Have you ever wondered why there are more rhyming tales for children than novels for adults? The answer to this question is simple. Child poems have a melodic sound, which is why kids like them. Yet, poems also influence the development of the child.
Great importance is paid to memorizing poetry in all early development centers, kindergartens, and primary schools.
And this is not without reason. The fact is that the process of memorizing poetic stories, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes performs several important functions:
- train memory;
- develop speech skills;
- form vocabulary;
- form phonetic hearing;
- increase the level of erudition;
- develop imagination;
- form social intelligence.
Phrases from poems are different from phrases in everyday life. When a kid repeats rhymes, he gets used to complexing sentences. Repeating out loud is the perfect training of the speech apparatus.
Besides, poems help distinguish sounds and help memorize correct pronunciation.
For these reasons, this type of speed practice is included in educational programs in kindergarten in Russia.
What are Rhyming Words?
Rhyming words are several words that have identical ending sounds, that is, they sound similar. For instance, “in” and “queen” or “you” and “queue”. Note that here we heal not with letters (spelling) but with sounds (pronunciation).
That is, words can be written differently, the main rule is to have similar pronunciation. For example, “through” and “glue”.
Why Does Your Child Need to Learn to Rhyme?
The beneficial effect of rhyming for kindergarten is proved by experts and speech therapists. They claim that children who rhyme words regularly succeed in mental and speed-apparatus development quickly. Here are the main advantages of this activity:
- Engagement in literacy activities. Children improve their skills and learn quickly.
- Better information retention. Due to regular mental activity and receptor stimulation, memory is improved, and children remember information easily.
- Nurturing phonemic sensitivity. Children learn to differentiate between phonemes.
- Sharpening auditory proficiency. Constant practice of auditory sensitivity to sounds helps recognize words by ear easily.
- A fun way to play with the language. Since a game is the main type of activity for children, they perceive information better in this way.
- Cultivating a rich understanding of diverse cultures. Studying a new language opens the horizon and contributes to the creation of a comprehensible world picture.
Rhyming Word Activities
Below, let’s consider the most popular rhyming words in English for kindergarten. Most specialists use them to play with kids.
Nursery Rhymes
These rhymes are used for babies and children to improve their listening skills. They are simple and easy to perceive. Nurseries should read or sing them to children. For instance:
I’m a little teapot
Short and stout
Here is my handle
Here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up,
Then I shout,
Just tip me over and pour me out!
Say or read such funny poems with cute mimics and intonation to amuse your child.
Silly Songs
When teaching children, it’s important to avoid complicated information and words. Thus, one should concentrate on silly songs that sound pretty clear and are easily perceived and remembered.
The combination of one- or two-syllable words is the best choice for silly songs. The use of simple words is one of the main requirements for rhyming for kindergarten. Here are examples of good silly songs for children:
- Down By the Bay
- I Had a Little Turtle
- 5 Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree
- On Top of Spaghetti
- If All of the Raindrops
- Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Singing songs will entertain children while they learn without boredom.
Read Poems
Poems are the best choice for improving a child’s listening and perception skills. Due to the rhyme in poems, children do not feel bored when they listen to long poems.
Such famous authors as Nikki Grimes, Lucille Clifton, and Nikki Giovanni write marvelous poems for children.
Just read poems out loud to entertain your kid. Reading poems is an excellent activity for the bedtime routine. So, you can introduce reading poems before sleep.
Rhyming Match-Up
It is one of the most popular and effective ways to improve skills. For this task, you’ll need picture cards. Students’ task is to match cards according to their sounds. In this case, children train perception and memory.
Rhyming Mats
Here, the task also includes picture cards. However, unlike the previous one, this option implies the need to name rhyming words for kindergarten and write them down. So, kids can also practice writing skills and memorizing.
Rhyming Word Ladders
It is an excellent group activity. In this case, a teacher writes the first word on the whiteboard. Then, children should go to the whiteboard and write rhyming words one by one.
Sticky Note Rhyming
This activity is good for individual practice. Here, the teacher should write several columns of sounds on the whiteboard.
Then, write words on sticky notes and ask the child to differentiate them into columns according to different sounds (for instance, long and short vowel words).
Rhyme the Room
This activity is perfect when you want to shake up children and let them move around the room.
It implies more engagement and training. In this game, the teacher scatters notes with words around the room. The task of children is to find them and write them down in their notepads.
Note that there are pre-made kits for this game, so you can simply buy and use them for your activities.
Rhyming Read Alouds
This activity implies reading rhyming words aloud. Do not hurry up and pause to let children repeat rhyming words. The practice improves memory and phonetic perception, so rhyming for kindergarten is never too much.
Create Nonsense Words
You can create nonsense words that actually do not exist in English to demonstrate the power of sounds and their compatibility. Pretending as an alien or robot while saying nonsense words will entertain children and add fun to the educational process.
Make a Rhyming Basket
It is another individual practice game. According to this activity, the teacher collects things that have rhyming names in one basket.
Search for them around the house or classroom. Put them all together in one basket and ask the kid to match things according to rhyming names. For instance, “car” (toy) and “jar”, “block” and “sock”, or “can” and “pan”.
Act It Out
Acting is an important part of the educational process for children. It doesn’t matter whether you read or speak, do it creatively. Being an “actor” with children improves their imagination and speeds up memorizing processes.
Useful Books with Rhyming Words for Children
Above, we’ve already mentioned some authors who write poems for kids. Here are some more books that will help improve the regarded activity.
They are perfect for rhyming for kindergarten and definitely entertain kids.
- Here’s A Little Poem
- There’s A Wocket In My Pocket!
- Madeline
- Llama Llama Red Pajama
- Baby Boo, I Love You
- Rhyme Crime
- Giggly Wiggly: Playtime Rhymes
- I See The Moon: Rhymes For Bedtime
Rhyming games form clear pronunciation of words, intonation, expressiveness of speech, and enrich vocabulary, which ultimately encourages the child to creative thinking.
Since the game is the leading activity of a preschooler, rhyming comes as the best activity to educate with pleasure.
There are multiple activities that help improve such skills. You can alter the above-mentioned practices to develop a diverse exciting educational process.
