Erase a Rhyme Game

📝 This post, Erase a Rhyme Game, was originally published in 2012 and has been updated with new information and resources.

The Erase a Rhyme Game has to be one of the best “have-in-your-back-pocket” activities I have ever used. It takes almost no preparation, works with one child or an entire class, and can be played just about anywhere. All you really need is a whiteboard and marker—or even a piece of paper and a pencil.

I’ve played this game with my own boys, in my classroom, and now again as a substitute teacher. It’s one of my favorite ways to fill a few extra minutes while practicing important literacy and math skills. Kids always seem to love being the one who gets to erase the answer!

One of my favorite things about this game is that once children understand how to play, you can adapt it to practice almost any skill. Rhyming is just the beginning!

---

Materials Needed

✔️ Whiteboard and dry erase marker (or paper and pencil)

How to Play the Erase a Rhyme Game

Draw several simple pictures that are easy to rhyme, such as a hat, dog, clock, and pen. Make sure everyone knows what each picture represents before you begin.

Then begin giving clues.

“Find the rhyme! It isn’t a frog…it’s a ______.”

The student erases the dog.

Next try:

“It isn’t a cat…it’s a ______.”

The student erases the hat.

Continue giving rhyming clues until every picture has disappeared!

---

More Ways to Play

Instead of saying a rhyming word, show your child an object or picture that rhymes with one of the pictures on the board. For example, show a mug and ask which picture it rhymes with. Your child should erase the bug.

Another fun twist is to let your child become the teacher! Have them draw the pictures, make up the clues, and you erase the correct answers.

---

More Erase Games

Once your child understands how the game works, the possibilities are almost endless!

Letter Recognition

Write letters on the board. Call out a letter and have children erase it.

Number Recognition

Write numbers on the board. Say a number and have children erase it.

Letter Sounds

Write letters on the board. Say a letter sound and have children erase the matching letter.

Sight Words

Write sight words on the board. Read them aloud and have children erase each word as it is called.

Number Sense

Draw subitizing dots, dominoes, dice, tally marks, fingers, or ten frames. Say a number and have children erase the matching representation.

Math Facts

Write math facts or answers on the board. Read an equation and have children erase the correct answer—or show the answer and have them figure out the equation.

Blends and Digraphs

Draw pictures that begin with blends or digraphs. Say the blend or digraph and have children erase the matching picture. This idea works with almost any phonics skill.

Color Words

Write color words on the board. Say a color or hold up an object, and have children erase the matching word.

Shapes

Draw several different shapes and have children erase the one you name.

Foreign Language

Draw pictures or write vocabulary words. Say the word in another language and have children erase the matching picture or English word.

Even Younger Children Can Play!

My older son loved this game, but when my younger son was three years old, he wanted to play too. Instead of rhyming words, I simply changed the clues to match skills he already knew.

Erase a Face

Draw several faces showing different emotions. Ask your child to erase the happy face, sad face, surprised face, or angry face.

Erase an Animal

Draw several simple animals and have your child erase the one you name.

---

Why You’ll Love This Game

One of the best things about this activity is how easy it is to adapt. Once children understand the basic idea, you can create a new version in less than a minute using whatever skill they are currently learning. Whether you’re practicing rhyming, sight words, math facts, number sense, or phonics, this simple game keeps children listening carefully, thinking quickly, and actively participating.

Sometimes the best learning activities are also the simplest. The Erase a Rhyme Game has been one of my favorite grab-and-go activities for years because it requires almost no preparation and works just about anywhere. Once you try it, I think you’ll find yourself using it again and again—not just for rhyming, but for all kinds of learning!