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PSPKK123 November 2, 2016  •  34 Comments

Why is rhyming important?

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Why is rhyming important? We’ve got the answer!

Why is rhyming important for phonemic awareness? Here are six reasons why.
image via iStock

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Do you know what’s one of the best predictors of how well a kindergartner will learn to read? It’s if he knows his nursery rhymes.

Jack and Jill went up the hill. 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. 

Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?

Jack Sprat would eat no fat. His wife would eat no lean.

All those nonsensical verses from your childhood really do matter.  They matter, because they rhyme.  Rhyming is fun.  And it’s a very important part of reading success.

Why is rhyming important?

1. Rhyming teaches children how language works.  It helps them notice and work with the sounds within words.

2. Rhymes help children experience the rhythm of language.  As they recite nursery rhymes they learn to speak with animated voices. Someday they’ll read with expression, too.

3. When children are familiar with a nursery rhyme or rhyming book, they learn to anticipate the rhyming word.  This prepares them to make predictions when they read, another important reading skill.4. Rhyming is important for writing, too.  It can help children understand that words that share common sounds often share common letters.  For example, the rhyming words cat and bat both end with –at.

5. When listening to rhyming songs and poems children create a mental picture, expanding the imagination.

6. Because rhyming is fun, it adds joy to the sometimes daunting task of learning to read.

Also read: How to teach your child to rhyme

 

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Do you have our little letter books yet?

26 Letter Books of Nursery Rhymes & Songs

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Filed Under: Reading, Pre-reading Tagged With: rhyming, preschool, kindergarten, Pre-K

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Reader Interactions

34 Comments

  1. Emily

    February 20, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    This is great – I never knew 🙂 Thank you for posting this!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      February 20, 2014 at 8:34 pm

      Thanks for checking it out, Emily!

      Reply to this comment
  2. Ana

    August 13, 2015 at 10:29 am

    Thank very much for your post. I was looking for this information long time ago.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 18, 2015 at 11:37 am

      You’re very welcome, Ana!

      Reply to this comment
  3. Kathy

    November 4, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    Hi Anna,
    I am a retired Jr. K/Kinder teacher. I left all my teaching supplies with the new teacher so when asked by several parents to tutor their struggling beginner readers I had nothing. So happy to find your blog. Thank you sooooooo much for all you are sharing!!!!!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      November 12, 2015 at 5:49 pm

      I’m so glad you found my blog, Kathy! I hope you find lots of things here that can help you with your tutoring. 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  4. Lou Hunley

    May 10, 2016 at 6:23 pm

    Hi,
    I loved your article and I used your points in my blog post-https://librarianlou.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/more-rhyming-books/

    Mostly I promote reading by promoting books. I loved your ideas. I linked back to your post.

    Look forward to reading more of your blog.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      May 12, 2016 at 11:06 am

      Thank you for linking to my post, Lou! I agree that the best way to encourage reading is to promote great books!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Liz

    June 4, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    Hi I am currently going to school to obtain a Masters in early literacy and I happened upon your article about rhymes and nursery rhymes. I am wondering if you can tell me the resources you used to get her your information. Was it from a educational text book or a professional journal. It would really help as I am doing an inquiry project about nurseryrhymes and fluency.
    Thank you
    lizibalio@yahoo.com

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      June 4, 2016 at 10:11 pm

      Hi Liz,

      I wrote this post three years ago, so I don’t remember my exact references. A lot of what I write here are things I have learned and internalized after years of teaching and earning my own master’s degree. I’m sorry I can’t give you more information!

      Reply to this comment
  6. Lore Olaes

    November 5, 2016 at 8:59 am

    Thank you! I needed this reminder of the value of nursery rhymes!

    Reply to this comment
  7. ADAM & Mila - Emil

    November 7, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    This is really insightful, thank you! I love rhyming with Adam, it’s just so much fun – but I never really thought about its usefulness. The printable games look great, can’t wait to try them out 🙂

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      November 11, 2016 at 7:31 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply to this comment
  8. Danielle

    November 26, 2016 at 3:44 am

    Hi, I’ve also just finished a post on rhyming a week or so back before I read this: I’ve added a reference now since it reinforces what I was trying to say, hope you get the trackback. I also feel that rhyme is a great way for kids to get their heads around the really confusing task of the (non phonetic) English sounds.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      November 26, 2016 at 5:30 am

      Yes, I received the pingback, Danielle. Thank you for linking to me!

      Reply to this comment
  9. Joan

    June 12, 2018 at 10:46 pm

    Ana, I love to write in rhyme and I love the way you’ve presented this , but how do I find the list of rhyming books you mentioned. I can’t seem to find out. Thanks so much for your news letter I always look forward to it.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      June 27, 2018 at 8:04 pm

      Thanks for the heads up! It’s now back at the end of this post: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/the-ultimate-list-of-books-that-rhyme/

      Reply to this comment
  10. Gail

    October 5, 2019 at 7:16 am

    I never understood the “educational” value to rhymes. Thanks for this post. This year is my first experience teaching kids so young (K-3). I have SO much to learn!

    Reply to this comment
  11. Julia S

    October 30, 2019 at 10:25 am

    Here’s an interesting article on the value of teaching rhyme:
    https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-on-literacy/rhyming-ability-important-reading

    Reply to this comment
  12. Kristen

    April 1, 2020 at 12:06 am

    I would love to share this article with my PreK parents. Is there a way that I could get a copy of this article without all of the ads? Thank you

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      April 1, 2020 at 5:02 am

      Yes; scroll to the very bottom and use the tiny green “print friendly” button. That will let you delete the things you don’t want before you print.

      Reply to this comment
  13. Radhika

    May 13, 2020 at 2:05 am

    Rhyming is important because it will help kids to grasp fastly and it was fun to learn.

    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

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  4. 5 ways to incorporate learning every day | Smarter Parenting says:
    August 28, 2017 at 9:38 am

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  5. Ways To Incorporate Learning Every Day - AboveWhispers | AboveWhispers says:
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