Teaching Kindergartners to Rhyme

For those children that enjoy the 1000 plus hours of lap-time recommended to ensure kindergarten readiness by the National Institute for Children’s Health and Development, the skill of rhyming is usually learned unconsciously and effortlessly. However, for those students who enter kindergarten without that skill under their belt, learning how to rhyme can be a laborious task. So, why do children need to learn the skill of rhyming anyway? Does it really matter if they know that Jill rhymes with hill? Yes! Rhyming paves the wave to future reading success.

Rhyming impacts many components of the reading spectrum. It teaches children about patterns and structures in both spoken and written words. It helps children to read with inflection and animation which leads to increased fluency and comprehension. Rhyming is a crucial skill that will lead to enhanced decoding skills, especially when reading multi-syllabic content words. It helps children be more aware of the commonalities in letter sequences which will make them better writers and spellers.

As with any new skill, teaching a student to rhyme takes practice. A typical student will master any new skills with 25 opportunities to practice. But for a children with lack of exposure, speech and/or language difficulties, and for second language learners, this practice may equal 25 times 25! But, it will be worth the practice because learning to rhyme will increase awareness in the phonology and graphology of English, which are imperative to reading, writing, and oral communication.

If you are looking for games to fill those 25X25 times, most of our thematic units include rhyming activities. 

This packet includes four lessons and a worksheet to help your students understand the concept of rhyming. The lessons vary in style and format. Some lessons are scripted, others are designed for independent practice. Some lessons can be used with small groups while others can be completed with a large group. All lessons can be adapted to support struggling students or to challenge high-achieving students.

Rhyming Pairs: Matching rhyming words
Rhyme River: Producing rhymes
T-Shirt Twins: Matching rhyming words.
Home Sweet Home: Producing rhymes
Match a Rhyme: Matching rhyming words.