I woke up late on Tuesday morning,
Without a single hint of warning.
My socks were wrong, my shoes too tight,
I couldn't get a thing quite right.
I missed the bus, I lost my hat,
And somehow stepped upon the cat.
The cat was cross, the dog was mad,
My breakfast tasted rather bad.
But when I thought things could not get worse,
I found my lunch inside my purse!
Read the poem aloud several times. Find its rhythm and experiment with stressing the most important words.
Start slowly, then gradually increase your pace as the words become more familiar. Notice the rhyming pairs and how they help establish the beat.
Bring the story to life! Use your voice to express the narrator's growing frustration as everything goes wrong.
Extra challenge: Perform the poem as though you're describing the worst morning of your life. Can you make someone laugh?
If you're feeling confident, try recording your performance. Listen back and consider whether your rhythm, pauses and expression help tell the story.
