Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Write a Clerihew
Clerihew Day
Reading Comprehension for July 10
The very first clerihew ever written goes like this:
Sir Humphry Davy
Abominated gravy.
He lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.
According to history, this was written by an English schoolboy. His name was Edmund Clerihew Bentley, and he wrote it during chemistry class. As a matter of fact, his topic came straight from a lecture about the discovery of sodium!
You may have figured out that the four-line clerihew above is a poem. Most poets don't have a style of poetry named after them. However, Bentley's poem was new and different. It consisted of two rhyming couplets - with a rhyme scheme of aabb - and featured a real person and a real accomplishment. It was also humorous. Those are the elements that make up a clerihew. No one knows whether Sir Humphry Davy really hated gravy, but at least it rhymed! We know that he was an inventor and chemist who discovered sodium in 1807. A clerihew, then, is like a mini biography!
Edmund Clerihew Bentley, also known as E. C. Bentley, grew up to become an author. He wrote Trent's Last Case (1912), one of the most important detective novels of his time. Bentley never lost his sense of humor; we can tell by the way his hero blunders through the mystery and jumps to the wrong conclusions!
Bentley also wrote a clerihew about the world's first mystery writer -- Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe
Was passionately fond of roe.
He always liked to chew some
When writing anything gruesome.
We are going to follow Bentley's example and write our own clerihews. You will choose an author or famous character as the subject of your clerihew.
First, we need to consider rhyming possibilities. Don't choose an author or character whose last name has no rhyming ability! For instance, if you choose Pippi as your subject, it may be impossible to find a rhyme to link with "Longstocking." However, if you are feeling clever, you may give it a try.
Here are some authors you may know: J. K. Rowling, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Bill Myers, Lois Lowry, E. B. White, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Bruce Coville, Roald Dahl, Scott O'Dell, the Brothers Grimm, and Lemony Snicket.
Perhaps you would rather choose a character such as Nancy Drew, Harry Potter, Bilbo Baggins, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Ramona Quimby, Wally McDoogle, or Aslan.
