Level 1: Rhyme Time

Rhythm & Rhyme

Level 1 Activities help a child develop an “ear” for the spoken language. When surrounded with oral talk, the hearing, identifying , and matching similar word patterns flourishes. This is the foundational building block for reading.

Early Literacy Foundational Skills

• Sound (Phoneme) Matching

  • listen & detect similar sounds at the beginning (onset) of a word

  • listen & detect similar sounds at the ending (rime) of a word

• Syllable Counting

  • listen, detect, & count syllables (beats) within a word

• Word Counting

  • listen, detect, & count words in a sentence or phrase

Rhyme Time

GOAL: sound matching

Materials:

• nursery rhymes

• noisemakers (optional)

Directions:

1. Introduce& practice rhyming words - say three words, two will rhyme but not the third. Have the child identify the two rhyming words. EX: ‘cat’ ‘dog’ ‘hat’

2. Select short rhymes to read aloud to your child. Tell the child the number of rhyming pairs in the rhyme and challenge them to listen for and find them as you read aloud.

3. Re-read the rhyme again, inviting the child to use a ‘noisemaker’ each time they hear the second half of the rhyming pair. EX: clapping, snapping, jumping, noisemaker

HELPFUL TIPS:

• Always model first until the child is comfortable with this activity.

• Begin with one-syllable words.