Cool Reading Games for Children: Encouraging Pre-Reading with Music

Cool Reading Games for Children: Encouraging Pre-Reading with Music

The following cool reading games activities are designed to help your child identify rhyming words, individual sounds in the word and word recognition.

Cool reading games Materials

*Singing Voice

*Lyrics on a sheet of paper

I chose cool pop tunes that can be enjoyed by both you and your child!

Cool reading games song:

Footloose- Kenny Loggins
Loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose

1.  Chant the song with your child.

*invite your child to identify words that start with /l/ sound.

2. Show the lyrics on a sheet of paper and have your child find the words that begins with /l/. Have your child underline the words and circle each letter.  Encourage your child to say words that rhyme with loose. (goose, moose, choose, news, lose…)   

3.  Chant the lyrics and have your child identify the rhyming words.  (footloose and shoes, Louise and knees, back and crack, blues and footloose)

• Cool reading games Rhyming Activity:

Play the “I’m thinking of a rhyming game” and have your child pick out the word that doesn’t fit.

(food, true, hut: me, glee, him…)

Cool reading games song:

Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog- Creedence Clearwater
Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was good friend of mine.

I never understood a single word he said but I helped him drink
 his wine.
He always had some mighty fine wine.

Sing it Joy to the
 world...all the boys and girls now,

joy to the fishies in the deep blue 
sea and joy to you and me.

1.  Chant the song with your child.

Invite your child to identify words that start with /j/ sound.

2. Show the lyrics on a sheet of paper and have your child find the word that begins with /j/. Have your child underline the word and circle each letter.  Encourage your child to say words that rhyme with joy.  (boy, coy, koi, soy, annoy…)

3.  Chant the lyrics and have your child identify the rhyming words.  (mine and whine, sea and me)

4.  Look at lyrics that rhyme with mine and sea (fine, kind, sign, line, nine, dine, pine…) and (tea, bee, fee, he, she, knee, see, wee…)

Cool Reading Games Song:

Surfin’ Bird-The Trashmen

A-well-a bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word


A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word


A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word


A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word


1.  Chant the song with your child.

Invite your child to identify words that start with /b/ sound.

2. Show the lyrics on a sheet of paper and have your child find the word that begins with /b/.

Have your child underline the word and circle each letter.  Encourage your child to say words that rhyme with bird.  (heard, third, nerd…)

3.  Chant the lyrics and have your child identify the rhyming words.  (bird and word)

Resource used:

Lively Literacy & Music Activities by Debra Olson Presnall & Lorilee Malecha

We hope you enjoyed this Cool reading games blog and please let us know what you thought of this activity.

Also, the Burnsville School of Rock has a great Early Music Education Program for kids 4-7 years of age!

For information please call: (952) 898-7625 and check out the website:

http://burnsville.schoolofrock.com/program/early-education