Vocaboly.com

[Simon]

My 4th grade students are gonna read the following poem for our country's
annaul verse-speaking competition.
Can anyone give me suggestions in terms of its intonation and stress or even
facial expression? I hope my students could appreciate English more if I
could take this chance to teach them how to read the poem probably.
Also, there are a couple of phrases I don't quite understand. Hope somebody
can give me a hand also. Many thanks.


Mrs McPhee
==========
Mrs McPhee
Who lived in the South Zeal
Roasted a duckling
For every meal

"Duckling for breakfast
And dinner and tea,
And duckling for supper,"
Said Mrs McPhee *(These 2 stanzas are simple
enough, but how could i make the presentation more lively?)


"It's sweeter than sugar,
It's clean as a nut,
I'm sure and I'm certain
It's good for me -- BUT *(Why would the writer use sugar and
nut to describe the taste of duckling? I don't quite get it."

"I don't like these feathers
That grow on my back,
And my silly webbed feet
And my voice that goes quack." *(any intonaton and stress
suggestion here?

As easy and soft
as a ship to the sea,
As a duck to the water
Went Mrs McPhee

"I think I'll go swim
In the river,' said she;
Said Mrs Mac, Mrs Quack,
Mrs McPhee *(This last stanza
really gets me: I know Mrs Quack and Mrs McPhee are the same person, but why
would the writer
introduce
the 3rd person ie. Mrs Mac? It's probably just the casual way of calling
Mrs McPhee. But I don't find it
funny at
all. Can anyone clarify or even teach me how to bring this poem into
life. )