Sound Play Chart
Play with sounds! Say the words out loud: rhymes, claps and first sounds.
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How to do it
- Say each rhyming pair. Hear how they end the same?
- Clap each word. Count the claps.
- Say the first sound of sun, sock and seal.
Teaching tip
Make up silly rhymes together. Nonsense words count! This sheet is aligned with Common Core RF.K.2.
About this chart
Rhyming pairs, words to clap, and words that start with the same sound, all with pictures.
What kids practice
Before kids read, they learn to hear the sounds inside words. They notice words that rhyme, clap the parts (syllables) of a word, and listen for the first sound. This is all done out loud, so no reading is needed yet. Hearing rhymes, syllables and first sounds is the first step in phonics, before letters come in.
Watch for
- Picking words that start the same instead of words that end the same for rhymes.
- Clapping each letter instead of each part of the word.
- Naming the letter instead of the sound, like "ess" instead of /s/.
It's free to print, as many copies as you need. See the full rhyming, syllables and first sounds phonics guide for kindergarten.
More sheets in this set
2. Rhyme MatchDraw a line between pictures that rhyme, like frog and log or cat and hat.
3. Which One Rhymes?Look at a picture, then circle the one of three that rhymes with it.
4. Clap It OutPictures with one, two or three syllables, like dog, mon-key and el-e-phant, with drums to color.
5. Same First SoundRows of pictures where kids circle the ones that start like the first picture.
6. Color by RhymeA hidden picture made of rhyming words. Each picture in the key, like cat or sun, has its own color. Includes an answer key.