Many of us have fond memories of learning nursery rhymes and rhyming stories when we were children.
These tales are important because they expose children to rhyme, which is essential for language development. Children who have strong early language abilities, including listening and speaking, are shown to develop more robust reading and writing skills.
Helping your child recognize and use rhyme will help them first with their verbal language and then with their literacy. Introducing rhyming words for kids is an excellent way to do that.
Key Takeaways
- Rhyming helps children develop language and literacy skills.
- Children learn rhyming in three stages: exposure, recognition, and production.
- Make learning to rhyme fun with books, poems, songs, puzzles, and games.
- Start with simple rhyming words for younger kids and gradually introduce more complex words as they grow older.
How Do You Teach Rhyming Words To Children?
Children learn about rhyme in three stages, although there is much overlap as they move from one step to another.
Rhyme Exposure
This is when your child hears rhyming words. This can be in songs while reading rhyming together, or elsewhere. At this stage, you should point out rhyming words to your child.
Rhyme Recognition
Once your child hears a rhyme and points it out, they have reached the stage of rhyme recognition.
Rhyme Production
Finally, your child will be able to produce rhyme themselves. They may take great pride in asking you questions, such as, “Do you know what rhymes with door? More!”
While this may seem like a small thing to you, to them it’s big. Make sure to show them that you’re impressed with their newly-found knowledge.
Ways To Teach Rhyming Words
Make learning to rhyme fun by using some of these methods.
Share Rhyme In Books, Poems, And Songs
Reading rhyming books and poems and singing together will expose your child to rhymes in a fun, relaxing way. Read the complete story or sing the entire song first and then go back and point out the rhymes.
Then, when your child is aware of the concept of rhyming, ask them to point out the pairs of rhyming words they hear or read.
Once your child is familiar with rhymes, read or sing, but don’t say the second rhyming word. Instead, ask your child to provide a suitable rhyme.
Puzzles
Rhyme word puzzles are a fun way for your child to practice pairing up rhyming words.
Clip Cards
Not all rhyming words have the same spelling at the end. To prevent your child from becoming confused by the spelling, use peg cards where your child picks the correct rhyme according to the picture.
Lap Books
Create nursery rhyme lap-books with your child. First, print out the standard nursery rhyme and then have your child replace the original word with another of their own that rhymes.
Rhyming Dictionaries
Help your child find suitable rhyming words with a rhyming dictionary. These can be immensely helpful no matter what age you are, especially if you are a teacher, writer, or write lyrics for songs.
Rhyming Words For Kindergarten
These are great options for those who are younger than kindergarten or those who are still working on completing that first year in school. These are simple words that won’t be too challenging for this age.
Words That Rhyme With At
- Bat
- Cat
- Fat
- Hat
- Mat
- Pat
- Rat
- Sat
- Vat
- Slat
- Brat
- Flat
- Chat
- Splat
- That
Words That Rhyme With An
- Ban
- Can
- Fan
- Man
- Pan
- Ran
- Tan
- Van
- Flan
- Plan
- Span
- Scan
Words That Rhyme With Ab
- Cab
- Dab
- Drab
- Fab
- Flab
- Grab
- Jab
- Nab
- Lab
- Slab
- Tab
- Crab
Words That Rhyme With Ad
- Add
- Bad
- Clad
- Dad
- Fad
- Had
- Lad
- Mad
- Pad
- Rad
- Sad
Words That Rhyme With All
- Ball
- Call
- Fall
- Hall
- Mall
- Shawl
- Tall
- Wall
- Thrall
- Gall
Words That Rhyme With Ag
- Bag
- Flag
- Drag
- Gag
- Hag
- Nag
- Rag
- Sag
- Tag
- Wag
Words That Rhyme With Ip
- Ship
- Chip
- Clip
- Dip
- Drip
- Flip
- Grip
- Hip
- Kip
- Lip
- Nip
- Pip
- Rip
- Sip
- Slip
- Skip
- Snip
- Tip
- Trip
- Zip
Words That Rhyme With Ap
- App
- Cap
- Clap
- Flap
- Gap
- Lap
- Map
- Nap
- Rap
- Scrap
- Slap
- Snap
- Strap
- Snap
- Tap
- Trap
Words That Rhyme With Id
- Bid
- Did
- Hid
- Kid
- Lid
- Mid
- Rid
- Sid
- Grid
- Slid
- Skid
- Squid
Words That Rhyme With Op
- Bop
- Cop
- Crop
- Clop
- Drop
- Flop
- Hop
- Mop
- Plop
- Prop
- Shop
- Stop
- Swap
- Top
Words That Rhyme With Am
- Clam
- Cram
- Dam
- Gram
- Ham
- Jam
- Lamb
- Ram
- Slam
- Spam
- Tram
Words That Rhyme With Ig
- Big
- Dig
- Fig
- Gig
- Pig
- Rig
- Twig
- Swig
- Wig
- Brig
Words That Rhyme With Ar
- Are
- Bar
- Car
- Far
- Jar
- Scar
- Star
- Tar
- Ajar
- Guitar
Words That Rhyme With Aw
- Awe
- Caw
- Claw
- Draw
- Flaw
- Paw
- Raw
- Saw
- Straw
- Thaw
Words That Rhyme With Ay
- Bay
- Clay
- Day
- Gray
- Hay
- Jay
- Lay
- May
- Pay
- Play
- Pray
- Say
- Stay
- Spray
- Sway
- They
- Way
- Tray
Words That Rhyme With Ell
- Bell
- Cell
- Dell
- Fell
- Gel
- Sell
- Shell
- Smell
- Spell
- Tell
- Well
- Yell
Words That Rhyme With En
- Den
- Men
- Pen
- Ten
- Then
- When
- Wren
- Zen
- Ben
- Ken
Words That Rhyme With Et
- Bet
- Get
- Jet
- Let
- Met
- Net
- Pet
- Set
- Wet
- Yet
Words That Rhyme With Ew
- Blue
- Blew
- Brew
- Chew
- Clue
- Crew
- Cue
- Do
- Dew
- Drew
- Ewe
- Flew
- Glue
- Grew
- Knew
- New
- Phew
- Shoe
- Shoo
- Stew
- Through
- Threw
- True
- Two
- View
- You
- Who
- Zoo
Words That Rhyme With In
- Bin
- Chin
- Din
- Fin
- Grin
- Inn
- Pin
- Shin
- Skin
- Spin
- Twin
- Thin
- Tin
- Win
Words That Rhyme With It
- Bit
- Fit
- Hit
- Kit
- Knit
- Lit
- Mit
- Nit
- Pit
- Sit
- Quit
- Skit
- Slit
- Spit
Words That Rhyme With Od
- Cod
- Bod
- Odd
- Nod
- Plod
- Prod
- Rod
- Squad
- Trod
- Pod
Words That Rhyme With Og
- Bog
- Blog
- Cog
- Clog
- Dog
- Fog
- Frog
- Hog
- Jog
- Log
Words That Rhyme With Op
- Top
- Chop
- Cop
- Crop
- Drop
- Flop
- Hop
- Mop
- Pop
- Shop
- Stop
Words That Rhyme With Ot
- Blot
- Cot
- Clot
- Dot
- Got
- Hot
- Knot
- Not
- Plot
- Pot
- Rot
- Shot
- Spot
Words That Rhyme With Ow
- Bow
- Brow
- Cow
- How
- Now
- Pow
- Sow
- Row
- Vow
- Wow
Rhyming Words For First Grade And Older
These are useful rhyming words for first graders and above with an expanding skillset.
Words That Rhyme With Ake
- Ache
- Bake
- Cake
- Brake
- Break
- Fake
- Flake
- Lake
- Make
- Quake
- Rake
- Sake
- Take
- Sneak
- Steak
- Stake
- Wake
Words That Rhyme With Ale
- Bail
- Bale
- Kale
- Dale
- Fail
- Hail
- Male
- Nail
- Pail
- Pale
- Rail
- Sail
- Snail
- Sale
- Stale
- Tail
- Tale
- Trail
- Whale
- Detail
- Toenail
Words That Rhyme With Ain
- Brain
- Cane
- Chain
- Crane
- Drain
- Gain
- Grain
- Lane
- Mane
- Main
- Pane
- Pain
- Plain
- Plane
- Reign
- Rain
- Sprain
- Stain
- Strain
- Train
- Again
Words That Rhyme With Or
- Door
- Chore
- Core
- Four
- For
- Sore
- Floor
- Door
- More
- Oar
- Snore
- Soar
- Store
- Score
Words That Rhyme With School
- Cool
- Cruel
- Drool
- Fool
- Fuel
- Ghoul
- Jewel
- Mule
- Pool
- Spool
- Tool
- Who’ll
- You’ll
- Yule
Any Time Can Be Rhyme Time
Whether you are playing rhyme I-spy, singing nursery rhymes, or reading a book of children’s poems, the time you spend sharing rhymes with your child is helping them develop spoken language.
Build a little rhyme time into every day and give your child an advantage.
Introducing rhyming words is an excellent way to lay a solid foundation for literacy.