Rhyme Time

As a reading specialist, one of my responsibilities is to set-up a couple of parent nights each year.  I’m fortunate to work with two other amazing reading teachers, so I don’t have to do this alone.  Last Thursday night we hosted a parent night for our kindergarten through second grade parents, and I was responsible for the session on rhyming.  We made finger puppets to go with some of our favorite nursery rhymes and performed them.  The big kids I usually work with aren't as into puppets anymore, so I had a great time.  Check out this website for the templates I used, http://www.dltk-kids.com/. 

Rhyming isn't just for fun; it’s a really important skill for emergent readers.  It teaches kids phonological awareness, or the relationships between letters and sounds.  When we read, we use a complex system of cues to help our brains understand what our eyes are seeing.  We think about the meaning of the story, the syntax of the sentence, and the letter sounds in the words.  I worked in a hearing impaired program for a short time. My students there struggled with reading, because they couldn’t use phonics to help them.  Nursery rhymes, songs, poems, and rhyming books are the best tools we have for teaching letter sounds to our early readers.  The best part is that kids enjoy rhymes and rhyming books.

I found an excellent rhyming, lift the flap book the other day called Do Crocs Kiss? by Salina Yoon.  She also has a similar book called Do Cows Meow?  As an added bonus they both also teach animal sounds.  Some other good ones include the Llama, Llama books and the Sheep in a Jeep series, as well as, Giraffes Can’t Dance and Ain’t Gonna Paint No More.  I should point out that my niece recently lost the right to read the last book, because she was painting herself with markers.  It’s still a great rhyming book.  On Monday, one of my students was reading Each, Peach, Pear, Plum by Janet and Allen Ahlberg.  It’s a classic, but I’d forgotten how good it is.  It’s a rhyming, I spy book with a nursery rhyme theme.  Forget “Hooked on Phonics,” just sing and read Dr. Suess and Mother Goose.

 

Great Rhyming Books

Do Crocs Kiss by Salina Yoon

Do Cows Meow by Salina Yoon

Llama, Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney

Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont

Each, Peach, Pear, Plum by Janet and Allen Ahlberg

Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Suess

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

Any Anthology of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes