Play Acting Song · Elementary Music · Grades PreK–1
Miss Polly Had a Dolly lyrics, the full play acting game with 10 roles, motions, unpitched percussion, and a complete teaching guide for PreK through 1st grade. One of the richest dramatic songs in early elementary music — with roles for everyone including the bag, the hat, and even the bed.
Full lyrics · all verses
The complete Miss Polly Had a Dolly lyrics. The repeated words at the end of each phrase — "sick sick sick," "quick quick quick," "rat-tat-tat" — are both the motions cues and the percussion cues. Everything the song teaches is built into the text.
The play acting game
The genius of this play acting game is that even the "unusual" roles — the bag, the hat, the bed — are highly desirable once children know what they get to do. Cue each child as their part occurs rather than ahead of time to keep the drama moving.
About this song
Miss Polly Had a Dolly is one of the most musically efficient songs in the early elementary repertoire. The repeated phrases — "sick sick sick," "quick quick quick," "pill pill pill," "bill bill bill" — serve simultaneously as the dramatic text, the motion cues, and the percussion cues. Teaching the song, the motions, and the instruments is essentially one continuous process rather than three separate activities.
The teaching sequence is elegant. First, teach the song from the poster. Then invite students to do motions on the repeated phrases while you sing the rest. Then they sing only those phrases while you sing the rest. Then replace the motions with unpitched percussion — three taps on a hand drum where each "sick sick sick" falls. Finally, move to "level 2" where you play the piano and the children play their percussion part without singing at all.
The play acting game extends the song dramatically for classes that are ready for it. What makes it work is that even the seemingly minor roles — the bag, the hat, the paper — have genuine theatrical moments built in. The Pill rolls into the scene. The Dolly rests their head on the Bed's tummy. The Door decides whether to let the Doctor in. Every child feels essential.
The song also allows for easy gender-neutral adaptation — "Mr. Pauly had a dolly" or any other name works perfectly with the melody.
Teaching guide
Sing the song once through using the poster. The repeated phrases — "sick sick sick," "quick quick quick" — are immediately memorable and students will be singing along by the second time through.
Invite students to do motions with you on "sick sick sick," "quick quick quick," "bag and hat," "rat-tat-tat," "shook his head," "straight to bed," "pill pill pill," and "bill bill bill." Then have them sing only those words while you sing the rest of the song. This creates a natural call-and-response structure.
Replace the motions with hand drums or other unpitched percussion — students play three times on each repeated phrase instead of doing the motion. The percussion part maps exactly onto the words, so the transfer is immediate and clean.
When students are proficient, move to level 2: you play the song on piano, guitar, or xylophone, and the children play their percussion part without singing the words. The result sounds impressively musical from very young players — and they know it.
Assign the 10 roles and run the play. Cue each child at the moment their character appears — don't announce assignments in advance. Let the actors speak or sing their own lines. Accompanying on piano helps keep the action moving. If you have fewer than 10 students, remove the "non-essential" characters (Bag, Hat, Paper, Pill, Bill can be combined or cut).
Common questions
The full lyrics are: "Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick sick sick / So she called for the doctor to come quick quick quick / The doctor came with his bag and his hat / And he knocked on the door with a rat-tat-tat / He looked at the dolly and he shook his head / And he said, 'Miss Polly, put her straight to bed' / He wrote on the paper for the pill pill pill / 'I'll be back in the morning with my bill bill bill.'"
The 10 roles are: Miss Polly (or Mr. Pauly), Dolly, Doctor, Bag, Hat, Door, Door Knocker, Bed, Paper (Pill prescription), Pill, and Bill. Each role has a specific theatrical moment — the Bag and Hat attach to the Doctor, the Door decides whether to let the Doctor in, the Bed has the Dolly rest their head on their tummy, the Pill rolls dramatically into the scene, and the Bill announces the cost. If you have fewer than 10 students, the non-essential characters (Bag, Hat, Paper, Pill, Bill) can be removed or combined.
Miss Polly Had a Dolly works best for PreK through 1st grade. PreK and kindergarteners love the motions and the dramatic play. First graders can engage with the full percussion ensemble and the more complex play acting. The song's clear structure and memorable repeated phrases make it accessible for the youngest students while still offering enough complexity for 1st grade.
The sequence moves through three stages. First, motions on the repeated phrases while singing. Second, percussion instruments replacing the motions — students play three times on each repeated phrase (matching "sick sick sick," "quick quick quick," etc.). Third, "level 2" where the teacher plays the melody on piano or xylophone and students play their percussion part without singing. At level 2 the ensemble sounds surprisingly impressive, which gives even very young students genuine pride in their playing.
More play acting songs for early elementary
Short, cheeky, and instantly lovable. Quarter rest filled with a meow. Natural partner song to Miss Polly.
See teaching guide →The beloved circle game with motions. Same age range as Miss Polly — pairs perfectly in the same class period.
See teaching guide →Counting down play acting song with motions. Another natural companion for early elementary dramatic play.
See teaching guide →The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
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