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PrimaryEnglish

Three Learning Games That Use Rhyme To Help Children Become Better Readers and Writers

Encouraging children to listen for the rhythm of everyday language can help them become better readers and writers, says Andy Croft

Andy Croft
by Andy Croft
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PrimaryEnglish

Rhymes are everywhere – songs, playground games, football chants, hymns, nursery rhymes, raps, TV adverts, radio jingles, tabloid headlines. You don’t have to think to find them; all you need to do is listen.

You don’t even have to be ‘good at English’ to be able to enjoy the music of ordinary speech. Very often children who think they are ‘useless at writing’ are perfectly able to listen to the common music of language. They use their ears, as writers and audiences have always done.

Here are three learning games you can use in the classroom to encourage your children to become writers and readers through the noisy practice of rhyme and rhythm, sound, pattern and echo. They are designed to encourage a sense of the magic of words, the poetry of everyday subjects and the value of memory and anticipation.

1. I Can Hear…

This is an improvisation game based on finding hidden rhymes. It can be used in the classroom as a starter activity or as a model for individual, group or whole-class writing. It is suitable for all ages and abilities.

First, ask if anyone knows the answer to the riddle, ‘What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?’

At least one child will either know or hear the correct response; ask them to explain how a carrot can sound like a parrot.

Now, tell the class that poets don’t play traditional ‘I Spy’. Because they have to use their ears as well as their eyes when they write, poets start the game with, ‘I can hear with my little ear’.

Choose some objects in the classroom for which there are easy rhymes within your children’s vocabulary range (chair/bear, pencil/stencil, hen/pen etc.) You start the game by saying, ‘I can hear with my little ear, something that sounds like a… bear’. Some of your children will get the joke and hear the rhyme for, say, ‘chair’ immediately. Others will need several examples before they understand the double meaning of ‘sounds like’. If no-one can hear the hidden rhyme, try some easier ones (something that sounds like a… stencil; something that sounds like a… fable). In a couple of minutes everyone should be able to join in. For example:

I can hear with my little ear something that sounds like… a hen (a pen), a witch (a switch), a war (the door), a robe (a globe), a fight (the light), a bug (a mug), beautiful pearls (girls), a loud noise (boys) squids (kids).

This can be developed to include two syllable rhymes. These are often easier to guess because there are fewer possibilities. For example:

I can hear with my little ear something that sounds like… a scooter (computer) a feeling (the ceiling), a jeweller (a ruler) a horrible creature (guess who).

Remember, you have to be able to see the objects as well as ‘hear’ them. When you have rhymed with all the inanimate objects in the room you can take on words like noses, ears, shoes, boys, girls, teeth, smiles, bums, toes and so on. Then you can include the names of your children, for example:

I can hear with my little ear someone who sounds like… a washing machine (Nadine), a bike (Mike), a panther (Samantha), the moon (Haroon), a melon (Helen), a panda (Amanda) etc.

2. Hungry Jack

Begin by reciting the following adaptation of the nursery rhyme ‘Little Jack Horner’:

Little Jack Horner Sat in the corner Eating his Christmas pie He put in his thumb And pulled out a plum But the plum was too big So he swallowed a…

Pretend you can’t think what comes next. Ask if anyone can suggest what else Jack could eat instead of the plum. To complete the line they have to fill in the missing beat with a one-syllable word that rhymes with big. You probably won’t have to explain this; most of your class will hear the rhymes pig, wig or fig. This gives you the subject of the next couplet. For example:

…But the pig was too fat So he swallowed a…

It is important that you say the first line of each new couplet. This allows you to control the rhymes so that they are within your children’s vocabulary range. Remember, you supply an adjective, and your children find a noun. Prepare a list of possible rhymes in case your children get stuck. Don’t let anyone repeat a rhyme you have already used or you will go round in circles. Encourage your class to ‘hear’ the missing word instead of thinking about it.

…But the cat had no tail So he swallowed a snail But the snail had no shell So he swallowed a bell But the bell was too loud So he swallowed a cloud But the cloud was too dark, So he swallowed a shark…

You can make it easier by introducing two-syllable words:

But the shark was too lazy So he swallowed a daisy But the daisy was too pretty So he swallowed a city But the city was too scary So he swallowed a fairy But the fairy was smelly So he swallowed a telly…

You can bring this game to an end by bringing it back to the beginning:

3. Shopping for baby

A more advanced version of the previous game is based on the lullaby ‘Hush Little Baby.’ It is more difficult because each new rhyme requires two beats and three syllables. On the other hand, this allows you to ‘funnel’ your class towards the missing bits.

It doesn’t matter if your class do not know the original lullaby. You begin by reciting the first three verses:

Hush little baby, don’t say a word Daddy’s going to buy you a mockingbird

And if that mocking bird don’t sing. Daddy’s going to buy you a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring don’t shine, Daddy’s going to buy you a…

Ask your children if they can suggest what Daddy can buy next for the baby. To complete the line they have to fill in the missing two beats with three or four syllables (e.g. diamond mine, washing-line or porcupine). This gives you the subject of the next couplet for which you supply the first line and your children the following rhyming line. For example:

And if that diamond ring don’t shine, Daddy’s going to buy you a bottle of wine

And if that bottle of wine is drunk, Daddy’s going to buy you a smelly skunk And if that smelly skunk’s too clean

Daddy’s going to buy you a washing machine And if that washing machine won’t spin Daddy’s going to buy you a wheelie-bin…

After a few minutes most of your children will understand that they have to add three syllables, the last of which must rhyme with the last word of the previous line. Don’t explain this – it is better that they learn this themselves by listening. Some children will quickly discover the value of using a two-syllable adjective (a golden bed/a purple shirt/a silver chair etc); don’t let your class repeat the same adjectives.

If some children find this game hard, you can direct their responses towards the rhyme by giving them all but the last word of the line. For example:

And if that grizzly bear’s too fat Daddy’s going to buy you a pussy… And if that pussy cat’s asleep Daddy’s going to buy you a flock of… And if that flock of sheep won’t baa Daddy’s going to buy you a racing…

You can bring the game to an end at any time by introducing a down/brown/clown rhyme, for example:

And if that garden shed falls down You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in…

Most children will hear the rhyme ‘town’ before you get there. Not because they are mind-readers, but because they have learned to listen to the words that are hidden all around them.

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