"If I Were in Charge of the World"
Re-Tellings of the Original Poem
by Judith Viorst


Written by Mrs. Dingman's 5th Grade
November 2009
After listening to the poem, "If I Were in Charge of the World" by Judith Viorst, we created our own versions. We made decisions about things we'd cancel and keep, with wonderful insight, thoughtfulness, humor and creativity. 
We again made wonderful use of our laptops as we prepared our poetry using Microsoft Word. We continue to practice using the Spell Check Tool, understanding that careful checking is still needed. Spell Check doesn't understand context! 
Enjoy our poetry!
This project aligned with the following Pennsylvania Academic Standards:
1.1.5 Learning to Read Independently
1.4.5 Types of Writing
1.5.5 Quality of Writing
3.7.5 Technological Devices

JackieNovember 16, 2009

If I Were In Charge Of The World

If I were in charge of the world
I’d cancel homework on weekends
Mean sisters
And spelling tests

If I were in charge of the world 
There’d be ice cream for dinner
Pancakes for breakfast 
And cake for dessert

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have textbooks
You wouldn’t have Mondays
You wouldn’t have meatloaf
Or bad grades
You wouldn’t even have grades

If I were in charge of the world
A party would last all day
All the ugly shoes would be gone
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush her teeth
And sometimes forgot to do her homework
Would still be allowed to be 
In charge of the world

JakeNovember 16, 2009

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I’d cancel commercials about boring toys that look fun
Interruptions about emergencies
And thousands of worksheets of review

If I were in charge of the world
There’d be 48 hours in a day
5 hours of school instead of 6
And double the time of recess

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have boredom
You wouldn’t have money
You wouldn’t have bad tasting food
Or a lot of tests
You wouldn’t even have tests

If I were in charge of the world
A weekend would be longer
All candy would be healthy
And a person who sometimes forgot to listen to his parents
And sometimes forgot to do homework
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world

FaithNovember 17, 2009

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I’d cancel boring shows on Saturday night
Making of long books
And any disgusting vegetables 

If I were in charge of the world
There’d be people dancing all around
Shoes coming from the sky
And hundreds of candy shops

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have nasty vitamins
You wouldn’t have gym class
You wouldn’t have crazy hair
Or bugs everywhere
You wouldn’t even have hard beds

If I were in charge of the world 
A school day would only be 2 minutes
All teachers would let you do whatever you want
And a person who sometimes forgot to do her homework
And sometimes forgot to look before she leaps
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world


KristenNovember 16, 2009

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I’d cancel Math
Disgusting school food
And any grades lower than a B+

If I were in charge of the world
There’d be pets in everyone’s home
Bigger lockers
And recess all day long

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have school at 9:00am
You wouldn’t have high prices
You wouldn’t have your own seats on school buses
Or eyeglasses
You wouldn’t even have bad eyesight

If I were in charge of the world
A TV could play 10 shows or movies at one time
All pets and animals could talk and understand you
And a person who sometimes forgot to feed her pets
And sometimes forgot to practice her instrument
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world


KristianNovember 17, 2009

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I’d cancel vegetables
Showers
And healthy foods

If I were in charge of the world
There’d be $500,000,000 a person
Ice cream would be given away five days a week
And poor people would be rich and rich people would be richer

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have curfews
You wouldn’t have expensive cars
You wouldn’t have high gas prices
Or disgusting foods
You wouldn’t even have expensive houses

If I were in charge of the world
A kid could do whatever he wanted
All things would only cost a penny
And a person who sometimes forgot to not rush
And sometimes forgot to pick up the phone
Would still be allowed to be
To be in charge of the world


JonathanNovember 17, 2009

If I Were In Charge Of The World

If I were in charge of the world
I’d cancel educational TV
Spinach
And boring books

If I were in charge of the world
There’d be superhero hamsters
Police cats
And criminal muffins

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have swine flu
You wouldn’t have hot sauce that wasn’t hot
You wouldn’t have Xbox 360’s that break all the time
Or motor boats that go to slow
You wouldn’t even have school and problems you don’t know

If I were in charge of the world
A chocolate chip cookie would be a veggie
All grand theft auto games would be rated E
And a person who sometimes forgets to go to work
And sometimes forgot to be nice
Would still be allowed
In charge of the of the world


SamanthaNovember 18, 2009

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I’d cancel all scary looking spiders that are poisonous
The flu and other sicknesses
And all annoying brothers

If I were in charge of the world 
There’d be good school lunches and a lot more food on your plate
No fighting or bullying
And you would have art class every day for three hours

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have morning tutoring
You wouldn’t have any math tests that make you go crazy
You wouldn’t have to read books... you could just play video games
Or no bad grades... only A's and B's
You wouldn’t even have warm-ups in gym class

If I were in charge of the world
A soda would be a protein drink
All mean people would be locked up forever
And a person who sometimes forgot to study
And sometimes forgot to be nice
Would still be able to be
In charge of the world

AlyssaNovember 16, 2009

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the World
I’d cancel pesky brothers
Bugs
And cars

If I were in charge of the world
There’d be only three hours of school a day
Longer lunch and recesses
And plenty of time to spend with family


If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn’t have soda
You wouldn’t have chocolate
Or money
You wouldn’t even have anything to buy… everything would be traded


If I were in charge of the world
A parent could go on a date every day
All parents would love their kids
And a person who sometimes forgot to clean her room
And sometimes forgot to not let the radio boom
Would still be allowed to be
 In charge of the world

This page was last updated: October 14, 2022