through the lock,
All “Are the children in their beds?
All For now it’s eight o’clock!”

©Primary Concepts 29 Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes

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There Was a Crooked Man

1 There was a crooked man
2 And he walked a crooked mile.
3 He found a crooked sixpence
4 Beside a crooked stile.

1 He bought a crooked cat,

2 Which caught a crooked mouse,
3 And they all lived together
4 In a little crooked house.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 30 ©Primary Concepts

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A Note to the Teacher

Primary Concepts Readers’ Theater scripts are a powerful way to help
children develop fluent reading skills as they become acquainted with
children’s literature classics. Readers’ Theater provides the following
benefits:

■ develops skill in pacing, articulation, phrasing, and expression

in oral reading
■ encourages children to monitor their own reading for fluency
■ builds cooperative skills in a small group
■ acquaints young readers with time-honored favorites from
children’s literature

Readers’ Theater is the performance of literature that is read aloud

expressively rather than acted. Because the goal is to perform the selec-
tions in front of a group, Readers’ Theater gives children an incentive for
reading familiar text over and over, thus improving their fluency.

Using the Scripts

Students work in small groups of two to four children. They either choose
or are assigned one or more pieces to practice, and the part (1, 2, 3, or
4) each child should take. The number of parts is indicated by a symbol
at the top of each script.

Practice Makes Perfect

Each child should be given his or her own script book. The group reads
and rereads the text, perfecting their fluency, pacing, phrasing, and
expression and the flow from one reader to the next. The group can lis-
ten to an audiotape model of the piece, or you may wish to model the
reading yourself. For most children, the goal is to read the piece, not
memorize it, but English language learners benefit from memorizing the
text and then reading along.

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Students typically listen critically to their own readings and try to improve
with each reading. Members of the group should be encouraged to listen
attentively and give each other feedback on the readings. Remind students
how to give positive feedback by first telling what is working, then what
might be improved and how. Students can write directly in the book, under-
lining words for special emphasis, or using slash marks to indicate pauses.

As the groups become proficient in their readings, you might want to

encourage them to experiment with special ways to read the text:

■ saying some words or phrases loudly and others softly

■ slowing down or speeding up text
■ shortening or lengthening pauses

Performance Time
After the children have practiced to near perfection, have them read
selections in front of an audience: their classmates, another classroom,
or parents. Consider inviting parents for a Readers’ Theater Tea. Students
will enjoy making the invitations. The formal tea will make all their hard
work pay off with the applause of pleased parents.

While no costumes or props are required for these performances, children

may wish to dress up in some special way. Hand movements can enhance
the performance, as can simple musical accompaniments. However, bear
in mind that the focus should be a celebration of reading.

Copyright
Every effort has been made to verify that all the selections in this book
are in the public domain. Most appear in a variety of forms in a number
of sources. Feel free to adapt the selections in any way you wish.

Other Resources
Readers’ Theater script books and audiotapes are available in several
genres. For these and other resources for teachers, please consult a Primary
Concepts catalog or visit our website at www.primaryconcepts.com.

Readers’ Theater: Nursery Rhymes 32 ©Primary Concepts