📖 Reading & talking · Ages 6–7 · about 2 weeks

Reading ear and air

Goal: Read familiar words with ear and air, and compare their rhyming endings.

For parents: Start with hear and near, then hair and fair. Keep your family's usual pronunciation, including any r you say. Listen to whole words without imposing a sound count. Teach these readings first; ear has other readings in words such as bear. Explain that fair can mean treating people justly.

Do together

  1. Hear and near

    You need: Paper and a pencil

    Write hear and near. Underline ear in both. Model that part as you say it at home, then blend each word. Point to your ear for hear and something nearby for near. Read again and listen to the shared ending.

  2. Hair and fair

    You need: Paper and a pencil

    Write hair and fair, underlining air. Read together and listen to the matching endings. Draw hair, then draw two children taking turns to show one meaning of fair. Explain the drawings while pointing to the words.

  3. Read before sorting

    You need: Four large paper word cards

    Write hear, near, hair and fair. Help your child read each card before sorting by ear or air. Say each pair naturally. Ask which words rhyme within each pair. Let your child choose a word and explain its meaning through speech or drawing.

Talk about it

  • Where can you see ear in near?
  • Which word rhymes with hair: fair or near?
  • How could we show what fair means?

Words to use

  • ear
  • air
  • hear
  • near
  • hair
  • fair
  • read
  • rhyme

Play

  • Rhyme Time
    Rhyming
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