Onset and Rime Matching Cards – Flip Books & Word Lists

Teaching children that words contain recognizable chunks is key to developing reading fluency.  As students read multisyllabic words, they gain a deeper understanding that words contain recognizable chunks and that learning starts with learning about onset and rime.   

These onset and rime matching cards, flip books, and word lists are a tool that I used to teach and practice onset and rime with one-syllable words.

What is Included in the Onset and Rime Resource

Included in the onset and rime resource are three sets of word lists, matching cards and flip cards.

Word Lists

There are three sets of word lists.  One set provides the rime and many of the onsets that go with that rime to create common “real” words. 

Another set of word lists provides the onset and many of the rimes that go with that onset.  I use these lists to help me find the cards I need for a certain activity with certain patterns.

The final set lists words by onset and rime (v_e, vowel team, etc.).  I glue these word lists into students’ notebooks so they can read and practice the lists during small groups and independently. 

I start with the word list by word family/rime and then move onto the mixed lists for review.

Here are examples of the lists in a student notebook along with some of the matching cards. 

Onset and Rime Matching Cards

The core part of the resource are the matching cards.  These can be printed on colored paper so that the onset is on one color and the rime is on another color.  

Students use the cards to make a variety of words. I use the second list mentioned above to determine which onsets and rimes I need to photocopy for students. 

Here are a few examples of ways to use the matching cards.

Match onset and rimes and write them down.

Provide many rimes and one or two onsets to move and read.  This is similar to the photo at the beginning of the post which shows the opposite: many onsets and one or two rimes. 

Real and Nonsense Words

As you can image, students will come up with words that aren’t real.   I’ve also included a notebook page for real and nonsense words.

Flip Cards

The flip cards are one of my favorite parts of the resource.  They can be used as an independent activity for students to practice reading word patterns, or they can become a part of your small group routine. 

The most common rimes are included for each sound.  The cards are set up to have multiple onsets for one rime.  The third type of word lists are a great tool to use when assembling these. 

How to Use the Onset and Rime Cards

I use the matching cards with my reading small groups.  Each of my small groups is generally at a different place in their reading level.  I have master set of cards that I’ve printed, laminated, and cut apart.  I also print sets of cards for students to use, as well.  

We generally work on the same set of cards for a period of time, from a couple of days to a week.  I provide students with baggies in which to keep the matching cards, so they can practice with them each time they come to reading group. 

Students also assemble the flip cards either at my teacher group or independently after we have practiced the patterns in the teacher group.

There are many ways to use these cards to help students learn to see words as chunks of letters.   It’s a precursor to reading multisyllabic words and great for visual learners. 

How to purchase this onset and rime resource

These Onset and Rime Matching Cards, Word Lists and Flip Cards can be purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers.