A limerick is an entertaining or funny poem consisting of five lines.
Lines one, two, and five must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming, and have the same verbal rhythm.
Lines three and four only have five to seven syllables; they must also rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm.
Learning poetry can be a fun and engaging way to get reluctant writers to try something new. And when the goal is to write something short and silly, as is with a limerick, your class is sure to have a great time with their assignments.
Using This Guide
This poetry guide consists of prompts that will help guide your young writers as they practice writing limericks.
Here are a few ways you can use this list in your classroom:
- Challenge students to use one or two prompts every day for a week.
- Ask students to pick a number between 1 and 45. That number is their assignment.
- Assign one or two prompts per night as part of your ELA homework.
The Prompts
- Write a limerick about an epic snowball fight.
- Write a limerick about the last song you listened to.
- Write a limerick that starts with “I woke up and fell out of bed”.
- Write a limerick about your favorite animal.
- Write a limerick persuading your teacher to skip giving your class homework next week.
- Write a limerick about your best friend.
- Write a limerick about your favorite theme park.
- Write a limerick that contains the following words: travel, lantern, path, forest
- Write a limerick about your favorite food.
- Write a limerick about your least favorite chore to do at home.
- Write a limerick about busy bees.
- Write a limerick that starts with, “There was an old lady in town”.
- Write a limerick about your favorite book or book series.
- Write a limerick that contains the following words: spicy, last, wonder, trouble
- Write a limerick about your favorite TV show or movie.
- Write a limerick about the best thing about summer.
- Write an exciting limerick.
- Write a limerick about your favorite video game or app.
- Write a limerick about the last time you were sick.
- Write a limerick about someone’s birthday.
- Write a limerick about limericks.
- Write a limerick about your favorite thing about autumn.
- Write a limerick about the last dream that you can remember.
- Write a limerick about your favorite teacher.
- Write a limerick to convince your parents to give you or increase your allowance.
- Write a limerick that includes the following words: valley, stream, jungle, under
- Write a limerick about what you love about winter.
- Write a limerick about your favorite sports team or athlete.
- Write a limerick about the last time you were scared.
- Write a limerick that starts with, “There once was a kitten named Gus”.
- Write a limerick about school.
- Write a limerick about your favorite thing to do in the spring.
- Write a limerick about your favorite holiday.
- Write a limerick about a ghost.
- Write a limerick about the last vacation you took with your family.
- Write a limerick that contains the words: nose, rose, toes, goes
- Write a limerick about a current event in your community.
- Write a limerick about your favorite hobby.
- Write a limerick that starts with, “I counted the stars in the sky”.
- Write a limerick about a sneezing dragon.
- Write a limerick with two or more stanzas.
- Write a limerick about your favorite dessert or candy.
- Write a limerick about someone who has hiccups.
- Write a limerick about something you’re looking forward to.
- Write a limerick that contains the words: yes, guess, mess, chess
Looking for More?
Our site is home to an abundance of learning resources for teachers, parents, and students. From writing prompts to templates and more, you’ll find plenty of useful tools to help make teaching a little easier.
If you’re looking for content and we don’t have it, reach out and let us know! We’d love to help you guide your young writers to success.
