Here are several of Sharon Zinke’s ideas for helping students invert that learning and begin to recognize the magic rime words as they read:

1.       Magic Rime Games:

Whole Group: Stand Up Rimes. Give 4 students each a magic rime card from the green deck and have them stand at the front of the room.  Call out a word, and the class must identify which student is holding the Rime for that word.

Small Group: What’s My Rime? Give each student in the group 1-2 magic rime cards. Call a word, and the group must identify who has the Rime for that word.

2.       Highlight the Rimes

This activity transfers Magic Rime from an oral activity (at which our students tend to excel) to a written activity. I had one first grade class for which this activity was a snap, while the class across the hall required much scaffolding.  Writing just the rime in color provides the same scaffold for children as the Magic Rime Deck; the rime jumps out at students, helping them focus in on it as an important part of the word.

·         Each student needs pencil, a crayon or marker, and paper

·         Call a Magic Rime word (ex: stutter)

·         Ask students to orally identify the Magic Rime in the word (“ut-ut-ut”)

·         Students use their pencil to write the onset of the word (st)

·         Students lay down their pencil and use color to write the rime (ut)

·         Students pick their pencil back up to double the consonant & add the ending (t-er)

Tier 2 Scaffolding: As you would with regular Magic Rime, scaffold students by…

·         Coaching them to hear all the sounds in the onset. (That’s good; you heard the /s/! But listen, there are two sounds in the beginning of stutter, /ssssss/…../ttttt/. What other sound do you need to add?)

·         Reminding them to double the consonant before writing the ending

·         Reminding them to check the endings chart (which should always be where students can see it) to identify and spell the ending for your word

Tier 3 Scaffolding: If students still struggle, try this, using only the parts YOUR students need to be successful. As students gain confidence, eliminate the steps they no longer need, until they are able to do the activity with no scaffolding.

·         After students orally identify the rime in your word, pull that card from the Green Deck

·         Build the word as you would normally, using your fingers as placeholders

·         Keep the card and your placeholder fingers up as long as students are still referring to them, maybe even to the last step

·         Point out to students how many letters will be in the onset

·         Have students identify the onset letters and write them with pencil

·         Coach students to switch to color, re-identify the rime, and write the rime

·         Switch back to pencil

·         Repeat the word

·         Remind students to double the consonant

·         Have students note what the ending is on your word and find it on the Endings Chart (which should always be where students can see it)

·         Write the ending

·         Spell and read the entire written word