Cat and hat rhyme! They both end with the sound "-at". When two words rhyme, the vowel sound and the ending consonant sounds are the same. The beginning sounds can be different. For example: "ball" and "tall" rhyme, "pig" and "wig" rhyme, "fun" and "sun" rhyme. Rhyming is like finding word families – words that share the same ending.

Bat belongs to the "-at" family! It rhymes with cat, hat, rat, mat, and sat. When you learn one word in a word family, you can read many other words by changing the first letter. For example, if you can read "cat", you can also read "bat", "hat", "fat", "mat", "pat", "rat", and "sat". That is the power of rhyming and word families!

Frog rhymes with dog! Both belong to the "-og" family. They share the same ending sound. You can make a rhyme: "A dog sat on a log, and next to him sat a frog." Rhyming words are fun to use in poems and songs. Can you think of another word that rhymes with dog and frog? How about "log" or "fog"?

Fan does NOT belong to the "-un" family. Fan belongs to the "-an" family (like man, pan, can, van). Sun, run, and fun all rhyme because they share the "-un" ending. When you change the first letter of "run", you can make "fun", "sun", "bun", and "gun". That is how word families help you read many words quickly!

Can belongs to the "-an" family! It rhymes with man, pan, fan, and van. Remember the nursery rhyme: "The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout" – that does not rhyme, but here is a rhyme with "-an": "I am a man with a pan. I cook for my family in my can." Rhyming makes reading fun and helps you predict what words might come next in a story or poem.

Chip rhymes with ship! Both belong to the "-ip" family. Chip and ship – they sound almost the same except for the beginning sound. Other words in the "-ip" family include "dip", "lip", "tip", "rip", "zip", and "nip". When you read Dr. Seuss books, you will find many rhymes like this. His books are full of fun word families!

Bake rhymes with cake! Both belong to the "-ake" family. They share the same ending sound: "-ake". Notice that the vowel sound is long A (like the name of the letter A). Other words that rhyme with cake: make, lake, rake, fake, shake, wake, and snake. You can make a sentence: "I will bake a cake by the lake." That sentence has three "-ake" words!

Spoon rhymes with moon! Both belong to the "-oon" family. They share the same ending sound. Think of this rhyme: "Soon, very soon, we will eat with a spoon under the light of the moon." Rhyming helps you remember words and sounds. The "-oon" family makes the "oo" sound like in "boot". Other "-oon" words: noon, balloon, cartoon, and raccoon.

Stick rhymes with tick! The rhyme is: "I have a tick, I have a stick." Both words belong to the "-ick" family. The "-ick" family has the short I sound (like in "igloo"). Other "-ick" words: pick, lick, kick, sick, brick, chick, quick, and thick. Can you make a rhyme with two of these words? "My chick is sick" – that rhymes!

Yes, pen and ten rhyme! They both end with the "-en" sound. That is a true rhyme. Here is a trick: if you can change the first letter of one word and get the other word, they probably rhyme. Change P to T – pen becomes ten! That works. Try with "cat" and "hat" – change C to H. That works too. Remember: rhyming words share the SAME ending sound, not just a similar one. You are becoming a rhyming expert!