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1. Please Mrs Butler – Allan Ahlberg

Do you remember when you were at primary school?

What kind of questions did you ask your teacher? Did she/he always help you?

Were there any really annoying kids in your class? What did they do?
We’re going to read a poem by Allan Ahlberg. Listen to him introduce the poem.
 What is the problem he describes? Do you think it’s a real problem?
Now listen again and complete the numbers:
I think this poem has something to do with the psychological state of teachers. Imagine
you’re a child in a class and you ask your teacher ________ questions during a day –
that’s not very many is it, ________ – but if there are ________ of you that makes
________ questions a day, ________ questions a week, _________ questions a month,
and if we say ____ months in the year, that’s _________ questions a year. If a teacher
teachers for _____ years, that’s ___________ questions. And this of course explains the
situation which most children understand, which is that all school teachers are crazy.
The poem is about a naughty student at a primary school. Here are some words you
might need to help you understand it. Match them to their definitions:
1. hall
2. rubber
3. vest
4. swallow
5. rude
a. when you don’t show respect to somebody, you are ____
b. a large room in a school where all the students can meet at the
same time, often with a teacher talking to the whole school
c. stop somebody from leaving by closing the door with a key
d.
e. to make food, drink, etc. go down your throat into your
stomach
6. lock sb in
(verb)
f.
Cultural note
Sometimes British people (especially women) use words like ‘duck’, ‘dear’, ‘lamb’,
‘flower’, ‘love’, ‘darling’, ‘petal’ (…and many more) when they talk to people, even when
they don’t know them. They are not being rude – it’s normal. For example, a shop
assistant might say: “Can I help you, love?”
Listen to the poem.
 What problems do the other students have with Derek Drew (the naughty
student)?
 What does the teacher suggest?
Adapted from http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=82 by Sandy
Millin – http://sandymillin.wordpress.com
‘Rubber’ image from Clipart, ‘vest’ from www.funkythermals.co.uk

2. Please Mrs Butler – Allan Ahlberg
Here are the words to the poem. Listen and say them.
Please Mrs Butler
This boy Derek Drew
Keeps copying my work, Miss.
What shall I do?
Go and sit in the hall, dear.
Go and sit in the sink.
Take your books on the roof, my lamb.
Do whatever you think.
Please Mrs Butler
This boy Derek Drew
Keeps taking my rubber, Miss.
What shall I do?
Keep it in your hand, dear.
Hide it up your vest.
Swallow it if you like, my love.
Do what you think best.
Please Mrs Butler
This boy Derek Drew
Keeps calling me rude names, Miss.
What shall I do?
Lock yourself in the cupboard, dear.
Run away to sea.
Do whatever you can, my flower.
But don't ask me!
Adapted from http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=82 by Sandy
Millin – http://sandymillin.wordpress.com
‘Rubber’ image from Clipart, ‘vest’ from www.funkythermals.co.uk