State the Objective

Tell the children that they will change a flat hat into a fat hat and that they will recognize and produce words that rhyme with hat, such as fat, mat, cat, rat, bat, and flat.

Literacy Activities

Make the hat fat 

• Have children take turns reaching into a bag and choosing a picture card (see below).
• Ask if the picture card rhymes with hat.
  • If it rhymes with hat, have the children say, "Yes! Put that ____ in the flat hat!" and let the child put the picture card in the hat. 
  • If the object doesn’t rhyme with hat, have the children say, "No! That ____ can't go in the flat hat!" and tell the child to put it to the side. 
• As the hat is filled (you may want to crumple the picture cards so they take up more room), tell the children that the hat is getting fat and is no longer flat.
• Help the children think of words from the activity that rhyme with hat, such as flat, fat, and that.

Produce words that rhyme with hat

• Remind the children of words that rhyme with hat (e.g., fat, mat, cat, rat, bat, flat).
• Ask each child to think of a word that rhymes with hat.

Recognize rhyming words

• Lay out two picture cards (see below) that rhyme with hat (e.g., rat, bat) and one that does not rhyme with hat (e.g., bell).
• Help the children identify the picture that does not rhyme with hat and remove it.