Teaching rhyming to beginning readers can be challenging. But trust me, with these Llama, Llama books, rhyming is NO PROB-LLAMA!
For students to understand rhyming, they have to hear words that sound similar over and over and over again. They have to understand that while many rhyming words are similar in spelling, rhyming is ALL about the sounds.
Therefore, the Llama Llama series is just perfect to teach rhyming! No made up silly words and no long and confusing plot lines. These books are just long enough, have relatable plot lines, and have real rhyming words! Scroll down to see how I use this series to teach rhyming with an adorable anchor chart and a writing activity to wrap up the lessons!
First, I created this simple Llama, Llama Wanna Rhym-a? anchor chart. Second, I shared with my students that for the next two weeks we would learn about rhyming with our new friend Llama, Llama! As we read about Llama, his mama, and all of his drama, we will be listening, recording all his rhyming words on sticky notes, and sticking them onto our anchor chart!
After recording the rhyming words from each book, we stood up and rapped the rhyming words together with hands and body movements as if we were the coolest rapping and rhyming llamas around! Look at our complete anchor chart below!
Here are the books that I selected for our lessons! Click to the images to purchase your own copy!
Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliated links, meaning that I will earn a commission if you click through the links and make a purchase.
1. Llama Llama Red Pajama– This is the classic book that started the series. It is sweet, adorable, and so relatable to our sweet little ones who still need and love their mamas so much!
2. Llama Llama Mad at Mama– Yes, who hasn’t been impatient and got mad at their mama?! Even llamas get this feeling from time to time and have to learn to cope.
3. Llama, Llama and the Bully Goat– What will Llama do when he is confronted with a bully?! This book speaks directly to the kids with rhyming words on every page! The kids loved this so much as we also tied init to our beginning of the year lessons on how to be kind and be a good friend.
4. Llama, Llama Home with Mama– When Llama is sick, he stays home with Mama but quickly finds out that she also needs some TLC herself!
8. Llama Llama Yum, Yum, Yum– This is a very short and easy read aloud as it discusses different meals that Llama eats. There is also a scratch and sniff version that the kids will definitely LOVE!!!
9. Llama Llama Holiday Drama- So it’s not the holidays yet, but how could I pass up this adorable and festive book?! The kids hung on every rhyming word that was read and are already ready for the holidays after reading this together! 🙂
To wrap up our all of our Llama Drama, we reviewed the rhyming words and I asked the kids to choose their favorite Llama book to complete the Llama Llama, What’s the Drama? Writing Activity! The kids had such a great time and our Writing Display Wall is now filled with so many sweet llamas!!!!
If you would like to download the FREE Llama, Llama What’s the Drama Writing Activity, click to the image below!
