There was an Old Man of the Coast

Edward Lear

Teacher card

Published: 1846, in The Book of Nonsense
Length: 5 lines, 30 words, 1 word in 15 is long
Year band: Reading load: Years 5–6. A guide from word length, not a curriculum level.
Time: 3–5 min, depending on the activity

The text

There was an Old Man of the Coast,Who placidly sat on a post;But when it was cold,He relinquished his hold,And called for some hot buttered toast.

Edward Lear (died 1888), The Book of Nonsense (1846), lines 974–978 of Project Gutenberg ebook #982. Public domain in Australia: the author died before 1955. Copied word for word and checked against the ebook.

What to do with it

One link and one task line for each activity. Send a student the one you want them to do, or print this page and hand it round; each link has a QR code.

Solve the word hidden in itin riddle · about 3–5 min
Task for students (you can change the sentence before you print; nothing is saved)Work out the word hidden in the passage: each line holds one of its letters, in order.
Work out the word hidden in the passage: each line holds one of its letters, in order.
riddle.popplepoetry.com/?p=4

Send the whole hand-out

This page’s link. Students open it, read the text and pick what to do; nothing asks them to sign in.

Link for the whole text

https://popplepoetry.com/find/lear-there-was-an-old-man-of-the-coast · popplepoetry.com