Presentation

  1. 1

    Say a known rhyme and emphasize the rhyming words: "Jack and Jill went up the hill."

  2. 2

    Say, "Jill and hill sound the same at the end. They rhyme."

  3. 3

    Lay out two objects that rhyme and say their names slowly: "cat, hat."

  4. 4

    Lay out the remaining objects in a mixed group.

  5. 5

    Pick up one object, say its name, then say each other name in turn until you find the rhyme.

  6. 6

    Invite the child to pick up the next object and find its rhyming partner.

  7. 7

    When all are matched, say each pair together with the child.

Extensions, easiest to hardest

  1. Odd-one-out: three objects, two rhyme, child finds the one that does not
  2. Adult says a word, child says a rhyming word (nonsense words accepted)
  3. Filling in the rhyming word in a new poem
  4. Making a chain of rhymes (cat, hat, mat, sat)

Control of error

The adult. A picture card set may have matching colored dots on the back of each pair.

Ready to move on when the child…

  • Matches all rhyming pairs in a set of six
  • Tells whether two spoken words rhyme
  • Produces a rhyme for a simple word

Guide note

Producing a rhyme is much harder than recognizing one; many three-year-olds recognize rhymes before they can make one.

Try “pink tower”, “tummy”, “diaper”, “grace and courtesy”, or “October”.