Rhyme Time
Your child will practice recognizing pairs of rhyming words in this activity. Rhyming is a pre-reading skill and also increases vocabulary and imagination.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
basket full of rhyming objects or cards with pictures of objects (such as pig/wig, dog/log, fish/dish, net/jet, cat/rat, pie/fly)
LET'S PLAY
Begin by telling your child that you have a basket full of items (or pictures of items). Say, “See all of these objects in my basket? Together, we’re going to figure out which two objects belong together because they rhyme, or have the same ending sound.” Hold up a cat and a rat. Say each word slowly and deliberately as you say, “Cat and rat are rhyming words because they both have the -at sound at the end.” Ask your child to repeat the words. Next, find some words that do not rhyme. Hold up a dog and fish. Say each word slowly and deliberately as you say, “Dog and fish do not rhyme. Those words do not sound the same at the end.”
Now hold up two objects that rhyme. Say each word slowly and have your child repeat the words. Ask your child if they rhyme. Continue, holding pairs of objects/pictures that rhyme or don’t rhyme, and help your child as needed.
TIPS
- Rhyming is a new skill for preschoolers, and it takes lots of practice for them to learn it. You can help by emphasizing the rhyming parts of the words when you say them, and giving your child many practice opportunities.
- When your child learns how to rhyme, you can make it more challenging by asking your child to think of additional words that rhyme. For example, if cat and rat are selected, ask the child, “What else rhymes with cat and rat?”
- Pick simple words, such as those in this activity, and write them one underneath the other. Then underline the rhyming parts of both words, such as the -at in cat and rat. Children do not need to know how to spell in order to rhyme, but when they begin formal reading instruction, this skill will help them link reading to spelling.
