Rhyming is very popular in children’s books. Many stories include fun, rhythmic language that can almost make the book feel like one long song or poem. Children enjoy listening to books that use rhyming language, especially when they are read in a sing-song style! As children engage with the story and rhymes, they listen closely to the sounds of letters and words, and notice the way that the words that rhyme sound similar to one another. In this way, rhymes introduce children to early literacy skills such as phonological awareness.
Phonological awareness refers to the ability to understand that the words we speak can be broken down and taken apart. When children are younger, this skill is really a simple awareness. As they get older, children’s phonological awareness progresses into an ability to break words apart into syllables and by single sounds.
Kelli Johnson, an educational speech-language pathologist and writer for Understood, explains, “People often think that reading begins with learning to sound out letters. Most young kids are getting ready to read, however, long before they learn that letters stand for sounds. Reading actually starts with kids tuning in to the sounds of spoken words. That’s where phonological awareness comes in. Phonological awareness is a skill that allows kids to recognize and work with the sounds of spoken language.”
For a more detailed look at phonological awareness, view the video below:
Language-rich environments help children pick up sounds and word patterns. Research shows that listening to rhyming stories and songs supports a child’s foundational literacy skills.
A research-to-practice study conducted by the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute evaluated the relationship between children’s nursery rhyme abilities (experiences, awareness, and knowledge) and their literacy skill development. Children’s experiences with nursery rhymes were found to positively impact children’s early phonological and print-related skills. The results showed that sharing nursery rhymes with children during early childhood can support literacy-related abilities later on.
According to Reading Rockets, when children enjoy reading and reciting learned rhyming words (such as in familiar stories or nursery rhymes), they are demonstrating a responsiveness to rhyme and alliteration. This leads to later literacy skills, such as syllable awareness and an ability to recognize and produce rhyming words.
PBS Kids encourages reading rhyming books with children to support their skills in early literacy. The PBS website features a list of favorite rhyming books, including classics such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Goodnight Moon, and Madeline, as well as newer books to share with the children in your care.
Another fun way to help support the development of these skills is by using children’s names in rhymes. A Fun Day shares that children’s names are important to them, which makes them a great resource for teaching. Simple word plays using children’s names and the names of their peers is a great way to introduce rhyme. This can be done by adding a rhyming adjective to children’s names, such as “Silly Billy” or “Great Nate.”
We found a few websites with printables about rhyming that you might want to use in your classroom or share with parents. Sharing these songs and rhymes during circle time or morning meeting is a great way to incorporate rhyming into your early learning curriculum:
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