Rhyme Carnival Teacher Guide Phonological Awareness
RHYME CARNIVAL
Teacher Facilitation & Lesson Guide
Target Grade: Pre-K – 1st
Duration: 30–45 Mins
Focus: Rhyme Identification
Lesson Objectives
Identify if two spoken words rhyme (sound same at the end).
Produce matching physical movements (claps/stomps) for rhymes.
Complete the verbal sentence stem to explain rhyming pairs.
Built-in Supports
Visual Icons: Paired with every key word to aid non-readers.
Errorless Cues: Color-coded card borders ensure high confidence.
Gross Motor: Physical jumps & stomps lock in rhythmic patterns.
Material Checklist
Rhyme Carnival Slides (Direct Instruction)
Printable Pairing Cards (Sensory/Matching)
Rhyme Practice Worksheet
Exit Tickets & Color Markers
Phase 1: Spark the Sound (Warm-Up)
5 Mins
Gather students on the carpet. Explain that words have "ends" just like animals have tails! Introduce the concept of rhyming using your voice.
Say: "Welcome to the Rhyme Carnival! Rhyming words are special words that have matching tails! They sound exactly the same at the very end. Let's make a train with our mouths. Listen: CAT... HAT. They match! Your turn: clap if they sound the same!"
Phase 2: Introduce physical cues
10 Mins
Display the Rhyme Carnival Slides . Introduce the physical responses: the Rhyme Double-Clap (for matching sounds) and the Stomp-and-Freeze (if words do not rhyming).
The Stem Routine: Teach this chant: "[Word A] and [Word B], they sound the same at the end!" Practice together using PIG and WIG .
Stomp Cue: Say PIG and SUN . Model putting hands out, shaking your head, and doing a single firm foot-stomp to signal "No Match."
Phase 3: The Carnival Showdown
10 Mins
Use the interactive presentation slides to prompt active, gross-motor responses. Present visual word pairs. Students must look at the images, listen to your verbal prompts, and choose their response.
Teaching Tip: Exaggerate the ending syllables. For non-readers, point to the colored circles next to the icons on the slides to connect visual and audio cues.
Page 1 of 2 • Teacher Facilitation Guide RHYME CARNIVAL
Practice & Mastery
RHYME CARNIVAL
Small Group Activities & Differentiation
Hands-On Focus
Active Small Group: The Carnival Sensory Bin
Use the Rhyme Carnival Pair Up Cards in a hands-on activity. Cut the cards along the dotted lines and bury them in a sensory container filled with colorful sprinkles, popcorn kernels, or rice.
Play Directions: Students fish out two cards. They say the word names out loud with their friends. If the border colors match, it's an errorless match clue to help them identify if the sounds fit!
Repetitive Stem Prompt: Once matched, students must hold up their cards and recite:
"I found a [CAKE] and a [LAKE]! They sound the same at the end!"
Worksheet Integration
Hand out the matching practice sheet for desk work. Read each word on the left aloud as a class.
Students trace lines to matching rhyming pairs.
Encourage coloring matched buddies with matching marker colors.
Formative Check (Exit Ticket)
At the close of the lesson, distribute the Ticket Out slips to evaluate individual understanding.
Read the pair aloud (e.g. Cat and Bat).
Students circle the happy/sad ringmaster faces to indicate matches.
Differentiation & Troubleshooting Guide
For Struggling Learners Focus solely on consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pairs with identical ending orthography (e.g., bin/fin). Have them physically put their hand under their chin—when they say rhymes, their chin drops in the exact same pattern! Use the border matching cards for self-correction.
For Advanced Learners Encourage "Rhyme Generation." When they find a card match, ask: "Can you think of a silly, made-up nonsense word that also rhymes with these?" (e.g., Cake, Lake, ... Zake!). This builds pure phonetic manipulation skills.
Corrective Feedback Routine If a student states that PIG and SUN rhyme: "Listen closely: Pig ends with /ig/. Sun ends with /un/. Do /ig/ and /un/ sound the same? Let's check with our stomp. Stomp and Freeze! No matches!"
Page 2 of 2 • Teacher Facilitation Guide RHYME CARNIVAL
Rhyme Carnival Slides Welcome to the
RHYME CARNIVAL!
Listen with your ears.
Move with your body.
Find the matching word tails!
Warm-Up Phase
Ready to play? Let's go! 🎪
What is a Rhyme?
A rhyme is a matching tail!
CAT
HAT
They sound the same at the end!
Physical Cue: The Double Clap!
When two words match at the end, do a double clap:
Clap! Clap! 👏 👏
Practice saying: "Cat and Hat! They match!" Slide 2 of 6
Let's Chant!
Practice our verbal routine
The Sentence Stem
"__________ and __________,"
"They sound the same at the end!"
Word A PIG 🐷
Word B WIG 💇
Say together: "Pig and Wig, they sound the same at the end!"
Do the Double Clap while you chant! 👏 Slide 3 of 6
Practice Match #1
Clap or Stomp?
CAKE
LAKE
THEY RHYME!
Cake and Lake sound matching at the end!
Let's do the Rhyme Double-Clap!
👏 CLAP! CLAP! 👏
"Cake and Lake, they sound the same at the end!" Slide 4 of 6
Practice Match #2
Clap or Stomp?
SUN
FAN
NO MATCH!
Sun ends in /un/. Fan ends in /an/. They do not match!
Let's do the Stomp and Freeze!
👣 STOMP & FREEZE! 👣
Listen carefully—did your voice change sounds? Yes! Slide 5 of 6
Carnival Game Time!
Get ready to play in groups!
1
Sensory Bin Search
Find matching cards hidden in the tubs.
Check the borders: Do the colors match?
If they match, say your rhyme stem out loud!
2
Rhyme Practice Sheet
Trace line pathways connecting words that sound identical at the end.
Color matching pairs with the same bright crayons!
Show your teammate your card match and do your double-claps! Slide 6 of 6
Rhyme Carnival Activity Cards RHYME PAIR-UP CARDS
Sensory Bin & Small Group Activity Pack
Errorless Color Match
Preparation & Directions
Cut along the dashed grey lines to create 8 separate game cards. Mix and bury them in a sensory bin or lay them face down. Students pick cards and match identical border colors to discover self-correcting rhyming pairs!
CAT
HAT
PIG
WIG
CAKE
LAKE
DOG
LOG
Tip: Laminate cards for durable sensory bin or outdoor playground activities! RHYME CARNIVAL
Rhyme Carnival Student Worksheet Rhyme Match-Up
Draw lines to the rhyming buddies!
Name
Date
Directions Say each word on the left out loud. Draw a line to the word on the right that matches its ending sound!
Left side
CAT Ends with /at/
PIG Ends with /ig/
CAKE Ends with /ake/
DOG Ends with /og/
Right side
LAKE Ends with /ake/
HAT Ends with /at/
LOG Ends with /og/
WIG Ends with /ig/
Double-Clap & Color Challenge!
Show your teacher or a partner your matched lines. Say the words out loud together and do your Double-Claps! Then, use your favorite crayons to color matching pairs with the same color! (For example, color the Cat box and Hat box light pink).
Self-Assessment Checklist: Did you do your double claps? [ ] Yes! [ ] Yes! RHYME CARNIVAL
Rhyme Carnival Exit Ticket Carnival Ticket Out
RHYME TIME TICKET
Name
Say the words out loud. Circle the SMILEY FACE if they rhyming match! Circle the SAD FACE if they do not match!
Pair #1
SUN
&
RUN
Match!
No
Pair #2
CAT
&
DOG
Match!
No
Cut along the dashed line below • Rhyme Carnival Assessment
Carnival Ticket Out
RHYME TIME TICKET
Name
Say the words out loud. Circle the SMILEY FACE if they rhyming match! Circle the SAD FACE if they do not match!
Pair #1
SUN
&
RUN
Match!
No
Pair #2
CAT
&
DOG
Match!
No
Cut along the dashed line above • Rhyme Carnival Assessment
Sum Circus Teacher Guide Early Mathematics
SUM CIRCUS
Teacher Facilitation & Lesson Guide
Target Grade: K – 1st
Duration: 40–50 Mins
Focus: Addition/Subtraction ≤ 10
Math Objectives
Add and subtract within 10 using visual ten-frames.
Represent math stories with equations (+ and -).
Demonstrate addition as combining and subtraction as taking away.
Math Anchors
Ten-Frame Mats: Concrete representation to support subitizing.
Color-Coding: Red and blue dots clarify addition addends.
Kinetic Number Line: Giant tape number-line on floor for jumps.
Material Checklist
Sum Circus Interactive Slides
Double Ten-Frame Playmats
Counting Chips (Red/Blue dual-sided)
Sum Circus Worksheets & Tickets
Phase 1: The Human Jump-Line (Warm-Up)
8 Mins
Before class, lay down a large strip of painter's tape on the rug numbered 0 to 10 . Choose a student "Ringmaster" to stand on 5.
Say: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sum Circus! Our Ringmaster is standing on number 5 . 2 acrobats fly into the ring! Acrobat, jump forward 2 steps! Let's count together: 6... 7! Where did they land? Yes, 7! 5 plus 2 makes 7!"
Phase 2: Master the Ten-Frame
12 Mins
Display the Sum Circus Slides . Introduce the math story concept: "Balloons floating into the air" (addition) and "Popcorn boxes being popped/eaten" (subtraction).
Addition Chant: "Put some in, count them up! Part plus part makes the whole!" Use red chips for first number, blue chips for the second.
Subtraction Chant: "Take some out, pop! pop! pop! What is left is our core!" Model crossing out dots on the screen.
Phase 3: The Ringmaster's Arena
15 Mins
Distribute the Sum Circus Playmats and red/blue counting chips to pairs of students. Dictate playful circus math scenarios.
Scenario Example: "4 seals are balancing red balls on their noses. (Students place 4 red counters). 3 more seals join them with blue balls. (Students place 3 blue counters). How many seals are balancing balls now? Write the equation: 4 + 3 = 7."
Page 1 of 2 • Teacher Facilitation Guide SUM CIRCUS
Sum Circus Slides Step Right Up to the
SUM CIRCUS!
Where numbers add up and float high...
And subtractions pop, pop, pop right out of the sky!
Let's count to 10!
Math Arena
Get your ticket and count with us! 🎪
Addition Arena
Join parts to make the whole!
Our Addition Ten-Frame:
5 Red + 3 Blue
The Combining Formula
When we combine, we make a bigger number!
We write it like this:
5 + 3 = 8
Chant: "Part + Part = Whole!" 🖐️ Slide 2 of 6
Subtraction Show
Take away to find the difference!
Our Subtraction Frame (Take Away):
Start with 5 Popcorn kernels.
POP! POP! We ate 2.
The Take Away Formula
Taking away makes a smaller leftover number!
We write it like this:
5 - 2 = 3
Chant: "Take them out, POP! POP!" 🍿 Slide 3 of 6
Story #1: Acrobats fly in!
Addition Time
"We have 4 Acrobats swinging on ropes.
Then, 4 more Acrobats swing into the ring!
How many acrobats are in the air now?"
Let's model it with our playmat!
4 First Part
4 Second Part
Our Whole Sum: 4 + 4 = 8
Put 4 red chips + 4 blue chips! Double clap when you find 8! 👏 Slide 4 of 6
Story #2: Popcorn Escapes!
Subtraction Time
"You have 9 tasty Popcorn kernels in your bag.
Then, 5 kernels POP out and roll away!
How many popcorn kernels do you have left?"
Let's model it with our playmat!
9 Starting Whole
-
5 Take Away
Our Leftover Part: 9 - 5 = 4
Put 9 chips on, then sweep 5 chips off while yelling "POP!" 🍿 Slide 5 of 6
Sum Play Time!
Arena Practice in Partners
1
Ten-Frame Counter Challenge
Work with your desk partner!
Roll a dice. Place that many red chips on your mat.
Roll again. Place blue chips. Write your sum together!
2
Sum Circus Worksheets
Open your Math Practice sheets!
Count floating balloons and popping kernels.
Fill in the blank numbers to complete equations!
Ringmaster Rule: Help your partner count if they get stuck! 🤝 Slide 6 of 6
Sum Circus Activity Mat Sum Circus Playmat
Place your counting chips & write equations!
Arena Mat
Addition Ring
1. Build Your Whole
=
Subtraction Ring
2. Take Away to Find the Rest
-
=
Tip: Place inside a plastic sleeve or laminate for dry-erase marker practice! SUM CIRCUS
Sum Circus Student Worksheet Circus Math Stories
Solve the math puzzles in the circus rings!
Name
Date
Story 1: Addition Points: /1
There are 4 red balloons floating over the circus tent.
Then, 3 blue balloons float up to join them. How many in total?
Write Equation:
Story 2: Subtraction Points: /1
The clown has 8 hot popcorn kernels .
Then, 3 of them pop out . How many popcorn kernels are still left?
Write Equation:
- =
Challenge 3: Draw Your Own Points: /1
There are 5 happy seals . Then, 2 more seals join in.
Draw dots to show the seals in the blank box below, and write the math equation!
Self-Check: Did you count every circle carefully? [ ] Yes! SUM CIRCUS
Sum Circus Exit Ticket Sum Ticket Out
CIRCUS MATH CHECK
Name
Look at the mini ten-frames. Count the circus items and write the final answers in the boxes!
Problem 1: Add
5 + 2 =
Problem 2: Subtract
5 - 2 =
Cut along the dashed line below • Sum Circus Assessment
Sum Ticket Out
CIRCUS MATH CHECK
Name
Look at the mini ten-frames. Count the circus items and write the final answers in the boxes!
Problem 1: Add
5 + 2 =
Problem 2: Subtract
5 - 2 =
Cut along the dashed line below • Sum Circus Assessment