"The House That Jack Built": A Read-Aloud-Rhyme

Click to see Vol. I, Issue 8 of the newsletter in which this article first appeared.

Listen to the audio of this article!

Parents and teachers can read these rhymes aloud, and encourage little ones to repeat and even memorize them (I did when I was a kid!)

Okay, this one is long, but so much fun! It's what we call a cumulative or progressive tale: one that starts with a simple scene, then builds scene upon scene.

See the "Activities" below for some ways to have fun with this.

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog,
That barked at the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
That chased the dog,
That barked at the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That chased the dog,
That barked at the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That chased the dog,
That barked at the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That chased the dog,
That barked at the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That chased the dog,
That barked at the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

This is the farmer sowing the corn,
That kept the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That chased the dog,
That barked at the cat,
That caught the rat,
That ate the cheese
That sat in the house that Jack built.

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Some words to talk about:

• cock: rooster; male chicken
• crowed: went "cock-a-doodle-dooo!"
• crumpled: bent; wrinkled up
• forlorn: sad
• maiden: girl; young woman
• morn: morning
• shaven and shorn: smooth-faced and with a haircut
• sowing: planting in the ground
• tattered: in pieces; torn up

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ACTIVITIES

To start with, look at the last verse, and be sure your kid understands the connections from one step to the next. Start with new words; then actions; then the "link" between lines ("How is the farmer connected to the rooster?" etc.)

Now you're ready to start memorizing from the top. Start with the house and the cheese, and have your kid "pretend" like we did with "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe": "sit" like the cheese, "eat" like the rat, and so on. With each verse, add another action until you've learned them all.

If there is more than one kid available, have them take different parts: one kid (the cow holding fingers up like horns, and one is "crumpled") chases the dog, and so on.

When your kid (and you!) get good at reciting it, speed it up. 

Discussion: This would be a good rhyme to use for a discussion of connections between people, animals, plants, the earth, and so on--Beginning Ecology. You could also trace the "chain" of everyday things in your house: Where does cheese come from? Start with milk, then cows, then grain, farmers, the soil, and all the way up to rain!