Last Three Wishes (of a Cockroach)

The cockroach had three wishes before his death.

The first wish was

To sharpen his teeth.

The second wish was

To land on mom’s hand.

The last wish was

To eat some jackfruits,

The good ones, not those with roots.

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Learning Activities

Vocabulary

There are three important words from the 2nd 1000 high frequency General Word List to learn from this poem. These are...

Another important word that is not in the poem, but is useful to know, is the word 'insect'

If you do not know the words 'cockroach' and 'jackfruit', you should check these in the dictionary, but it is not so important to learn these, as they are not high frequency English words and you will not meet them often.

Discussion or Writing Topics

1. If you were given three wishes for yourself, what would you wish for, and why? If you were given three wishes for the whole world, what would you wish for, and why?

2. Have you ever had a wish come true? What was your wish? When your wish came true, was it all you had hoped for, better than what you hoped for, or disappointing?

3. Some people say that we should work to make our own wishes come true. If they are achievable wishes, how do you think we can best do that?

4. What is your favourite fruit to eat? When and where do you usually eat it and why do you like it? (Think of as many English words as you can to describe how it looks and tastes.)

If you have written about any of the above topics, share your writing with another person. Ask questions and make helpful comments about each other's writing.

Expressions about wishing

1. Do you know the English expression, 'to make a wish'? Here are some examples of times when people make a wish...

a) When blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.

b) When blowing the white seeds from a dandelion flower.

c)  When tossing a coin into a fountain or a 'wishing well' 

d) When the New Year starts

e) When you see a falling star

When do people in Bangladesh 'make a wish'?

2. Another expression about wishing is to 'hope' that 'one's wish comes true'. We often say we 'wish for something to come true'. However, wishes are usually things that are unlikely to happen. When we are sure something is going to happen, we normally say we 'expect' or 'know' something will happen.

Categorising: In box number 1, and using English, make a list of examples of things that people might 'wish for' (things that are unlikely to happen). In box number 2, make another list of things that people often 'expect' or 'know' will happen for sure (expectations).