Activity And Project

Rhyme Time With Madeline

Grades
K - 2
Activity Time
30 to 60 minutes
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Activity Description

Madeline is the main character in a story filled with rhyming pairs—vines and lines, bed and red, hours and flowers. In this activity, children can come up with their own rhyming words. Using the interactive Construct-a-Word tool, children combine beginning letters and word endings to create dozens of rhymes.

Why This Is Helpful

When words rhyme in a story, they provide a natural rhythm and teach children something about how words are made. Words that rhyme often share the same word ending but have different beginning letters (and sounds). Reading rhyming stories give children a chance to hear and see how that works.

What You Need

Here’s What to Do

  1. Familiarize yourself with the interactive Construct-a-Word tool.
     
  2. Before reading, ask the child to help you create some pairs of words that rhyme. Consider using words like bake and cake or rug and bug. Remind the child to listen for rhyming words as you read together.
     
  3. Read aloud the picture book Madeline. book cover

    Find Madeline at your local library or online at www.wegivebooks.org. Create a free account by clicking “Join” at the top of the homepage. Once logged in, click “Read” in the top header and then search for the title you’d like to read online.
     
  4. After reading, flip through the pages again and invite the child to help you pick out pairs of rhyming words. The first pair in the book is vines and lines.
     
  5. Open the interactive Construct-a-Word tool. The tool will ask the child’s first name and then give a choice of nine different word endings. The child can then try to make rhyming words by adding any letter in the alphabet as the beginning letter and sound. Be sure to use the “ed” word ending, so the child can construct red, bed, and more, just like in Madeline.
     
  6. When finished, have the child click the print icon and print the rhyming words in the word bank.

More Ideas to Try

  • Rhyme with Madeline one more time. Take another look at Madeline, paying attention to the illustrations. Ask the child to choose items that are pictured—hats, trays, chairs, and more. Now ask the child to come up with rhymes for those new words.
     
  • Reread the book and pause briefly when you get to the second word in a rhyming pair, and ask the child to guess the word that belongs.
     
  • Take this idea on the road: When you and the child are driving in the car, play the I Spy rhyming game. Point out an object, such as a tree, and ask the child to provide three words that rhyme. For bonus points, ask the child to spell it, too!

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