Browse

Onset and Rime

7 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Picture worksheets for blending and splitting onsets and rimes (c + at = cat), with answer keys, plus cut-out word slides for the -at, -og, -ig and -en families.

Download the onset and rime worksheets

Blend onset and rime

Listen to the two parts or read them, then find the picture.

Split words and slide new ones

Break a word into its onset and rime, then change the onset to make new words.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these onset and rime worksheets

The onset is the first sound or sounds of a word, before the vowel. The rime is the vowel and everything after it. In cat, the onset is c and the rime is at. In star, the onset is st and the rime is ar. Rhyming words share a rime, so cat, hat and bat differ only in their onsets.

Working with onsets and rimes is the step between hearing syllables and hearing single sounds. Children first blend the two parts back into a word (/k/ … at makes cat), then break a word into its two parts. On the listening pages you say the parts and your child circles the picture. On the match and split pages, children read and write the parts themselves.

The word slides are a hands-on way to change the onset and keep the rime: cut out the card and strip, slide the strip, and read cat, hat, bat, mat. Words with two-letter onsets such as fr-og, st-ar and sn-ake are on the second page of each set.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.CBlend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.ARecognize and produce rhyming words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.EAdd or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.ADemonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

How to use them

  1. Say the onset, pause for a second, then say the rime: /m/ … oon. Ask, “What word is that?”
  2. On the listening pages, read the parts from the grown-up box at the bottom. Your child listens and circles the picture.
  3. For the split pages, have your child say the word, then say just the first sound, then the rest. Write the first sound in the small box and the rest in the big box.
  4. Cut out the word slides on card stock. Cut the two short slits on each card and thread the strip through so one letter shows in the window.

Teaching tips

  • Keep the first sound short: /k/, not “kuh”. An added “uh” makes cat sound like “kuh-at”.
  • Start with onsets that can be stretched, like /m/, /s/ and /f/, before quick sounds like /b/, /k/ and /t/.
  • Two-letter onsets (st, fr, sn, cl) are harder. Say both sounds together as one chunk: /st/ … ar.
  • Link this to rhyming: words that share a rime rhyme. Make a stack of rhymes by changing only the onset.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is onset and rime?

The onset is the part of a one-syllable word before the vowel, and the rime is the vowel and the rest. In dog, d is the onset and og is the rime. In frog, fr is the onset.

Is rime the same as rhyme?

They are related. The rime is the part of the word; words that rhyme share the same rime, like cat, hat and mat (-at).

Do all words have an onset?

No. Words that start with a vowel, like egg, up and on, have a rime but no onset.

How do I use the word slides?

Print on card stock, cut out each card and strip, cut the two short slits on the card and thread the strip through. Slide it to show a new first letter and read each word.

Are these onset and rime worksheets free?

Yes. Every page is a free PDF with no sign-up, in US Letter and A4. Sheets with right answers have an answer key on page 2.