In this activity, your child will separate the beginning sound in a word from the rest of the word. This is called onset and rime, a very important pre-reading skill for your child to develop. Onset is the initial sound in a word. Rime is the remaining part of the word. Example: In the word moon, onset is /m/, rime is /oon/.
- pictures of objects that can easily be broken down into onset and rime. Examples: pig, map, moon, fork, boy, hen, jar, book.
Step 1: Lay 5-6 pictures out on the floor or on a table. Name all the pictures for your child.
Step 2: Ask your child to close her eyes as you choose one of the pictures.
Step 3: Without showing the picture to your child, say the word slowly, separating the beginning sound from the rest of the word.
Listen: /p/…ig /p/…ig
What’s the word? That’s right! pig
Step 4: Move on to the next picture.
If your child is unable to identify the word:
Give her a choice between two pictures that you lay out in front of her. Say the name of one picture segmented by onset and rime. Ask your child to look at the two pictures in front of her and guess the word.
Say: “Listen: /p/…ig /p/…ig What’s the word? Is it fork or pig?"
Use one of your child’s storybooks. As you look at pictures in the book, say the name of a picture segmented by onset and rime. See if your child can find the picture. To increase the difficulty, remove the picture support. You can play Guess the Word? with any word!
