Teaching Phonics With Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes provide a perfect way to introduce phonics to young children. Little Bo Peep, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star these verses have a comforting, singsong quality that have made them the favorites of children for generations. The rhythmic, playful text of nursery rhymes make them a natural vehicle for exploring letters, sounds, spelling patterns, and of course, rhyme! In addition, these rhymes are cultural touchstones that will build kids cultural literacy. Whether the children you teach are familiar with these classics or are experiencing them for the first time, they are sure to be delighted by their timeless charm. Mother Goose can help you make phonics funand motivate children to become life-long lovers of reading.

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Using the Flip Chart

The large print and colorful illustrations make the Nursery Rhyme Flip Chart a perfect focus for circle time, morning meeting, or story time. You can share the rhymes with the whole class or in small groups. You might choose a rhyme of the day or rhyme of the week. You may wish to use a Big Book stand to present the rhymes, and a pointer to track the print as you read and point out particular words, letters, or spelling patterns. As you present each rhyme, invite children to describe the illustration and predict what it might be about. Then read the rhyme aloud. When children are familiar with the rhyme, invite them to join in and read along.

Variations: Many of these nursery rhymes are ideal for creating

variations. Invite children to create personalized versions by substituting their own names (Susie Had a Little Lamb) and silly verses by substituting names of places, animals, colors, numbers, and so on (Baa Baa Black Dinosaur, Little Boy Purple). Write childrens substitutions on sticky notes and place them on top of the original words. Then invite children to read the new rhyme with you.

Hand Motions: Children may already be familiar with hand and

finger motions for some of these rhymes, such as The Itsy Bitsy Spider and This Little Piggy. Invite them to do any movements they know, and to make up new ones. For example, they might pretend to bake and pat cakes for Pat-a-Cake, or hold up different numbers of fingers for One, Two, Three, Four, Five. You might choose a different leader each day, and invite him or her to invent hand motions for the rest of the group to follow.

TIP
You can use the nursery rhymes to introduce and reinforce punctuation. As you read, point out periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points. Discuss what these symbols mean and how they might change the reading of the rhyme. For example, how does an exclamation point affect the readers inflection? How is it different from a period?

Songs and Chants: Many of these nursery rhymes have

traditional melodies. Invite children to sing the rhyme instead of reading it. If children are not familiar with the traditional tune, invite them to create an original melody!

Teaching Tips
Beneath each rhyme, you will find quick and easy questions to enhance childrens phonics and literacy learning. In addition to these instant suggestions, you might try the following ideas:

Extension Activities
Art: Invite children to create their own illustrations for favorite nursery
rhymes. You can post childrens work on a Nursery Rhyme Bulletin Board, or bind the pages together to create a class book.

Cloze Activities: Once children are familiar with a rhyme, try

placing a sticky note over the second word of a rhyming pair. When you come to that point in the rhyme, pause and invite children to supply the rhyming word. You might also try covering up parts of words to teach word families and beginning and ending sounds.

Dramatic Play: Invite children to create costumes and put on a Nursery

Rhyme Play. Children can take on roles of various characters and animals. You might even invite family members or another class to see the performance.

Choral Reading: When you have read a rhyme several times with
children, invite them to participate in a choral reading. Use your hand or a pointer to track the print and encourage children to read the rhyme aloud as a group.

Cooking: Many of the rhymes are ideal for cooking connections. For example,
you might make a batch of cupcakes for Pat-a-Cake and have each child use frosting to mark one with the initial letter of his or her name. You might make a pie for Sing a Song of Sixpence, or even try baking Hot Cross Buns!

Round Robin Reading: After children have participated in a

choral reading of a rhyme, they might enjoy reading it aloud round-robin style. Sit children in a circle and invite them to take turns reading one line at a time. Read the rhyme several times, until each child has had a chance to read a line.

Writing: Try using the nursery rhymes as writing prompts. Children can
make up their own versions of the rhymes, or continue a favorite characters adventures. For example, where did Mary and her lamb go next? What happened after Little Bo Peep found her sheep?

Some nursery rhymes have vocabulary that will be unfamiliar to children. Even a child who knows Little Miss Muffet by heart may not know the meanings of the words tuffet or curds and whey. To enhance childrens enjoyment and understanding, discuss new vocabulary before you read. Children will enjoy Hot Cross Buns even more when they know they are reading about a yummy treat!

ISBN: 0-439-51382-0

Produced by Blaze Inc.; activities by Pamela Chanko; illustrations by Maxie Chambliss; design by Josu Castilleja and Jason Robinson. Copyright 2003 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the kings horses And all the kings men Couldnt put Humpty together again!

TRY THIS! G Can you find two words in the poem that end with the spelling pattern -all? What other words end in -all? G Can you find another word with a short /a/ sound in the middle, as in sat? How many other short /a/ words can you think of? G What could Humpty Dumpty sit on instead of a wall? How about a chair? Can you make up a new verse in which Humpty Dumpty sits on something else?

Little Jack Horner

Little Jack Horner Sat in a corner, Eating a Christmas pie. He put in his thumb, And pulled out a plum, And said, What a good boy am I!

Try This! G What word in the poem rhymes with plum? Which letter is silent in that word? G Can you find the word that rhymes with Jacks last name? Which letter is different in this word? G Can you say the rhyme, substituting the word Christmas with your favorite holiday? What surprise would you like to find in your special holiday pie?