Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Beanbag Rhyme Game
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Beanbag
1. The teacher (holding the beanbag) says a word (e.g., mat).
2. The teacher then passes the beanbag to a child. That child is to think of
a word that rhymes with mat, say the new word aloud, and then pass the
beanbag to another student.
Virginia SOLs: K.4, K.7, 1.4
3. The game continues until the children can think of no more rhyming words.
4. The student who is holding the beanbag at that point begins the game with a
new word.
Source:
Invernizzi, M., & Meier, J., & Juel, C. (2000). PALS: Phonological awareness literacy screening 1-3
(pp. 52). Charlottesville, VA: University Press.
q Pre-K
q Kindergarten
q Grades 13
Rhyme Chime
Phonological Awareness / Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Rhyme cards
1. This activity is a quick filler. Create cards by making two copies of the rhyme
card template. On index cards, glue two pictures side by side - making some
with rhyming matches and some with non rhyming matches.
2. Index cards
2. Hold up a card and say, Rhyme chime one more time. Tell me, (childs
name), do these rhyme? Then name the two pictures.
Virginia SOLs
3. If the child gives the correct answer, s/he gets to hold the card.
K.7, 1.4
Source: Michalochick, R. (2001). Red Mill Elementary Schools. Virginia Beach, VA.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Draw-a-Rhyme Stories
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Chalkboard or dry erase
board
1. Explain to the children that they are going to draw a picture together, using
rhyming words. Read each rhyme aloud, and encourage the children to fill in
the last ryhme word in the sentence. Add those parts to create the picture.
2. Monster Rhyme - When you draw a monster, it is said, you always begin with
his head/ Hell be able to see when he flies, if we draw two bright eyes/ To
tell which way the cold wind blows, our monster will need a great big nose/
Look to the north and look to the south, now we can give our monster a
mouth/Some up above and some beneath, our monster has lots of teeth/ Now
under this chin, lets just check, thats where we should put his neck/ So he
wont be tipsy-toddy, lets give him a polka dot body/ If he really, really begs,
I guess we could give him legs/ To make our monster nice and neat, well
have to teach him to wipe his feet/ A notice sent by air mail, we cant forget
our monsters tail/ He isnt fierce, he isnt hairy, but dont you think hes a little
scary?
3. Clown Rhyme - When making a clown, it is said, always start with his big,
round head/Make it really messy cuz clowns dont care, On top of his head,
give him red curly hair/When people laugh, he wants to hear, so on each
side, give him a great big ear/Now make him look very wise, by giving him
two wide-open eyes/And yes, of course, everyone knows, give hime a big, fat
rounded nose/Now make a line as long as a mile, and turn it into a great big
smile/Look at his clothes-the clown suit he is in, it has a ruffle, right under
his chin/All over his suit are big colored spots, so give hime lots of polka
dots/Now look, can you believe? He has purple stripes on each long sleeve/He
has two hands-one left, one right, ones painted yellow and the other white/At
the botton of his funny suit, you can see one big black boot and the other foot
has not a shoe, cuz he just painted his tonenails blue/Now if you listened and
did everything right your little clown is a funny sight.
4. Alien Rhyme - When drawing a Martian, it is said, always start by making his
head/Dont give him hair on top of his head, give him a shiny, round helmet
thats red/Look at his eyes, so scary and mean, since hes from Mars, they
must be green/Right by his nose, his eyeballs hide, cuz he just happens to be
cross eyed/Just look at his nose, can you imagine that! It has three holes and
its really flat/His mouth is crooked with lots of teeth, jagged on top and flat
underneath/Not only is his neck double jointed, but look at his ears, theyre
pointed/Im sure he has a body like you and me, but a Martianss space suit is
all you see/Now remember, Martians are not to be feared, theyre not really
dangerous, they just look kind of weird!
2. Chalk or dry erase
markers
Surce:
Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic Awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen beginning reading skills
(pp. 105-107). Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Presss.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
End-of-the-Line Rhyme
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. A familiar nursery
rhyme or poem
1. The teacher recites a familiar nursery rhyme to ensure that the children know
the rhyme.
2. Next, the teacher recites the nursery rhyme omitting the final rhyming word,
asking the children to provide it.
Virginia SOLs: K.4, K.7, 1.4
Source:
Example: Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow, and
everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to ________.
Invernizzi, M., & Meier, J., & Juel, C. (2000). PALS: Phonological awareness literacy screening 1-3
(pp. 52). Charlottesville, VA: University Press.
q Pre-K
q Kindergarten
q Grades 13
Go Fish
Phonological Awareness / Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Rhyming cards
1. Make a deck of rhyming cards.
2. Shuffle and deal each player 5 cards. Put the rest of the cards face down in a
pile.
Virginia SOLs
K.7, 1.4
3. The first child says, I have pig. The child with the matching rhyme sasy, I
have wig. They put the cards in a pile in the center. If there is no match, the
child will fish a card out of the pile until a match is made.
4. The child to run out of cards first is the winner.
Source: Swartz, A. Indian Lakes Elementary School. Virginia Beach, VA.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Hink Pink
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Riddles with rhyming
word answers
1. After introducing the term hink pink, define this for the children as a pair of
rhyming words that answer a riddle.
2. Read aloud the first riddle and guide children to guess the rhyming answer.
The children may need to be told the first rhyme word answer in order to get
the idea.
3. Continue with the rest of the examples. As a class, think of other ryhme
pairs and use these words to make new hink pink riddles.
4. The children could try these out on their families or other schoolmates.
5. Hink Pink examples - What do you call a chubby kitty? (fat cat); What do you
call a crying father? (sad dad); What do you call a desk that doesnt fall down?
(stable table); What do you call a rabbit who tells jokes? (funny bunny).
Source:
Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic Awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen beginning reading skills
(pp. 27). Cypress: CA Creative Teaching Press.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Name Game
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. List of childrens names
1. Sing the popular song, inserting the childrens names each time. For example,
use the name Sally and sing, Sally, Sally, Boe Bally, Fanana Fana for Fally, me
my moe Mally - Sally!
2. Highlight the rhymes created by the change in beginning sound.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Picture Rhyme
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Drawing paper
1. Have children fold a piece of paper in half.
2. Crayons, markers, or
colored pencils
2. Ask them to draw a picture of two things that rhyme. For example, a hat and
a bat.
3. Help children to label the picture names.
Virginia SOLs: K.4, K.7, 1.4
4. For children struggling with this activity, provide them with one item to
draw, such as star, pan, pig, pen, or coat, and then encourage them to think of
something that rhymes with their picture.
5. Gather the drawings and bind them into a book for the class library.
Source:
Blevins, W. (1997). Phonemic awareness for early reading success (pp. 20). New York: Scholastic
Professional Books.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Poetry Activities
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. A familiar nursery
rhyme or poem
1. Copy a familiar poem, such as Higglety, Pigglety, Pop on chart paper.
2. Chart paper
Virginia SOLs: K.4, K.7, 1.4
Higglety, Pigglety, Pop
The dog has eaten the mop.
The pigs in a hurry,
The cats in a flurry
Higglety, pigglety, pop.
2. Read it aloud as you track the print.
3. Reread the poem doing one or all of the following:
Have the children point out the rhyming words in the poem. Then frame the
rhyming words as you read the poem. Have the childen clap every time you
read one of the rhyming words. In later readings, pause before the rhyming
words (mop and flurry) to allow children to provide the words.
Substitute words to make a new poem. For example, using a stick-on note,
substitute the word pop with the nonsense word pag. Write the word on
a stick-on note and place it in the appropriate place in the poem. Help
children to reread the new poem.
Have the children clap the rhythm of the poem as you read it aloud.
Explain to the children that rhyming words are words that sound the same
at the end, such as pop and mop. Model for children how to make a rhyme.
For example, you might say, The words pop and mop rhyme because they
sound the same at the end. They both end with /op/. I can make another
word that rhymes with pop and mop. This word begins with /h/ and ends
with /op/. It is hop. Can you make a word that rhymes with pop and mop?
Source:
Blevins, W. (1997). Phonemic awareness activities for early reading success (pp. 15). New York:
Scholastic Professional Books.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Rhyme Away Stories
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Chalkboard or dry erase
board
1. Draw the picture on the chalkboard.
2. Chalk or dry erase
markers
3. Rhyme stories
2. As you read the story, have children identify the rhyme word and call a child
to erase that word from the picture.
3. House story-draw a picture of a house with a door, two windows and a
chimney, yard with a fence and two flowers, grass and a tree. Include a sun in
the sky. Story - Just for fun, erase the sun/ If you can count to three, erase the
tree/ If you can count to four, erase the door, So you dont get stung by a bee,
erase the chimney/ If you can do so, erase the window/ If you see a hound,
erase the ground/ A dog can say woof, erase the roof/ Climb the tower, erase
the flower/ If you see a doe, erase another window/ You need power, to erase
another flower/ If you see a mouse, erase the house.
4. Boy story - Draw a picture of a boy, wearing shirt and pants. Story- He cant
smell a rose, if you erase his nose/ He cant play in a band, if you erase his
hand/ He doesnt wear a tie, erase his eye/ He does care, erase his hair/ Dont
ask why, erase his other eye/ Never fear, erase his ear/ Hell be a real wreck,
if you erase his neck/ He wont feel heat, if you erase his feet/ It wont hurt, if
you erase his shirt/ He cant dance, if you erase his pants/ He can go to bed, if
you erase his head.
5. Car story - Draw a side picture of a car, including headlights, wipers and two
bumpers. Story - I dont know how you feel, but you can erase a wheel/ He
ran into a fire, erase a tire/ I have a friend named Thumper, erase a bumper/
You cant see at night, if you erase a light/ If you can count to four, erase a
door/ A baby wears a diaper, erase a wiper/ If you have ten toes, you can erase
the windows/ A dog says woof, woof, erase the roof/ It looks a bit shoddy, so
erase the body.
Source:
Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic awarness: Playing with sounds to strengthen beginning
reading skills (pp. 102-104). Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Silly Willy
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Large open area
1. Teach the children the following verse to the tune of Skip to My Lou. Invite
the children to sing along and complete the last line using a word that rhymes
with a students name.
2. Silly Willy, who should I choose (repeat three times)/I choose ___________.
(ex.- Terri Berry/ Matt Bat/ Sarah Harah)
3. Continue to sing along, using new names and rhymes.
4. This song could be used in group activities, during transitions and in a
modified version of Duck Duck Goose.
5. Have the children sit in a circle and choose a child to be it. As the children
sing the song, It skips around the outside of the circle. During the last line,
have It complete the verse, tap the selected child on the shoulder and race
around the circle to sit in his spot.
Source:
Fitzpartick, J. (1997). Phonemic Awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen beginning
reading skills (pp. 23). Cypress, CA: Creative
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
Telephone
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Short rhyming
sentences
1. Gather a small group of children and ask them to sit in a close circle on the
floor.
Examples- A cat sat on
the mat. Hop on Pop.
The fat rathas a hat. Jack
has a black sack. It is fun
to run. Jill went up the
hill.
2. Begin the game by choosing a starter, who whispers a short rhyming
sentence to the child on his right.
3. The child then whispers the message to the child on his right.
4. The message continutes to be whispered around the cirlce until it reaches the
starting person.
5. The starter shares the orginial rhyme and then the new rhyme.
Source:
Bennett, R., & Bennett, S. T. (1991). 365 TV Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child (pp.
316). Holbrook, MA: Bob Adams.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grades 13
The Foot Book
Back to Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. The Foot Book, by Dr.
Seuss
1. After reading the book, ask children to remove their shoes and/or socks.
2. Reread the text and ask the children to act out the phrases, such as high feet/
low feet, quick feet/slow feet, etc.
Source:
(2000). The Mailbox: The Idea Magazine for Tteachers - Kindergarten. (pp. 12).
q Pre-K
q Kindergarten
q Grades 13
Squirrel in a Tree
Phonological Awareness / Rhyme
Materials
Procedure
1. Rhyme cards
1. Divide the class in half and designate one group as trees and the other as
squirrels.
2. Give the trees picture cards that match other cards given to the squirrels.
3. The trees move to various parts of the room and become stationary.
Virginia SOLs
4. When the teacher says, Squirrel in a tree! the squirrels must move around
and find their matching tree.
K.4, K.7
5. The pair can then work together to think of additional words that rhyme with
their pictures.
Source: Virginia Department of Education. (1998). Early Intervention Reading Initiative Supplemental Resources for
Teachers.
