Page 1 of 4
A cat in a hat
- cat
- hat
Look! A cat in a hat.
Cat and hat end the same.
They rhyme.
Get Ready
Rhyming words end with the same sound.
Learn It
Page 2 of 4
Make your own rhyme
/k/as in cup/at/as in catcatthe whole word
/k/ is hard for a computer to say on its own — it comes out as “kuh”. Listen for it at the start of cup instead.
| First sound | /k/, written c |
|---|---|
| Ending | /at/, written at |
| Blended | cat |
| Is it a word? | A word you know |
| Words you know ending in at | mat, cat, hat, pat, sat |
Say it slowly: /k/ … /at/ … cat. Then say it fast. That is blending — the sounds do not change, you just stop leaving a gap between them. Keep the at ending and change the first sound, and you get mat, cat, hat, pat, sat. One ending, lots of words.
Keep the end, /at/.
Change the first sound.
Mat, sat, pat. They all rhyme!
Page 3 of 4
Pig and big
- pig
- big
- wig
Pig ends with /ig/.
Put /b/ in front. Big!
A big pig! They rhyme.
Page 4 of 4
Silly words rhyme too
- dog
- zog
Put /z/ in front of og.
Zog is a silly word.
But it rhymes with dog!
Your Turn
Answer each question in the yellow box.
Question 1 of 7
Which word rhymes with pig?
Question 2 of 7
Does zat rhyme with cat?
Question 3 of 7
Which word rhymes with cat?
Question 4 of 7
Keep /op/. Put /t/ in front. What word is it?
Question 5 of 7
Which word rhymes with mop?
Question 6 of 7
Does zog rhyme with dog?
Question 7 of 7
Keep the end of man. Put /f/ in front. What word is it?
What You Learned
- Rhyming words end the same.
- Cat and hat rhyme.
- Keep the end. Change the start.
- Silly words can rhyme too.
For the grown-up
Making a rhyme is harder than spotting one: the child has to hold the ending (the rime) still and search for a new first sound. Say the ending alone first, then try sounds in front of it.
Nonsense rhymes such as zat and zog count. They show the child hears the ending, which is the skill. Some words, like orange, have almost no rhyme at all.