Rimes & Onsets: Help in Tackling Literacy Issues

When you, the mentor, or the participant reads or writes and you begin to analyze words together, you can approach the material at hand, whatever it may be, by locating rimes and onsets.  This creates pattern recognition.  Here are some example of rimes and onsets which you can feel free to print out and copy.

StarSpell 2.3 Onset & Rime lists Copyright © Fisher-Marriott Software 1999. These lists may be copied and used for non-commercial purposes. Please acknowledge our copyright.



RIMES (2 letter endings)

'.ad' as in dad:

dad: A dad is a father

lad: Here is my dad as a lad

sad: I feel sad to see you go

'.ag' as in bag:

bag: Her bag holds a lot

rag: She wipes her paintbrush with a rag

wag: A happy dog will wag his tail

'.am' as in jam:

jam: I like jam on bread

ram: The ram had big curly horns

'.an' as in pan:

fan: A fan keeps me cool

man: Every man was once a boy

pan: I'll boil an egg in the pan

'.ap' as in tap:

gap: My teeth have a gap at the front

nap: Sleepy people need a nap

tap: Water runs from a tap

'.at' as in cat:

cat: My cat laps up milk

hat: He wore a woolly hat

rat: A rat has a very long tail

'.ed' as in bed:

bed: I sleep in a big bed

fed: Cats often purr when they're fed

red: This box is red all over

'.eg' as in leg:

leg: I can stand on one leg

peg: My coat hangs on a peg

'.en' as in hen:

hen: My hen lays brown eggs

pen: She writes with a red pen

ten: My toes add up to ten

'.et' as in pet:

net: We need a net to dip in the pond

pet: I have a spider for a pet

'.ig' as in pig:

dig: Let's go and dig for gold

pig: The pig gave a grunt

'.in' as in pin:

bin: I put the bag in the bin

pin: A pin is very sharp

tin: Mum opened a tin of beans

'.ip' as in lip:

lip: I bit my lip

pip: An apple tree grows from a tiny pip

rip: Her new dress has a rip in it

'.it' as in bit:

bit: This bit fits here

hit: My hammer hit the nail first time

sit: I want to sit in this comfy chair

'.ob' as in rob:

job: His job is washing up

sob: It made her sob to lose her bear

'.og' as in dog:

dog: Our dog barks at cats

fog: Its hard to see far in the fog

log: A log is a seat for a frog

'.ot' as in cot:

cot: The baby sleeps in her cot

dot: My pet flea is hiding behind this dot

pot: I'll plant a bulb in this pot

'.ud' as in bud:

bud: Soon the bud will be a flower

mud: I must get the mud off my boot

'.um' as in sum:

mum: A mum is a mother

sum: This sum gets a tick

'.un' as in sun:

bun: I love a sticky bun

run: You'll never catch me when I run

sun: Summer sun is hot

ONSETS (single letter starts)

'b..' as in bed:

bag: Her bag holds a lot

bed: I sleep in a big bed

bun: I love a sticky bun

'c..' as in cat:

cat: My cat laps up milk

cot: The baby sleeps in her cot

cup: Gran has a cup of tea with me

'd..' as in dog:

dad: A dad is a father

den: He hid in his den

dog: Our dog barks at cats

'f..' as in fox:

fan: A fan keeps me cool

fox: A fox hunts to eat

fun: Her party was a lot of fun

'g..' as in gap:

gap: My teeth have a gap at the front

get: We will get wet in the rain

'h..' as in hat:

hat: He wore a woolly hat

hen: My hen lays brown eggs

hug: I like to hug my Mum

'j..' as in jet:

jam: I like jam on bread

jet: I like to fly by jet

jug: Milk comes in a jug

'l..' as in leg:

leg: I can stand on one leg

lip: I bit my lip

log: A log is a seat for a frog

'm..' as in man:

man: Every man was once a boy

mat: Please wipe your feet on the mat

mum: A mum is a mother

'n..' as in nut:

nap: Sleepy people need a nap

net: We need a net to dip in the pond

nut: I saw a squirrel hide a nut

'p..' as in pig:

pen: She writes with a red pen

pet: I have a spider for a pet

pig: The pig gave a grunt

'r'.. as in rat:

rag: She wipes her paintbrush with a rag

rat: A rat has a very long tail

red: This box is red all over

's..' as in sun:

sad: I feel sad to see you go

six: An ant has six legs

sun: Summer sun is hot

't..' as in ten:

tap: Water runs from a tap

ten: My toes add up to ten

tin: Mum opened a tin of beans

'w..' as in web:

wag: A happy dog will wag his tail

web: I saw a spider spin a web

win: Only one of you can win the prize

RIMES (3 letter endings)

'.amp' as in lamp:

camp: Our camp had four big tents

lamp: The lamp gave a soft glow

stamp: Every letter needs a stamp

'.and' as in hand:

band: I'd love to play drums in a band

hand: My hand is to hold things

sand: There's so much sand at the seaside

'.ang' as in bang:

bang: Bangers go bang

rang: The bell rang for playtime

sang: The singer sang a silly song

'.elt' as in belt:

belt: A belt holds up my jeans

melt: Snowmen melt in the sun

'.end' as in bend:

bend: Drive carefully round a bend

mend: Can you mend this broken toy?

'.ent' as in bent:

bent: The shelf was bent

dent: The crash made a dent in my car

tent: I'm going to sleep out in my tent

'.est' as in nest:

nest: Four eggs rest in a nest

rest: He had to rest after running so far

'.ilk' as in milk:

milk: I put some milk in my tea

silk: A silk scarf is soft

'.ing' as in ring:

king: The king sat on his throne

ring: She has a ring on her finger

wing: This bird has hurt its wing

'.ink' as in sink:

drink: A fizzy drink tickles your nose

sink: His sink was full of washing-up

wink: A wink is a one-eyed blink

'.int' as in mint:

mint: This mint is sweet but very hot

print: My work is neat when I print it

'.ist' as in list:

fist: Shut your hand to make a fist

list: I made a list of my friends

mist: The trees are hidden in the mist

'.ond' as in pond:

fond: I am very fond of my sister

pond: Why has this pond got no ducks?

'.ump' as in jump:

bump: I got a bump on the head when I fell

jump: A frog can jump over a log

lump: I had a lump on my head from a fall

'.unk' as in bunk:

bunk: Tom slept in the top bunk

dunk: I dunk a biscuit in my drink

trunk: A trunk is a very long nose

'.usk' as in tusk:

dusk: Just before dark it is dusk

rusk: Our baby likes to chew a rusk

tusk: An elephant tusk is long and white

ONSETS (2 letter starts)

'bl..' as in blob:

blink: Eyes blink all the time

blob: A blob of jam fell on the cloth

blot: Drip some paint and make a blot

'br..' as in brick:

brick: Here's a brick to start a wall

brim: My glass is full up to the brim

bring: Postmen bring the post

'ch..' as in chin:

check: This pattern is a check

chimp: The chimp was unhappy in the zoo

chin: Every day he shaves his chin

'cl..' as in clap:

clap: I clap my hands to the music

cling: A baby will cling to its mother.

club: The giant had a big club

'cr..' as in crab:

crab: A crab hid in a rocky pool

crisp: You can have the last crisp in the packet

crust: Who wants the crust off this new loaf?

'dr..' as in drum:

drink: A fizzy drink tickles your nose

drop: A drop of rain fell on my hat

drum: We dance as he bangs his drum

'fl..' as in flag:

flag: The flag flaps in the wind.

flap: This flap is for the cat

'fr..' as in frog:

frog: A frog sits by a pond

frost: There is frost on the window

'gl..' as in glad:

glad: I'm glad you can come to my party

glum: The bad news made her glum

'pl..' as in plum:

plank: A plank of wood can make a shelf

plug: A plug keeps water in a sink

plum: I hope this plum is sweet

'sh..' as in ship:

shell: A snail has a shell on its back

ship: The ship sails out to sea

shop: Her shop sells toys

'sk..' as in skin:

skid: Mud makes cars skid

skin: You need skin to keep your body in

skip: She likes to skip with her new rope

'sl..' as in slug:

sling: His arm was in a sling

slip: A banana skin made him slip

slug: A slimy slug slid slowly past

'sm..' as in smug:

smock: I put on a smock when I paint

smug: She looked so smug when she won

'sp..' as in spot:

spot: The paint drop made a small red spot

spud: My hot spud is full of butter

'st..' as in step:

stand: We saw the match from the stand

step: She fell from the top step of the stairs

sting: A wasp will sting if it is angry

'sw..' as in swing:

swim: I can swim across the pool

swing: Push me high on my swing

'th..' as in thin:

thick: A big brush paints a thick line

thin: A thin dog needs his food

thing: A cup is a thing for holding drinks

'tr..' as in truck:

trot: The horse set off at a trot

truck: The truck carried a load of bricks

trunk: A trunk is a very long nose