Learn to identify the components of a syllable. Syllables contain an onset, a nucleus and a coda. The nucleus and coda join together to form a rhyme. The rhyme in a syllable is called a rhyme because it is the part of a syllable that is crucial to forming rhyming word pairs.
A syllable is diagrammed as follows:
Syllable = Onset + Rhyme
Rhyme = Nucleus + Coda
Learn the sounds associated with each part of a syllable. The onset is always a single consonant sound or consonant cluster, for example the "t" in "tee," the "tr" in "tree" and the "str" in "street." The nucleus is always a single vowel sound. The coda is always a single consonant sound or consonant cluster, for example the "t" in "cat," the "rt" in "smart" and the "rst" in "first."
Learn the mandatory and optional syllable elements. A nucleus is mandatory in every syllable; however, the onset and coda are not. A nucleus alone can form the rhyme in a syllable. The expression "tra, la, la" is an example of three rhyming syllables made up of onsets and nucleus-only rhymes. The words "at," "it" and "out" provide examples of syllables that do not have onsets; however, to give each of these syllables rhyming word pairs an onset must be added. For example, "bat," "bit" and "bout."
Remember that it is always the final syllable in a word that must rhyme with the final syllable in another word when a word contains more than one syllable. The words "perfect" and "furry" are each two-syllable words, and though the first syllable of each word rhymes with the other, the second syllables do not, so these words are not rhymes. On the other hand, the words "example" and "trample" are each three-syllable words that do rhyme because the final syllable in each word sounds like the other.