All My Great Excuses

1 Read the poem below 'All My Great Excuses' and fill in the gaps with the past simple tense
of the verb in brackets.

I _______________ (start) on my homework but my

pen _______________ (run) out of ink.
My hamster _______________ (eat) my homework. My
computer's on the blink.

I accidentally _______________ (drop) it in

the soup my mum was cooking.
My brother _______________ (flush) it down the toilet when I
wasn't looking.

My mother _______________ (run) my homework through

the washer and the dryer.
An airplane _______________ (crash) into our house. My

homework _______________ (catch) on fire.

Tornadoes _______________ (blow) my notes away.

Volcanoes _______________ (strike) our town.
My notes _______________ (be) taken hostage by an
evil killer clown.

Some aliens abducted me.

I _______________ (have) a shark attack.
A pirate _______________ (swipe) my homework and
_______________ (refuse) to give it back.

I _______________ (work) on these excuses so

darned long my teacher said,
"I think you'll find it's easier
to do the work instead."

-- Kenn Nesbitt
Copyright © 2007 All Rights Reserved - www.poetry4kids.com

© Primary Leap Ltd. 2012 www.primaryleap.co.uk - Primary Resources

2 Write the words to their definitions.
washer, abduct, run out of, darned, flush, swipe, strike, refuse, on the blink
hostage instead

 INFORMAL to steal something – .

 to get rid of something by putting it into a toilet and pour water over it – .
 INFORMAL a washing machine – .
 if something unpleasant happens suddenly and unexpectedly and causes harm or damage to them – .
 not have any more of something left – .
 to take someone away from their home, family etc. using force – .
 INFORMAL if a piece of electrical equipment is not working very well – .
 a person who is the prisoner of someone who threatens to kill them if they do not get what they want – .
 to say you will not do something that someone has asked you to do – .
 used for saying that one person, thing, or action replaces another – .
 used for emphasizing what you are saying, especially when you are annoyedabout something - .

3 Reading comprehension (Read the questions below and write answers -

a. What did the boy write with?

b. What did the boy's pen need?

c. Name the pet that the boy keeps.

d. What technical problems does the computer have?

e. Has the boy got a sibling?

f. How did he drop his homework right into the bowl of soup?

g. How do you clean the toilet after peeing (or pooing)?

h. Where did the boy's mum put his homework?

i. What's the strong wind which hit the town called?

j. What's a mountain which erupts and blows up lava called?

k. What did the visitors from outer space do to the boy?

l. What dangerous fish did the boy come across?

m. Who stole the boy's homework?