Overview
The children will help Bess press her dress while they recognize and produce words that rhyme with dress, such as mess, press, less, and guess.

Literacy Activities
A Dress for Bess

• Read the A Dress for Bess target text to the children and act it out with the large paper doll. 
• Emphasize that many of the words in the story rhyme with dress.
• Ask the children what words they remember that rhyme with dress.
• Give the children small paper dolls and a crayon so they can make a “mess” on the paper doll’s dress with a crayon each time you say a word that rhymes with dress.

More Practice 

• Ask the children to think of a sentence they can say that rhymes with dress. 
• Invite them to share with the class.