3.3 Independent Student Practice with Rhyming

Once you have explicitly modeled rhyming and students have practiced with your support, they should continue practicing to build accuracy and fluency. However, in the case of rhyming, we don't need them to completely master the skill. Rhyming is simply an exercise to support the understanding of onset and rime as word parts and to recognize sounds when they are the same and when they are different. The purpose of teaching students to recognize and produce rhymes is to prepare them for success with phonemic awareness tasks. 

To provide general practice for rhyme recognition and production, read-alouds and classroom games can help stimulate rhyme awareness. Here are a few we recommend.

Read-Alouds

I Can't Said the Ant

• By: Matthew Polly
• Genre: Fiction
• Age Level: 3-6

A Huge Hog Is a Big Pig

• By: Francis McCall (Author), Patricia A. Keeler (Author)
• Genre: Non-Fiction
• Age Level: 3-6

Whose Toes are Those?

• By: Jabari Asim (Author), LeUyen Pham (illustrator)
• Genre: Non-Fiction
• Age Level: 3-6

Student Practice Activities

Clip It! Rhyming Activity

In this printable activity, students practice rhyming words using picture strips and clips!

Body Parts Rhyming Game

This is a fun and easy game to help children identify and generate rhyming words — no materials are needed. Children just need to know parts of the body!

Movement Activities

These videos are quick activities (2-3 minutes) that get children listening and moving. They follow along with Jack Hartmann who will say pairs of words. Children make certain moves if the words rhyme and freeze (or do different moves) if the words do not rhyme.

• Exercise, Rhyme and Freeze | Rhyming Words for Kids | Exercise Song | Jack Hartmann (opens in new window)
• Make a Rhyme, Make a Move | Rhyming Words for Kids | Exercise Song | Jack Hartman (opens in new window)