Rhyming Practice

Purpose:  to improve the ability to sound out new words by identifying sound patterns

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes

Materials needed:  copies of Rhyming Practice Worksheet (see attached)

A big thank you to Sheri Lear at Open Door Learning Center- Lake Street for sharing this teaching idea!

Preparation:  Choose 3 vocabulary words related to the lesson for which you can think of at least 4 rhyming words.  Use the template (see the attachment below) to fill in words, preferably words that are already meaningful to the students.

Procedure:

1.  Demonstrate what a rhyming word is.  This may be a new idea for many students.  Write the first rhyming word on the board and ask what it is. Cover the first letter and ask what sound it makes now.  Erase the first letter and try putting different beginning sounds with it to see if it forms a word. 

2.  If this is a new activity, repeat step 1 with another three rhyming words in the exercise.

3.  If it will be necessary for the exercise, explain that the words don’t need to be spelled alike in order to sound like.  Also, if necessary, remind them that in multi-syllable words, it is the last syllable that rhymes.  This is difficult for most learners at first, but they will catch on if this activity is used as a routine.

4.  If students need more practice before they can fill out the worksheet independently, show the worksheet on a projector and invite a different student to do write an example answer for each of the rhyming words.

5.  Students fill out the worksheet.

6.  For extra challenge, have fast finishers come up with 1-2 additional rhyming words. 

7.  Go over the answers as a class.

Variation: This activity can be done individually or in pairs.  If done individually, have learners compare answers with a classmate.