Songs are a very useful tool for teaching children what a rhyme sounds like. Teach children basic songs such as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and show them how the words at the ends of the lines have similar sounds. Ask them to think of other words that end with the same sounds as the words in the song. Teach other songs that impart basic knowledge, such as counting songs with easy rhyme schemes.
Name games are a simple way to teach rhyming, because children don’t have to come up with two words that rhyme. Instead, they use their names or the names of their classmates as the first word, then try to find a word that rhymes with their names. Give the children themes for rhyming words, such as foods, animals or objects in the room. Have the students play name games to help them learn the names of all their classmates.
If your kindergarten room is equipped with a computer, you can use vocabulary software to help children learn how to rhyme. Some of the programs developed for classroom use have rhyming activities built right into the program. If you don't have one of these, you can pull up websites with age-appropriate rhyme games to help your students reinforce principles of rhyme. Funschool.com and PBSKids.org are a few examples of sites with games of this type.
Flashcards are useful for teaching a number of basic skills because they provide a visual representation of a concept. Rhyming is no exception to this practice. Show the children three flashcards, two of which contain images of rhyming words and one that doesn't fit in. You might show a picture of a dog, a frog and a cat. Get the children to say each word out loud as you show the image, then ask them to decide which two are the rhyming words.