We have created the ultimate set of rhyming cards for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Whether you’re helping children learn to rhyme or looking to expand their rhyming abilities, these rhyming cards are such a win, they’ll make your head spin!
Rhyming Picture Cards
How to Use the Rhyming Cards
Rhyming cards are a great way to help all children learn to rhyme. Sometimes children struggle to learn to rhyme at a young age, and it is oftentimes an early sign of dyslexia. However, these rhyming cards will work for all children, whether they struggle to rhyme or even if they can fly through it!
Rhyming Card Instructions
The rhyming cards are available in our store and are super easy to prep! You can use them in a large group, small groups, or in centers, and they are especially great for one on one help too.
- Print the rhyming cards on cardstock.
- Cut the cards into rows so that there are three words to work on at once.
- Tell the child that you are going to play a game. It’s rhyme time!
- Read the words on the cards while pointing to the pictures. Make sure to enunciate each word so that the sounds can be clearly heard.
- Help the child hear the words that rhyme and put a check mark below (or above) the pair of rhyming words and the red strikethrough with the word that doesn’t rhyme.
Differentiating Rhyming
These rhyming cards were designed and differentiated for use with children at any rhyming stage. You’ll notice that we made rhyming cards with a green border and a blue border.
Rhyming cards with a green border are an easier introduction to rhyming. These are perfect for beginning rhymers to help them hear the ending sound clearly and easily.
The rhyming cards with a blue border are more challenging. Some of them have the same beginning sound or similar ending sounds.
Note: Keep in mind that these cards are for oral use. We want children to hear the sounds in the words because it is practicing phonological awareness. The words on the rhyming cards are for the adult only so that the child can focus on the sounds.
Rhyming Game: Rhyme or No Rhyme?
My favorite way to use these cards is to play Rhyme or No Rhyme? Begin by cutting each page into three rows and invite students to determine which two words rhyme. If your student is just beginning to learn rhyming, emphasize the two rhyming words when you name the 3 pictures. Encourage them to listen closely for the words that have the same ending. Use the green check mark cards to indicate rhyming pairs and the red no symbol above the word that does not rhyme.
Teaching Rhyming
Rhyming is an important component in phonological awareness, which is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds in speech. The development of rhyming is both simple and complex at the same time. Since rhyming is one of the best predictors of early literacy success, it’s so important for us to guide our youngest children through the stages of rhyming development.
Developmental Stages of Rhyming
Children typically go through three stages in their journey to understand, recognize, and produce rhyming words. Oftentimes, during the preschool years, young children begin their journey through rhyme development.
The more opportunities that students have to listen and practice with rhyming words, the better! We have developed these rhyming cards that will help your children learn to be master rhymers through every stage!
Stage 1 of Rhyming Development – Exposure to Rhymes
In this first stage, children become familiar with rhymes through plenty of exposure. This could be through songs and fingerplays, classic nursery rhymes, rhyming games, rhyming books, and/or everyday spoken language. These fun and engaging experiences are building the blocks to rhyming success and setting up those little learners to become proficient rhymers (and readers)!
Using our rhyming cards during circle time and/or spotlighting a rhyming card each day gives children the background knowledge and the phonological support to begin moving onto the next stage of rhyming. Plus, adding in rhyming songs encourages children to hear the sounds in a different and more rhythmic way, which is always a bonus!
Stage 2 of Rhyming Development – Recognizing Rhymes
In this second stage, children are beginning to notice a difference between words that rhyme and words that don’t rhyme. This will likely be oral recognition and it’s a great time to celebrate this big accomplishment!
Stage 3 of Rhyming Development – Producing Rhymes
In this third and last stage, children have officially mastered how rhyming works! Children are able to recognize rhyming words AND produce rhyming words too. Once simple rhymes feel successful, begin adding in words with more complex letter combinations as well. Blends and digraphs are a great start!
When your students have reached this last stage of rhyming, they are ready to soar! The rhyming cards are a great springboard for encouraging children to come up with additional rhymes for each set of rhyming picture cards and challenging their rhyming knowledge. Don’t forget to grab them from our store!
Other Interactive Ways to Use the Rhyming Cards
There are endless ways to use these rhyming cards in your classroom and these are just a few ideas:
- Pocket Chart Sort – cut apart the cards in circle time, small group, or individual practice by inviting students to help you identify and match a rhyme. Encourage children to sort the two cards that rhyme and identify a word that does not rhyme.
- Rhyming Memory – Lay out 3-4 pairs of rhyming cards upside down. Invite children to take turns flipping a card to find a rhyming match. Have the child flip over two cards. Then, invite the child to say both words aloud and then help them decide if those words rhyme. If the child is struggling to identify the rhyme, enunciate the final sound in the word and help them make that sound with you. If they don’t find one, they must flip the cards back over and try to remember where all the cards are for their next turn. The students can play in small groups or with the teacher/parent. Play until all cards have been matched!
- Rhyme Sort – Invite students to sort the picture card sets by words that rhyme/do not rhyme. Use a pocket chart or a tabletop for ease!
- Rhyming Tag – Arrange the children in a circle and give each child a rhyming picture card. Invite the preschoolers to find the partner who has a rhyming picture. Repeat and play again!
- Rhyming Scavenger Hunt – Head out on a scavenger hunt as you search for rhymes. Use real items, rhyming picture cards, or rhyming objects and scatter them inside or out. Invite your preschoolers/kindergarteners to find the items and make rhyming matches!
We hope you and your students love these rhyming cards as much as we do!
Don’t forget to grab the rhyming cards from our store!
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