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Rhyming in pre-k is a fundamental component of phonological awareness, which is the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language. It's a foundational literacy skill that helps children prepare for reading.

Rhyming is the ability to recognize and produce words that have the same ending sound. It's the earliest and most basic form of phonological awareness that children typically learn. It's a listening skill, not a reading skill, so a child doesn't need to see the words to identify a rhyme.

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Generalization is the final and most advanced stage of learning. It means the child can use the skill in different settings, with different people, and with different materials than those used during the original instruction. This demonstrates a deep understanding of the concept. With rhyming, students in this stage are now able to produce rhymes on their own.

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1. (A)Teacher reads a rhyming book (e.g., Brown Bear, Brown Bear or Hop on Pop). Pauses slightly before the rhyming word: Teacher: “I see a red bird looking at … (pause).”Child: “Me! ”Teacher: “Yes, me! ‘See’ and ‘me’ rhyme—they sound the same at the end!   •  2. (A) Rhyme Song Fill-Ins Use a familiar nursery rhyme: Teacher sings: “Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you … (pause).”Class fills in: “Are!” Teacher: “Yes, star and are rhyme—they sound the same at the end!”  • (A) Pink Cat Games( Online resources to design games, can be used at all stages)•Nursery Rhymes  2. (M) Using two pictures that rhyme and having the students find each other -who has the rhyming word that matches me!

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Maintenance is the stage where the child can perform the skill accurately and consistently over time, even without continuous instruction. The child can retrieve the information or perform the task from memory after a period of non-use. The goal here is to ensure the skill is not lost. Rhyming at this stage is where your students can start matching rhyming words.

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1. (A) Pointing Out Simple Rhymes with Food Names. Teacher: “Look, you have peas. Peas sounds like cheese. Peas, cheese – they rhyme!” Child: [Listens, maybe repeats one word.]  •  2.(A) Rhyming Name Play at the Table. Teacher: “Maria has rice. Rice, ice – rice and ice rhyme! Maria, rice and ice sound the same at the end.”  •

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1. (A) Rhyme Listening Game Teacher says two words: cat–hat vs. cat–dog. Asks: “Do these words sound the same at the end?” Provides exaggerated voice: cat–haaaat! “Yes, they rhyme!” Keeps it very short with lots of repetition.  • 2. There was an old lady who swallowed....

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Acquisition is the initial stage where a child is learning a new skill or concept. At this point, the child is often learning with a lot of support and direct instruction from a teacher. They are making mistakes, and the focus is on accuracy, not necessarily speed or independence. This the sensitivity stage in Rhyming.                                                                              Key for acquisition stage: Lots of modeling by the teacher. Provide visual support (pictures/objects). Accept approximate attempts (“cat—cup” is fine; you restate the correct rhyme). Keep it playful and short, 1–2 minutes of rhyme noticing embedded naturally in centers.

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1. (A) Movement + Rhyme Game Children hop or clap when they hear rhyming words. Teacher calls out: “Dog–log!” (children hop). Then: “Dog–car!” (children stay still). Keeps rhyme playful and physical to build sensitivity.  • 2. Head Shoulder Knees and Toes with silly rhymes • (G) Mystery Box Exit ticket for rhyming. Hickety Pickety •3. Songs/parachute

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1. (A) Art Center- Rhyme Match Collage-Provide pictures of objects that rhyme (cat/hat, dog/frog, star/car). Children glue pairs onto a page. Teacher prompt: “You put the cat and the hat together—those sound the same at the end. Cat—hat!”  •2.Matching rhyming picture cards.

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1. (A) Lining Up-Teacher: “If your name rhymes with star, you may go to the line by the door—Jamar!” Teacher: “If your name rhymes with bell, you may grab your towel—Isabel!” (Simple, playful rhymes with children’s names while calling them one by one.)    •  2. (M) Mystery Bag Rhyme-Keep a few picture cards or small objects near the transition spot. Teacher pulls out one (e.g., “cat”). Children waiting for their turn to transition call out rhyming matches: “bat, hat, rat, mat.” Each child gives one rhyme before moving on.  • 

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TheLearningStation - Kids Songs and Nursery Rhymes

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Down by the Bay with Lyrics - Nursery Rhymes - Children’s Songs by The Learning Station

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Initial sounds are the first sound a child hears in a spoken word. This skill is a part of phonological awareness training in pre-k and is crucial for developing early literacy.

What are Initial Sounds?

Recognizing initial sounds is a phonological awareness skill that helps children focus on the beginning phoneme (the smallest unit of sound) of a word. For example, the initial sound in the word "ball" is /b/, and the initial sound in "sun" is /s/.

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During the generalization stage, a child can consistently and independently identify the initial sound of a word in a wide range of contexts. They have fully mastered the concept and can apply it to new and unfamiliar words and situations. At this stage, a child can: Identify the initial sound in a new word they have never heard before. Apply the skill in different activities, such as sorting pictures by initial sound, playing a game, or hearing a new song. Use the skill to complete other tasks, such as coming up with a word that starts with a specific sound or noticing a new word that starts with the same sound as their name. The child has moved beyond simply knowing the initial sounds of a few words to understanding the alphabetic principle—that the beginning of a word has a specific, identifiable sound—and they can now apply this knowledge with flexibility and confidence.

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(A)- Introduce and repeat beginning sounds of vocabulary words; (A)- Heggerty practice with beginning sounds and Three Cheers, (M)- Beginning sound games, differentiating as needed for (A), (M), & (G)  (M) (G)-inviting my students to come up with words that start with the letter/sound.

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During the maintenance stage of learning initial sounds, a child is consistently and accurately identifying the first sound in a word with minimal support. They have moved past the initial learning curve and are now solidifying the skill. At this stage, a child can: Consistently identify the initial sound in familiar words without the teacher needing to model it repeatedly. Retain the skill over a period of time, even if they haven't practiced it recently. Accurately perform the task with high success rates. The focus here is on retention and consolidation. The teacher's role shifts from direct instruction to providing occasional checks and opportunities for practice to ensure the skill is not forgotten.

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Always connect it to a physical aspect-I have something on the cart that starts with "m", I spy with my little eye something that rhymes with, naming all the food and then ask what starts with what /m/?

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making connections with the compound words in small groups, 
Visual cues, hands on materials, anything that can add to the already learned strategies.

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During the acquisition stage, a child is just beginning to learn the skill of recognizing initial sounds. They are focused on isolating the very first sound in a spoken word and need significant support to do so. At this stage, a child is likely to: Need direct, explicit modeling from a teacher. The teacher might repeatedly say a word and emphasize the first sound, like "b-all" or "s-un." Struggle to identify the correct initial sound without a clear prompt or visual cue. Work with a very limited number of familiar words, as they haven't yet grasped the general concept of initial sounds. Make mistakes, often getting confused between the initial sound and the rest of the word, or confusing similar sounds. The focus is on understanding the concept of "first sound" and practicing it with a lot of teacher guidance and feedback. The child is not yet independent with this skill.

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As the teacher, you are modeling always beginning sounds.

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A small I spy game with objects and the letters.

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(A)- Make a train and practice the initial sound of where they are going; (A)- Ask the children what sound the letter of the week or day says as they transition, children repeat the sound as they transition; (A)- Say the initial sound of their name as they transition out of the line/group to their chosen activity/spot

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Beginning Sounds | Beginning Sounds Song | Word Play | Jack Hartmann

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Phonemic awareness is a key component of phonological awareness that focuses on the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. In Pre-K, blending and segmenting of these individual sounds are the primary ways to train this skill.

Blending (Putting Sounds Together)

Blending is the ability to put individual sounds together to form a whole word. It's an essential skill for reading, as it helps children sound out words. A child with strong blending skills can hear the sounds /c/ - /a/ - /t/ and put them together to say the word "cat." In Pre-K, this is taught through playful games, such as "robot talk," where the teacher says words sound by sound and students "put them back together."

Segmenting (Taking Sounds Apart)

Segmenting is the opposite of blending. It is the ability to break a whole word into its individual sounds. This skill is crucial for spelling, as it helps a child hear the sounds they need to write down. A child with strong segmenting skills can take the word "dog" and break it into its three individual sounds: /d/ - /o/ - /g/. In Pre-K, this is practiced by having children use their fingers or counters to tap out each sound they hear in a word.

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At the generalization stage, a child can consistently and independently blend and segment individual sounds in a variety of new contexts. They have fully mastered the skill and can apply it flexibly. At this stage, the child: Performs the skill with new words they've never heard before. For example, if they hear the new word "flib," they can break it into its four sounds: /f/ - /l/ - /i/ - /b/. Applies the skill in different settings and with different people, not just with their primary teacher or in a structured game. Uses blending and segmenting to support other skills, such as sounding out a new word in a book or attempting to spell a word by segmenting its sounds. The child has moved from a classroom activity to using phonemic awareness as a foundational tool for literacy, demonstrating a deep understanding that spoken language is made up of a sequence of individual sounds.

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At the maintenance stage, a child can consistently and accurately blend and segment individual sounds in words with less teacher support. They have grasped the concept and are now reinforcing the skill to make it permanent. At this stage, the child: Performs the task with high accuracy and fewer errors. Responds more quickly, showing that they are becoming more fluent in their phoneme manipulation. Can complete the task on their own and can recall the skill even after a period of not practicing it. The focus is on keeping the skill "active" in their memory. The teacher might provide occasional practice opportunities to ensure the child doesn't forget how to blend and segment.

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At the acquisition stage of phonemic awareness, a child is beginning to learn that spoken words are made up of individual sounds (phonemes) and is attempting to blend and segment them. The child can typically: Blend simple two- or three-sound words with significant teacher support and direct modeling. For example, with a teacher's help, they might be able to put the sounds /a/ - /t/ together to say "at," or /c/ - /a/ - /t/ to say "cat." Segment simple words into sounds with teacher guidance. They might be able to break a word like "go" into two sounds (/g/ - /o/) with a teacher's prompt. Identify the sounds in the words with a high degree of prompting. The child is actively engaged in the process but is not yet accurate or independent. At this stage, the child's response is often slow, hesitant, and error-prone. The focus is on understanding the concept of blending and segmenting rather than on independent mastery.

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1. (M) Magnetic tiles in the activity center with pictures.
2. (M) letter buckets with stamps of objects that start with a letter

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Inviting my students to find a sound/letter that is important to them, and use this doing transitions. - Cold Call with sounds: show a picture and the students have to tell me the name of the letter/ or sound, and then tell me what it is before going off to find a center.

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The scripted lessons in this packet provide the teacher with a simple, fun method of teaching students the most important phonological skills: phoneme blending and segmenting. The premise is that communicating with Robbie the Robot requires the student to blend and segment. Robbie can only say words one sound at a time, which requires students to blend sounds to figure out what he said. He can also only "understand" words when the student says them one sound at a time, which requires the child to segment sounds.For young children, this explanation tends to be very accessible.
Robbie the Robot Lesson (PDF) Robbie the Robot Image (PowerPoint) Robbie the Robot Image (Google Slide)

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Phonemic Awareness | UF Literacy Institute

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The scripted lessons in this packet provide the teacher with a simple, fun method of teaching students the most important phonological skills: phoneme blending and segmenting. The premise is that communicating with Robbie the Robot requires the student to blend and segment.

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Blending and segmenting syllables are key components of phonological awareness training in Pre-K. These skills help children understand that words are made up of larger sound chunks, which is an important precursor to working with individual sounds (phonemes).

Blending Syllables

Blending is the ability to combine or "put together" syllables to form a complete word. This is a foundational listening skill.

Example: A teacher says a word in parts, such as "ba" and "by," and the child blends those parts together to say the full word "baby."

Segmenting Syllables

Segmenting is the opposite of blending. It's the ability to break a whole word into its individual syllable parts. This "taking apart" skill is a building block for more complex phonological tasks.

Example: A teacher says a word like "banana," and the child claps or taps for each syllable: "ba-na-na" (3 claps).

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 At the generalization stage of blending and segmenting syllables, a child can use the skill flexibly and independently across various contexts. They don't just know the skill; they can apply it in new and different ways without being prompted or given the exact same materials used during instruction. This is the highest level of mastery. A child at this stage: Can blend and segment words with different numbers of syllables, not just the ones they were taught (e.g., they can now segment "ele-phant" or "in-for-ma-tion").Performs the skill with new words they've never heard before .Applies the skill in different situations, such as when playing a rhyming game, listening to a story, or trying to spell a new word. For example, if a teacher claps out the name of a new classmate, a child at the generalization stage would be able to put the name together, demonstrating they can apply the skill to novel words. They have truly mastered the concept of syllables and can use it as a foundational tool for more complex language tasks.

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1. (G) Use echo microphones to have the students model for each other 2. (M) Using Hickety Pickety to go around the circle and have the students segment their names.
3. (G) Use of puzzles to segment words
4. (A) Morning message from our curriculum-we make sure that we have our students take apart the big vocabulary words we use.
5. (M) Using playdough to have the students smash the balls for how many syllables.
6. (M) Use a shoe box, cut holes in the lids to push ping pong balls through for syllables

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At the maintenance stage of blending and segmenting syllables, a child can perform the skill accurately and with increasing independence. They have moved past the initial learning phase and can now consistently break apart and put together words by syllable. At this stage, a child: Requires less prompting from the teacher. Performs the skill consistently over time, without constant review. Maintains accuracy, making few to no mistakes. The focus here is on retaining the skill they've already acquired. The teacher might check in periodically to ensure the child hasn't forgotten how to do it. The child is no longer just figuring it out; they've integrated the skill into their knowledge base and can perform it on demand.

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1. (M) Clap out the food we were eating.
2. Using Heggerty hand motions to blend and segment food items on our plate/what we are eating that day.

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1. Play games allowing children to blend and segment picture cards, and count how many word parts, putting them under the appropriate number card.  

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At the acquisition stage of blending and segmenting syllables, a child is first learning the skill with significant support. They are just beginning to grasp the concept that words can be broken down into parts (segmenting) and that parts can be put together to form a whole word (blending).At this stage, a child is likely to: Need direct modeling from the teacher, such as the teacher clapping out the syllables of a word for them to imitate .Make mistakes or have a slow response time as they process the task. Respond better to simple, two-syllable words (e.g., "ba-by," "hel-lo") rather than more complex words. The focus here is on understanding the concept of a syllable and successfully performing the task with help. It is not yet about doing it quickly or independently.

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1. (A) Compound words with puzzles.
2. (M) Record yourself segmenting or blending a word. Place around centers so that students can push to hear and practice.
3. (M) with a child in the reading center, taking the time to connect with beginning sounds by asking questions. Can be applied to other centers.

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1. (A) Segmenting students names to dismiss them.
2. (M) Stomping out the word.
3. (M) On my walking rope, I have jingle bells. I could use those jingle bells to jingle out the syllables on words as we walk through the school.
4. (M) Having my students hop out syllables on their way to lining up
5. (M) Dinosaur stomps up to the line