Hello, young learners! Welcome to our musical classroom. Today we hear a clock ticking. We meet a little mouse. We explore the hickory dickory dock with lyrics. This rhyme is a favorite for telling time.
The song tells about a mouse running up a clock. The clock strikes the hour. The mouse runs down again. It is a simple story with a strong rhythm.
Let us gather around the clock. Let us learn the words and the sounds. The mouse is waiting to run up the clock with us.
What is the Rhyme? The hickory dickory dock with lyrics is a very old nursery rhyme. People have sung it for hundreds of years. It first appeared in print around 1744. That is a very long time ago.
The rhyme helps children learn about time. The clock strikes different hours. The mouse reacts to each sound. Children learn to count along with the clock.
The words "hickory dickory dock" are fun sounds. They have no real meaning. They just make the song bouncy and playful. Children love saying them.
The mouse is the main character. It runs up the clock. But when the clock strikes, the mouse gets scared and runs down. This happens again and again in different verses.
The Lyrics of Nursery Rhymes Let us read the hickory dickory dock with lyrics together. We will start with the most common version.
Hickory dickory dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, The mouse ran down, Hickory dickory dock.
Hickory dickory dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck two, The mouse said "Boo!" Hickory dickory dock.
Hickory dickory dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck three, The mouse said "Whee!" Hickory dickory dock.
Hickory dickory dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck four, The mouse said "No more!" Hickory dickory dock.
Many versions add more verses for each hour. The mouse does different things at each hour. At five, the mouse might take a dive. At six, the mouse might do tricks. The possibilities are endless.
The pattern stays the same. First line, second line, third line with the hour, fourth line with the mouse's action, then back to the first line.
Vocabulary Learning The hickory dickory dock with lyrics teach us many useful words. Let us look at each important word.
Hickory: This is a type of tree. Hickory wood is hard and strong. But in the song, it is just a fun sound with no real meaning.
Dickory: This is not a real word. It rhymes with hickory. Together they make a playful sound that children enjoy saying.
Dock: A dock is a place where boats stop. But here, it rhymes with clock. It is part of the fun nonsense phrase.
Mouse: A mouse is a small animal with a pointed nose and long tail. Mice can run fast. They sometimes get into houses.
Ran: This is the past tense of run. The mouse ran up the clock means it moved quickly upward.
Clock: A clock is a device that shows time. Clocks have faces with numbers. They have hands that move around.
Struck: This is the past tense of strike. The clock struck one means it made a sound to mark one o'clock. Clocks strike or chime on the hour.
Down: This means from a higher place to a lower place. The mouse ran down after the clock struck.
Boo: This is a sound people make to scare someone. The mouse says "boo" at two o'clock. Maybe it is being funny.
Whee: This is a sound of excitement or fun. The mouse says "whee" at three o'clock, like it is enjoying the ride.
No more: This means stop or not continue. At four o'clock, the mouse says "no more," maybe meaning no more running.
Phonics Points Now let us practice some sounds from the hickory dickory dock with lyrics. Phonics helps us read and say words correctly.
Listen to the beginning of "hickory." It starts with the "h" sound. Open your mouth and breathe out. Say "h-h-h." Now say "hickory." Feel the air moving.
Listen to the "k" sound in "clock" and "dock." This sound comes from the back of the throat. Say "k-k-k." Now say "clock." Now say "dock." Feel the sound stop.
Listen to the "r" sound in "ran" and "ran." Curl your tongue back a little. Say "r-r-r." Now say "ran." Feel the vibration.
Listen to the "s" sound in "struck." Put your tongue near the roof of your mouth. Let air flow over it. Say "s-s-s." Then add "tr" and "uck." Say "struck." The "s" is the first sound.
Listen to the "ow" sound in "down." Say "ow-ow-ow" like when you hurt yourself. Now say "down." Feel your mouth open wide then close.
Grammar Patterns The hickory dickory dock with lyrics teach us some useful grammar. Grammar is how we put words together in sentences.
We see the past tense throughout the story. "Ran" is the past of run. "Struck" is the past of strike. "Said" is the past of say. The whole story happened before now.
We see repetition for emphasis and rhythm. "Hickory dickory dock" repeats at the beginning and end of each verse. This makes the song easy to remember.
We see the pattern of cause and effect. The clock struck one, so the mouse ran down. The striking caused the mouse to move. This shows a simple relationship.
We see interjections or exclamations. "Boo!" and "Whee!" and "No more!" are words that show feeling. They are not full sentences but express emotion.
We see the pattern of telling time. "The clock struck one" means it is one o'clock. This is a common way to talk about time in English.
Learning Activities Let us do some fun activities with the hickory dickory dock with lyrics. These help us remember the words and enjoy the song.
Activity 1: Make a Clock Create a simple clock face from paper. Use a paper plate. Write numbers one through twelve around the edge. Make two hands from paper and attach with a brad. Practice moving the hands to different hours while singing.
Activity 2: Mouse Puppet Make a mouse puppet from a brown paper bag or sock. Add ears, eyes, and a long tail made from string. Use the puppet to act out running up and down while singing the song.
Activity 3: Hour by Hour Acting Act out different hours. At one o'clock, pretend to be surprised. At two o'clock, say "boo!" and scare someone. At three o'clock, say "whee!" and spin around. At four o'clock, hold up hand and say "no more!"
Activity 4: Clock Hop Place numbers on the floor in a circle like a clock. Children hop from number to number. At each number, they sing that verse of the song. This combines movement with learning.
Printable Materials We can make printable materials for the hickory dickory dock with lyrics. These are sheets to print at home or in class.
Lyric Sheet Print all the words of the song on one page. Use large, clear letters. Add drawings of a clock and a mouse. Children follow along while singing.
Coloring Page Draw a simple grandfather clock. Add a mouse running up the side. Children color the picture. Below, write the words "clock" and "mouse" for tracing.
Clock Number Match Draw several clocks showing different times. 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock. On another sheet, write the numbers 1, 2, 3. Children match each clock to the correct number.
Word Cards Print cards with words from the song. Hickory, dickory, dock, clock, mouse, ran, struck, down. On the back, draw simple pictures. Practice matching words to pictures.
Mouse Path Sheet Draw a clock with a path for the mouse to run up and down. Children trace the path with a pencil. This builds fine motor skills.
Educational Games Games make learning with the hickory dickory dock with lyrics even more fun. Here are some games to play.
Game 1: Hickory Dickory Freeze Play the song. Children dance like mice running around. When the song says "the clock struck one," everyone freezes. Hold the freeze until the next line. Then dance again.
Game 2: What Time Is It, Mr. Mouse? One child is the mouse. Others stand in a line and ask "What time is it, Mr. Mouse?" The mouse says a time like "one o'clock." Players take that many steps forward. If the mouse says "clock strikes," everyone runs back to start.
Game 3: Mouse, Mouse, Clock Play like Duck, Duck, Goose. Children sit in a circle. One child walks around tapping heads saying "mouse, mouse, mouse." When they tap someone and say "clock," that child jumps up and chases them around the circle.
Game 4: Memory Match Make pairs of cards. One card has a number. One card has a mouse action from that hour. 1 with ran down, 2 with said boo, 3 with said whee. Players match numbers to actions.
Game 5: What Word Is Missing? Write the lyrics on the board with some words missing. Hickory dickory ____. The mouse ran up the ____. The clock struck ____. Children guess the missing words.
Game 6: Clock Craft and Count Make a simple clock with numbers. Practice counting from one to twelve. Point to each number and say it aloud. Then sing the song and point to the numbers as they are mentioned.
Game 7: Mouse Race Draw a clock on the board. Make a mouse from paper with a magnet on back. Children take turns moving the mouse up the clock. When it reaches the top, everyone sings the next verse.
Game 8: Rhyming Word Match Find words from the song that rhyme. Dock and clock rhyme. One and run rhyme. Two and boo rhyme. Three and whee rhyme. Four and more rhyme. Make cards and find rhyming pairs.
Game 9: Hickory Dickory Bingo Make bingo cards with pictures of clocks showing different times. Call out the times. "One o'clock." Players cover that clock. First to cover a row wins.
Game 10: Pass the Mouse Sit in a circle with a small toy mouse. Play the song softly. Pass the mouse around. Stop the music suddenly. The child holding the mouse must say the next line of the song.
Game 11: Create a New Verse Encourage children to make their own verse for a new hour. The clock struck five, the mouse took a dive. The clock struck six, the mouse did tricks. This builds creativity and language skills.
Game 12: Hickory Dickory Hopscotch Draw a hopscotch grid with numbers one to twelve. Children hop to a number and say the verse for that hour. This combines movement with learning.
Game 13: Mouse Ears Craft Make mouse ears from paper or headbands. Wear them while singing the song. This helps children feel like the mouse in the story.
Game 14: Hickory Dickory Puzzle Print a picture of a clock with a mouse. Cut it into puzzle pieces. Children put it together and then sing the song.
Game 15: What's the Time Game Hold up a clock showing a time. Children say what time it is and sing the corresponding verse. This builds time-telling skills.
Game 16: Mouse Trail Create a trail of mouse footprints around the room leading to a clock. Children follow the trail and find the clock. Then everyone sings together.
Game 17: Hickory Dickory Story Time Make up a longer story about the mouse. Why does it run up the clock? What happens after it runs down? Children add ideas to the story.
Game 18: Clock Number Hunt Hide numbers around the room. Children find them and put them in order around a circle to make a clock. Then practice singing with the completed clock.
The hickory dickory dock with lyrics brings fun to learning about time. The little mouse runs up and down. The clock strikes each hour. Children learn numbers and actions.
Every time children sing this song, they practice counting. They learn new words like struck and dock. They move their bodies like the mouse. They create new verses with their own ideas.
The clock keeps ticking. The mouse keeps running. The song keeps playing through generations. Hickory dickory dock, learning English is fun around the clock.
Happy singing and learning, everyone