Blending
Blending means saying the sounds in a written word one after another and pushing them together to hear the whole word, like /c/ /a/ /t/ → cat.
Phonics · Ages 4–5 · 25 minutes
Hearing and making rhyming words
Children hear when two words rhyme, spot the odd one out in a set, and suggest a rhyming word of their own, real or silly.
Success criteria
- I can hear when two words rhyme
- I can find the word that does not rhyme
- I can think of a word that rhymes
Key vocabulary
- rhyme
- sound
- end
- same
- different
You will need
- a familiar nursery rhyme
- picture cards of rhyming pairs
- a puppet
- a bag or box
Curriculum links
- Reception· England
- Pre-K· United States
Practice sheets
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Rhyming pictures
Rhyming pictures
Rhyming pictures
Rhyme is about listening, not letters. Children don't need to read for any part of this lesson. It suits the early weeks of school, or a small group alongside letter-sound teaching.
1.Starter
5 minutesSing or chant a nursery rhyme the class already knows, such as Hickory Dickory Dock. Sing it again, but stop before the rhyming word and let the children fill it in:
"Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the..." "Clock!"
"Dock, clock. They sound the same at the end. That's a rhyme."
Do the same with one or two other rhymes. Children are often surprised that they can already do this.
2.Teach
10 minutes
map
cap
clock
sock
frog
log
Show the pictures in pairs. Say each pair slowly and stretch the end: "m-ap, c-ap."
"When words rhyme, the beginning changes but the end stays the same. Listen: ap, ap."
Then bring in the puppet, who gets things wrong.
"Puppet says sock and sun rhyme! Do they? Sock, sun... they start the same, but the end is different. Not a rhyme. Silly puppet!"
