How to Teach Your Child to Rhyme
Does your child know how to rhyme? How long did it take? Are you still teaching your child to rhyme? Enjoy a few simple ideas to try that you might haven’t thought of:
1. Read simple rhyming books.
You can start with a child as young as a baby. Read and reread the same books. Choose new books from the library to have something that is different. Be sure to do this daily (or at least use your weekends to catch up). When you read these books, pause before the rhyming word and see if your child can predict what the word will be. For many parents, this may be all that it takes for their children to catch on to rhyming. Just remember, it is a process, so it DOES happen OVER TIME, which varies from child to child.
*Remember nursery rhymes! You can find books that have entire collections of nursery rhymes. Try memorizing them or singing them!
2. Sing songs.
Many children songs rhyme, and you can find nursery rhymes set to music. My children listened to these at bedtime. We sang them in the car as well. Starfall.com has a collection of songs that my children enjoyed. They also have an app for the ipad!
3. Show the spelling of word family groups.
Children will often get confused about what rhyming MEANS. They might perceive it to be alliteration, which is starting with the same sound. For example, “red” and “robin” do NOT rhyme; they have ALLITERATION.
What can you do when your child has that misconception?
When your child says a word that starts the same, show the spelling and how the words start with the same letter. Answer, “Those words DO start the same. They do NOT rhyme.”
Ask, “What rhymes with CAP?” If your child says a word like “CAN,” write the two words out emphasizing that they DO have a similar sounds because they START THE SAME.
Show how rhyming words END THE SAME. These are called word families.
Try ABC magnets or letter tiles to spell:
CAP
SAP
TAP
*Have your child PHYSICALLY MOVE the first letter tile of the word and switch it for the other letter. If your child is having a difficult time rhyming, use small, one-syllable words to begin.
For more groups of words that you can practice, do an internet search for “word families.” Some examples are:
—the “ig” family. PIG-WIG-FIG-BIG
—the “ine” family PINE-VINE-MINE-FINE
*If your child is particularly young and not yet in school, try practicing, “What letter does ______ start with?” or "Name some things that start with the letter ___.” It may be that your child is confusing alliteration and rhyming because they don’t fully understand initial (beginning) letter sounds. You can start with that skill.
4. Sort words into groups based on if they rhyme or not.
One activity you can try to clear up any misconceptions about rhyming is to do a sort.
You can get a download here for a RHYMING SORT.
There are pictures of items that rhyme vs. pictures of items that start the same. You and your child can play this game by naming the pictures, listening, and sorting into two different groups: Rhyming/ Not rhyming or Rhyming/Same beginning sound (depending on what you want to call them).
Here are some things to keep in mind as you go through the process of teaching your child to rhyme:
—You don’t always need picture sorts.
Sometimes you can talk through examples as you go about your day (at home, in the car, while reading a book).
—Count NONSENSE WORDS
For example, if you ask for a word that rhymes with SIT and your child says VIT, that counts. It still rhymes.
—Rhyming is a process, so it TAKES TIME.
Children must first hear rhyming words over and over before they begin to notice and recognize rhyming. FINALLY, your child will be able to MAKE A WORD that rhymes with another word. Recognizing rhyming pairs and making rhyming pairs are two different levels of complexity.
WHY RHYMING?
Rhyming helps children to hear different sounds within words. It is directly connected to better reading skills like decoding (sounding out) and fluency (smoother reading), both of which also help with comprehension.
Remember, YOU are your child’s MOST INFLUENTIAL TEACHER.
Rebecca