The Power of Words: Exploring Literacy and Expression · 2nd Year

Active learning ideas

Identifying Rhyming Words in Poems

Active learning helps second year students connect the sounds of language to written words. When students move, sort, and chant rhyming words, they transfer abstract sound patterns into concrete understanding. This builds the phonological awareness needed for fluent reading and confident writing.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Exploring and Using
• NCCA: Primary - Understanding

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• 25 min · Pairs

Poem Rhyme Hunt: Underline Pairs

Distribute copies of a nursery rhyme like 'Humpty Dumpty'. Read aloud together, then have students underline rhyming word pairs. Pairs discuss and share one pair with the class.

Find words that sound the same at the end in a poem.

Facilitation Tip

For Rhyme Match Memory, limit the board to 12 pairs and include one near-rhyme card to prevent overgeneralization of rhyme rules.

What to look for

Provide students with a short, four-line nursery rhyme. Ask them to circle the two rhyming words in the poem and write them below. For example, in 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are', students would circle 'star' and 'are'.

Activity 02

• 30 min · Small Groups

Rhyme Sorting Relay: Family Groups

Prepare cards with words from poems, like cat, hat, mat. Small groups sort into rhyme families on a chart. First group to sort correctly wins a point.

Sort rhyming words into groups.

What to look for

Give each student a slip of paper with three word pairs: one rhyming pair (e.g., 'house', 'mouse'), one near rhyme (e.g., 'play', 'rain'), and two non-rhyming words (e.g., 'book', 'tree'). Ask students to write 'R' next to the rhyming pair and 'N' next to the others.

Activity 03

• 20 min · Whole Class

Choral Rhyme Clap: Performance Practice

Choose a rhyming poem. Whole class reads lines chorally, clapping on rhyming words. Switch leaders for verses to build confidence.

Explain why rhyming words make a poem fun to listen to.

What to look for

Present a short poem with clear end rhymes. Ask students: 'Which words rhyme in this poem?' and 'Why do you think the poet chose to use these rhyming words? How does it make the poem sound?'

Activity 04

• 35 min · Pairs

Rhyme Match Memory: Game Boards

Create boards with poem word pairs and pictures. Students flip cards in pairs to match rhymes by sound, discussing why they match.

Find words that sound the same at the end in a poem.

What to look for

Provide students with a short, four-line nursery rhyme. Ask them to circle the two rhyming words in the poem and write them below. For example, in 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are', students would circle 'star' and 'are'.

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers begin with shared readings to model how poets use rhyme for rhythm and fun. Avoid focusing on spelling patterns, since rhymes rely on sounds, not letters. Use choral practice to build confidence before independent work. Research shows that movement and games strengthen memory for sound patterns, so incorporate relays and clapping to reinforce learning.

Students will accurately identify rhyming word pairs in poems, sort them into sound families, and explain how rhymes create rhythm. They will use auditory cues to match words, not visual patterns, and share their thinking with peers.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Rhyme Match Memory, watch for students matching picture cards by shape or color instead of sound.

  Encourage students to say the words aloud while matching, and remind them that rhymes depend on ending sounds, not images. Ask them to read the word labels aloud as they play.

• During Rhyme Sorting Relay, watch for students grouping words by starting sounds believing they rhyme.

  Provide word cards with bolded ending sounds and ask groups to test each pair by reading them aloud before placing them in families.

• During Choral Rhyme Clap, watch for students clapping for every line believing all lines rhyme.

  Model tapping only twice for matching rhymes and pause after each line to let students decide if the ending sounds match before clapping.