Why is rhyming important? We’ve got the answer!
(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
Members get more!
Members of The Measured Mom Plus get access to our one-click library of printables, with new printables added each month! Not a member yet? Learn more here.
Teach rhyming with our nursery rhyme books!
25 Nursery rhyme books and posters
$6.00
This bundle contains 25 printable nursery rhyme books and posters – in both color and black and white! We love using these little books with new readers. They’re perfect for teaching concepts of print, building phonics and sight word knowledge, and building confidence.
Do you have our little letter books yet?
26 Letter Books of Nursery Rhymes & Songs
$7.00
Print a little book for every letter of the alphabet! Each book contains six nursery rhymes or songs. The books come in both color and black and white.
WATCH THE MEMBER TRAINING
In this 7-minute training, members will get quick tips for teaching this important foundational skill.
Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade
Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!
Radhika
Rhyming is important because it will help kids to grasp fastly and it was fun to learn.
Kristen
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
Anna G
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.
Julia S
Here’s an interesting article on the value of teaching rhyme:
https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-on-literacy/rhyming-ability-important-reading
Gail
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!
Joan
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.
Anna G
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/
Danielle
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.
Anna Geiger
Yes, I received the pingback, Danielle. Thank you for linking to me!
ADAM & Mila - Emil
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 🙂
Anna Geiger
Thank you!
Lore Olaes
Thank you! I needed this reminder of the value of nursery rhymes!
Liz
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
Anna Geiger
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!
Lou Hunley
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.
Anna Geiger
Thank you for linking to my post, Lou! I agree that the best way to encourage reading is to promote great books!
Kathy
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!!!!!
Anna Geiger
I’m so glad you found my blog, Kathy! I hope you find lots of things here that can help you with your tutoring. 🙂
Ana
Thank very much for your post. I was looking for this information long time ago.
Anna Geiger
You’re very welcome, Ana!
Emily
This is great – I never knew 🙂 Thank you for posting this!
Anna Geiger
Thanks for checking it out, Emily!