Unit Two: Scope and Sequence

Lesson	Main Concept	Activities	Handwriting
1	Rhyming Songs	Sing familiar songs with rhyming words, such as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and pause during key moments for the child to guess the rhyme.	Cup and Hump
2	Rhyming Basket	Place a few objects in the basket that rhyme with each other. Have the child pull out objects individually and decide which ones rhyme.	Zig Zag
3	Mystery Box	Try to figure out the mystery object is in the box with only a rhyming clue.	Wavy Line
4	Creating a Silly Rhyming Song	Sing a familiar song, such as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and replace one of the words with a silly, made-up word that rhymes with the original (e.g., “Twinkle, twinkle, little car”).	Spiral
5	Rhyming with Nonsense Words	Start by saying a silly word, like "flop," and ask the child to come up with a rhyming word (e.g., "pop," "top," "mop"). Encourage the use of made-up words that rhyme (e.g., "blop,")	Loop
6	Rhyming Hopscotch	Using a hopscotch outline, have the child name a rhyme for each square they jump.	Cane
7	I Spy a Rhyme	Play a game of I-spy using rhymes (e.g. “I spy something that rhymes with cat”)	Hook

Learning to Rhyme Guide
What is Rhyming?
Rhyming words sound the same at the end. Like cat and hat, or log and frog. Learning to hear rhymes helps kids get ready to read.

Why Rhyming Matters

• Builds phonological awareness (hearing how words sound)
• Helps with memory and recall
• Supports early reading and spelling
• It’s fun and playful—great for bonding and language development

Step 1: Exposure to Rhyming Sounds (Passive Listening)

• Goal: The child hears rhymes and begins to notice patterns, even if they can’t identify them yet.
• What it looks like: Enjoying songs, poems, and rhyming books without needing to respond.
• Activities:
  • Listening to rhyming read-alouds
  • Singing simple rhyming songs and fingerplays
  • Emphasizing the rhyming parts of words (“cat, hat, sat!”)
• Adult role: Model and emphasize rhymes with enthusiasm, no pressure on the child to produce or identify.
  
  

Step 2: Rhyme Recognition (Can Tell If Words Rhyme)

• Goal: The child can begin to recognize and point out whether two words rhyme.
• What it looks like: 
  • Laughing or noticing when words “sound the same at the end”
  • Responding to yes/no questions about rhyme
• Activities:
  • “Do these rhyme: pig and wig?”
  • “Point to the two words that rhyme: sun, run, dog.”
  • Rhyming memory games or match-ups.
• Adult role: Give two or three options, and help the child listen carefully. Praise effort, not correctness.
  
  

Step 3: Rhyme Matching (Can Find Rhymes)

• Goal: The child can find a rhyming pair from a group or match rhyming pictures/words.
• What it looks like: Given a word like “log,” the child can pick “frog” out of a group. They start to match words with similar endings.
• Activities:
  • Picture sorting by rhyme.
  • Matching games (“Find the rhyme for ‘bat’”).
  • Object hunts (“Find something that rhymes with ‘box’”).
• Adult role: Help the child focus on the ending sound. Accept close approximations and nonsense rhymes at first.

Step 4: Rhyme Production (Can Say a Word That Rhymes)

• Goal: The child can say a rhyming word when given a prompt.
• What it looks like: Adult says “tree,” and child replies “bee!” or even “mee!” (nonsense is okay).
• Activities:
  • “Tell me a word that rhymes with ___.”
  • Fill-in-the-blank rhymes (“I saw a cat sitting on a ___!”)
  • Rhyme chain games (“What rhymes with fun? Run! What rhymes with run? Sun!”)
• Adult role: Celebrate all attempts—even made-up words—as long as the end sound matches.
  
  

Notes:

• Children may hover between steps or move back and forth before mastering each one.
• Nonsense rhymes are a natural, normal, and important part of the process.
• Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic supports help (songs, puppets, pictures, movement games).
• Rhyme awareness generally develops before the ability to read. This is pre-phonics and foundational.

Frequently Asked Questions
Is my child ready for Unit Two?
Can they do these skills? 

• Can they follow two-step directions? (turn around, then hop)
• Do they notice if a word is wrong in their favorite songs?
• Can they answer first, next, and last questions?
• Can they count the number of words in a simple sentence?

If your child is younger than four,

• Expect to do the activities multiple times and do not expect mastery.
• They might not be ready for the fine motor activities. Leave those out until they are ready for them.
  
  

Can my child skip Unit Two?
If your child is four or older, ask yourself the following questions.

• Can they notice rhyme in familiar and and unfamiliar songs? 
• Can they tell if words rhyme? If you say “do cat and bat rhyme” can they tell you yes?
• Can they find a rhyming word? If you say which word rhymes with frog, do they point to a picture of a dog?
• Can they produce rhymes? If you say. “what rhymes with cat?” Can they tell you bat/rat/mat?”

Does my child need to do prewriting?
If the prewriting doesn’t work for your child or your child isn’t ready for it, do NOT do the fine motor activities.

To know if your child is past the prewriting stage of Unit One,  read this article: Pre-writing shapes – what are they and how to teach them?


Unit Two: Book Recommendations
All the books listed are merely suggestions. If you're on a tight budget or aiming to minimize the number of books in your home, consider exploring what you already own or what your local library has available, and make your selections from there.

New York Public Library also put out a list of diverse nursery rhyme books.
This unit does not provide specific story time recommendations; however, we strongly encourage you to read any rhyming books you have on hand, ideally as often as possible!

• Nothing Rhymes with Orange by Adam Rex
• Beauty Woke by NoNieqa Ramos
• Little Messy Marcy Su by Cheri Fu
• Bannock in a Hammock by Masiana Kelly and Amiel Sandland
• Under My Hijab by Hena Khan 

Unit Two Supplies
Coloring Supplies
Whatever works best for you and your child! This could mean generic crayons from the Dollar Tree or top dollar 100% organic beeswax crayons. Our favorites are rock Crayons, block crayons, and broken stick crayons

Paper
That’s it. Paper. A ream of copy paper and/or construction paper. BIG paper is nice for little learners. I like the 16x12 size and rolls of butcher paper.

Rhyming Objects
Look around your house for things that could rhyme. Some easy ones include. 

• sock – block, clock, rock (decorative or garden), lock
• chair – bear (stuffed), hair (brush, tie), pair (shoes, socks)
• book – hook
• bed – red (crayon, toy), thread
• cat – hat, mat, bat (toy or stuffed)
• plate – gate (baby gate), crate (storage bin), skate (toy or image)
• frog – log, dog, cog (gears)
• jar – car, star, bar (snack bar)
• mop – top
• rag – bag, tag, flag
• door – floor, drawer
• box – socks, rocks, locks, fox (toy or picture)
• fan – can, pan, man (figure), van (toy)
• hat – bat, mat, rat (toy or image)
• light – kite, right (direction sign)
• fork – cork, stork (toy or image), pork (pretend food)
• soap – rope

There is also printable objects!