Setting Purpose: Exploring Rhyme | EL Education Curriculum

You are here

Home › Our Curriculum › ELA Grade K › ELA GK:S1 › ELA GK:S1:C1 ›

ELA GK:S1:C1:L10

Setting Purpose: Exploring Rhyme

In this Lesson

You are here:

Download Materials

Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can identify the name and sound for the letters "a" and "t." (RF.K.3)
    • I can look at each consonant and say its sound.
    • I can identify the short vowel sound for every vowel letter.
  • Work Time A: I can identify and produce words that rhyme. (RF.K.2)
    • I can create a new word for a rime pattern by changing the onset (provided by the teacher; examples: "pat," "hat," "bat").
    • I can identify two rhyming words from listening to a line of text.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during Opening A. Determine whether they can sing the names of the letters in order and identify the name and sound for the letters "a" and "t."
  • Observe students during Work Time A and B. Determine whether they can identify and produce words that rhyme.

Agenda

Agenda

1. Opening (2 minutes)

A. Letter-Sound Chant: "a" and "t"

2. Work Time (10-15 minutes)

A. Exploring Rhyme: "I'm a Little Teapot"

B.Exploring Rhyme: "Alligator and Tern"

3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

A. Reflecting on Learning

4. Independent Work Time (40-45 minutes)

In Advance

  • Gather materials for independent work rotations (see Independent Work Time).

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T)

  • letter, rhyme, vowel, word (L)
  • alligator, stout, tern (T)

Materials

  • Keyword Picture Card: "t" (on the Alphabet anchor chart)
  • Alphabet anchor chart (introduced in Lesson 5)
  • Keyword Picture Card: "a" (on the Alphabet anchor chart)
  • Enlarged poem: "Alligator and Tern" (to display; from Lesson 8; optional)
  • Picture of a shoe
  • Picture of the numeral "2"
  • Hand mirrors (optional)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Letter-Sound Chant: "a" and "t"

  • (Suggested transition song: "ABC Song," sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"):

"A b c d e f g (pause) h i j k l m n o p (pause) q r s (pause) t u v (pause) w x (pause) y and z. These are the letters we use to read and write. (pause) Let's get to know them by sound and by sight."

  • Begin the Letter-Sound Chant instructional practice:

1. Teacher points to the Keyword Picture Card: "t" on the Alphabet anchor chart and says: "'t,' tern, /t/."

2. Teacher invites students to repeat: "'t,' tern, /t/."

3. Teacher invites students to notice how the sound feels in their mouths (tip of tongue up against the roof of the mouth behind the upper teeth, tongue moving forward and down, and a little air pushing out).

4. Teacher points to the Keyword Picture Card: "a" on the Alphabet anchor chart and says: "There are 26 letters in the alphabet. Every one of them is important because each shows a sound. We know there are five letters that have extra-special jobs in words, and those letters are called vowels. 'A' is one of those five vowel letters."

5. Teacher says: "'a,' alligator, /a/."

6. Teacher invites students to repeat: "'a,' alligator, /a/."

7. Teacher invites students to notice how the sound feels in their mouths (mouth open, tongue flat in mouth, sound coming from back of throat).
  • Consider inviting students to stand and move in a circle while singing the transition song. Model how they can take a step on each letter. When they sing the lyrics "by sound," they can cup their hands behind their ears to illustrate careful listening. When singing the lyrics "by sight," they can make "binoculars" around their eyes with their hands to illustrate careful observing. This helps establish the idea that learning letters involves knowing the shape, name, and sound.
  • Consider providing hand mirrors for students to see the position of their mouths as they make each sound.
  • When saying: "'a,' alligator, /a/," draw out the /a/ sound at the beginning of "alligator" to help students isolate and commit the sound to memory.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Exploring Rhyme: "I'm a Little Teapot"

  • (Suggested transition song: "I'm a Little Teapot"):

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle. Here is my spout. When I get all steamed up, hear me shout. Tip me over and pour me out."

  • Introduce the Exploring Rhyme instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: "I'm going to sing this song again, but I'm going to leave out some words. I want you to sing the words that I leave out."

2. Teacher sings the song again, leaving out the words "stout," "spout," "shout," and "out," listening as students provide the missing words.

3. Teacher asks:

"How did you know what words to sing?" (familiar with the song, heard a rhyme, sounded right)

4. Teacher invites students to listen as he or she says: "stout," "spout," "shout," and "out."

5. Teacher asks:

"What do you notice about these words?" (Responses will vary. Examples: they sound the same, they rhyme, they end the same.)

6. Teacher says: "These words all rhyme. There is something about them that sounds the same."
  • Consider inviting students to stand and make the motions while singing "I'm a Little Teapot."
  • The word "stout" will likely be unfamiliar to most students. Explain that the word describes the teapot. Teapots are "short and stout," meaning "short and wide."
  • Consider asking students to turn to an elbow partner during step 5 to share what they notice about the words.
  • If students use the word "rhyme" to describe what they notice about the words, invite them to explain what they mean by "rhyme."

B. Exploring Rhyme: "Alligator and Tern"

  • Display enlarged poem "Alligator and Tern" (optional).
  • Begin the Exploring Rhyme instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: "I wonder if there are any words that rhyme in our poem 'Alligator and Tern.'"

2. Teacher says: "I'm going to say part of our poem aloud, but I'm going to leave a word out, just like I did with the teapot song. I want you to say the word that I leave out."

3. Teacher recites the first stanza in the poem aloud while pointing to the words in the poem (if displayed), leaving out the word "you."

4. Students say: "you."

5. Teacher says the following words while students listen: "zoo," "you."

6. Teacher asks:

"How are these words alike?" (they rhyme; same ending sound)

"How are these words different?" (different beginning sound; mean something different)

7. Teacher says: "Let's play a game. This is how it goes: I'll say some words from the poem, and then I'll show you a picture. You'll say the name of the picture, and then we'll figure out how the words go together."

8. Teacher says: "zoo," "you."

9. Teacher shows the Picture of a shoe and says "/sh/ ..."

10. Students say: "shoe."

11. Teacher says: "zoo," "you," "shoe."

12. Teacher asks:

"How do these words go together?" (All have the same ending sound.)

13. Teacher says: "That's right. 'zoo,' 'you,' and 'shoe' all sound the same at the end. These words rhyme."

14. Teacher says: "Let's try another one."

15. Teacher says: "zoo," "you," "shoe."

16. Teacher shows the Picture of the numeral "2" and says: "/t/."

17. Students say: "two."

18. Teacher says: "zoo," "you," "shoe," "two."

19. Teacher asks:

"Do these words rhyme/go together?" (yes)

"How do you know?" (rhyme; have the same ending sound)

20. If time allows, repeat the process with rhyming words in the poem's second and third stanzas.
  • Hearing rhymes can be challenging for some students. Providing the pictures and initial sounds for the words "shoe" and "two" allows them to successfully produce rhyming words, which they can then analyze to identify the sounds that match.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning

  • Before moving to Independent Work Time, consider asking one or more of the following questions:

"What is a letter?" (Responses will vary. Examples: "shows a sound," "helps write words.")

"What do we know about the letter 'a'?" (Responses will vary. Examples: "curved lines," "vowel letter," "shows the /a/ sound," "is at the beginning of the word 'alligator.'")

"What do we know about the letter 't'?" (Responses will vary. Examples: "straight lines," "shows the /t/ sound," "is at the beginning of the word 'tern.'")

"How many beats does the word 'zoo' have?" (one)

"Do the words 'game' and 'name' rhyme? How do you know?" (Yes; responses will vary.)

"What will you do today during Independent Work Time that allows you and your classmates to be successful?" (Responses will vary. Examples: "use kind language," "be careful with materials," "take turns.")
  • For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Example:
    • "When I hear the words 'zoo' and 'you,' I _____."

Independent Work Time

Suggested Plan: This first cycle provides time for students to practice what it means to work independently. A brief introduction is made to materials, and expectations for work habits and social interactions are established.

Note: Three suggestions for independent activities are given. Consider using any or all of these. For example, you may want to have all students working on the same activity, or you may want to have two or three activities happening simultaneously for a set time and then rotate students through. By Cycle 2, groups not working with the teacher at a given time should be engaged in purposeful independent rotation work. Refer to the Independent and Small Group Work guidance document (see K-2 Skills Resource Manual) for more details.

Book Browsing:

  • Students spend time looking at their own individual book(s).

Word Work:

  • Teacher cuts apart the Word Cards (one set per student). Students sort words that begin with /a/ and those that begin with /t/.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Word Cards (teacher cuts these apart ahead of time; one set per student)
    • Sorting page (one per student)

Responding to Text:

  • If students have not yet completed this task, consider having students build poetry notebooks and tape or glue their copies of the poem "Alligator and Tern" into them, and then illustrate the poem.
  • Students draw a picture of Alligator and Tern playing working or playing together cooperatively. They can label the alligator with the letter "a" (or "A") and the tern with "t" (or "T").
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • A spiral or composition notebook (one per student)
    • Individual copies of the poem "Alligator and Tern"
    • Tape or glue sticks (to tape or glue the poems into the notebooks)

Copyright © 2013-2024 by EL Education, New York, NY.

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Sign Up

Help us improve our curriculum.

Tell us what’s going well, share your concerns and feedback.

Terms of use. To learn more about EL Education, visit eleducation.org

Leave feedback