Teaching article
Rhyming words can look different on the page
Compare spoken endings and choose examples that suit the learners' language experience.
Begin with spoken examples before showing their spellings. This makes it easier to compare ending sounds directly and to notice why similar-looking written endings do not always produce a rhyme.
'Cat' and 'hat' provide a simple spoken match; visual similarity is not the deciding feature.
Compare the ending sounds of spoken words. Similar spellings can mislead when learners are deciding whether two words rhyme.
Hear the match first
Say the target words aloud. Listen for a matching ending. Suggest or choose another possible match.
Is the judgement based on sound? Accept selecting a picture instead of producing a word.
Similar spelling does not guarantee a rhyme.
Resources
- Colour-in Word Search Generator — Optional word-finding practice after discussing the selected words; this does not teach decoding.
Further reading
Read next
- Invent character names that repeat a starting sound
- Headings are promises about what comes next
- Revise a story by choosing what needs to change
Explore Reading, vocabulary and storytelling. Browse all teaching articles.