3.2 Explicitly Teach Rhyming

Now it’s time to teach! Here’s a research-based approach that we recommend, with examples of language you could use if this is new to you. This lesson teaches students how to recognize and produce rhyming words. 

First, review relevant, pre-requisite skills that your students should know prior to introducing rhyming.  This includes the concept of onset-rime: how to isolate the initial phoneme (onset) and identify the rhyming part (rime). 

You might say something like, “Rhyming words are words that sound the same at the middle and end.”  You might explain that students will learn to recognize rhyming words. Point out that, for instance, goat and boat rhyme because they sound the same after the first sound: /ōt/. Also explain that students will learn to produce rhymes. You might ask students to tell you a word that rhymes with pet (for example, net, set, or let).

Next, you might explain, “We are going to listen for the parts of two words that sound the same. Then, you will say a word that rhymes with a word I say.”

Then you’ll use a gradual release approach, or I Do, We Do, You Do, to teach them the skill. 

First, tell your children that “it’s my turn” and that it’s their job to watch and listen.  Then model how to recognize rhyming words:

Tell the students two words that rhyme:

Demonstrate how you recognize that these words rhyme: 

Now model how to produce rhyming words. Tell your students you’re trying to think up a rhyme, maybe like this:

Then ask,

Then, say two words that don't rhyme:

Then, say two more words that don't rhyme but have the same ending consonant:

Now guide children in supported practice.

1. Tell students you’ll now try some rhyming words together.
2. Share pairs of CVC words with your students as a group and ask them if the two words rhyme. (You can use our rhyming word list.) Talk them through the similarities and differences in the middle and ending sounds of the words.
3. Next, provide a CVC word and ask them to produce a word that rhymes with it. Can you think of a word that rhymes with mat? Work through several words together.

Here's the chance for students to practice rhyming independently.

1. Tell students it is now their turn. 
2. Tell the class two words that may or may not rhyme. Call on individual students to tell you if the two words rhyme. Ask other students to think of the answer in their heads and be ready to help out if a friend needs it.
3. Ask the class to think of a word that rhymes with a word you give them (from our word list). Call on individual students to tell you a rhyming word. Ask other students to think of the answer in their heads and be ready to help out if a friend needs it.
4. Provide support to any students who need it by modeling the correct answer and then having children independently repeat what you demonstrated.

If students struggle with rhyming, you should provide a targeted intervention to focus on helping the student isolate the first sound in a CVC word. This initial sound isolation helps to reveal the part of the word that rhymes (the rime); but, more importantly, it also creates a bridge to their understanding of phonemes, which will be critical to their ability to sound out words. 

Once students are able to recognize rhyming words, they can begin learning to produce rhyming words on their own.