My New Year's Resolutions

1 / I will not throw the cat out the window
2 / Or put a frog in my sister's bed
3 / I will not tie my brother's shoelaces together
4 / Nor jump from the roof of Dad's shed
5 / I shall remember my aunt's next birthday
6 / And tidy my room once a week
7 / I'll not moan at Mum's cooking (Ugh! fish fingers again!)
8 / Nor give her any more of my cheek.
9 / I will not pick my nose if I can help it
10 / I shall fold up my clothes, comb my hair,
11 / I will say please and thank you (even when I don't mean it)
12 / And never spit or shout or even swear.
13 / I shall write each day in my diary
14 / Try my hardest to be helpful at school
15 / I shall help old ladies cross roads (even if they don't want to)
16 / And when others are rude I'll stay cool.
17 / I'll go to bed with the owls and be up with the larks
18 / And close every door behind me
19 / I shall squeeze from the bottom of every toothpaste tube
20 / And stay where trouble can't find me.
21 / I shall start again, turn over a new leaf,
22 / leave my bad old ways forever
23 / shall I start them this year, or next year
24 / shall I sometime, or .....?

Robert Fisher
WORKSHEET

Step 1 : listen to the poem and highlight the words you understand

Step 2 : form groups of 4 students and do the following exercises

 Exercise 1 : what sort of document is it?

 Exercise 2 : who's speaking ?

 Exercise 3 : choose the most appropriate meaning

A frog (l. 2)

A shed (l. 4)

"Nor give her any more of my cheek" (l. 8) means ☐ respect her ☐ help her ☐ be impolite

comb (l. 10)

spit (l. 12)

rude (l. 16) means ☐ impolite ☐ aggressive ☐ hard

go to bed with the owls (l. 17) means☐ go to bed after dinner

☐ go to bed after the film

☐ go to bed when I want

be up with the larks(l. 17) means ☐ get up early

☐ get up in time for the school bus

☐ stay in bed all morning

ways (l. 22) means ☐ routes ☐ attitudes ☐ friends


 Exercise 4 : what's the French for the following expressions

Tie my brother's shoelace (l. 3)

Fish fingers (l. 7)

I shall not pick my nose (l. 9)

Fold up my clothes (l. 10)

A toothpaste tube (l. 19)

 Exercise 5 : find a title for the poem

Step 3 : write a similar text on this model for next Monday. 5-6 lines. Remember to write the title and to sign it. You can type it and mail it if you want.

E. Saupé – Collège Saint Louis – 9 avenue Foch – 07 Tournon (Académie de Grenoble)