Early to Bed and Early to Rise: A Fun Rhymes Lesson
Materials Needed
- Paper and crayons, colored pencils, or markers
- Index cards or small pieces of paper
- A clock, toy clock, or clock-drawing worksheet
- Optional: a flashlight, stuffed animal, alarm clock, or bedtime prop
- Optional: recording device for recording the rhyme
Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the learner will be able to:
- Recite the rhyme, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
- Identify rhyming words, such as rise and wise.
- Explain the general meaning of the rhyme in their own words.
- Create at least two new rhyming lines connected to sleep, mornings, or healthy habits.
- Describe one healthy bedtime or morning habit they can practice.
Success Criteria
The learner is successful when they can:
- Say the rhyme clearly and with appropriate rhythm.
- Point out at least one pair of rhyming words.
- Explain that regular sleep and a good morning routine can help people feel ready to learn and work.
- Share or write two original rhyming lines.
Introduction: Hook and Objectives
1. The Sleepy or Super-Ready Challenge
Ask:
“How do you feel when you go to bed very late? How do you feel after a good night’s sleep?”
Invite the learner to act out both situations:
- Sleepy character: yawn, move slowly, and pretend to struggle to wake up.
- Ready character: stretch, smile, and pretend to be ready for the day.
Explain:
“Today we will learn an old rhyme about bedtime, waking up, and making healthy choices. We will listen for rhyming words and create our own rhyme.”
Body of the Lesson
I Do: Model the Rhyme
2. Listen and Repeat
Say the rhyme slowly and with expression:
“Early to bed and early to rise,
Makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
Say it again while tapping the rhythm. Then explain the vocabulary:
- Early to bed: going to sleep at a reasonable time.
- Early to rise: waking up in the morning with enough time to begin the day.
- Healthy: feeling well and taking care of your body.
- Wealthy: having plenty of useful resources; the rhyme uses this word to suggest success.
- Wise: making thoughtful and sensible choices.
Clarify that the rhyme gives advice, not a rule that is exactly the same for everyone. Different people may need different amounts of sleep, but regular sleep can help people feel rested.
3. Notice the Rhyme
Emphasize the ending sounds:
rise — wise
Explain that rhyming words have similar ending sounds. The words do not have to be spelled exactly the same to rhyme.
We Do: Practice Together
4. Echo Rhyme
Read one line at a time and have the learner repeat it:
- Adult: “Early to bed”
- Learner: “Early to bed”
- Adult: “And early to rise”
- Learner: “And early to rise”
- Adult: “Makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise”
- Learner: “Makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise”
Repeat the complete rhyme in different voices:
- Whisper voice
- Robot voice
- Opera voice
- Sleepy voice
- Bright morning voice
5. Rhyme Detective
Read each pair of words aloud. Have the learner give a thumbs-up if the words rhyme and a thumbs-down if they do not.
- rise — wise
- bed — red
- night — light
- sun — run
- sleep — chair
- morning — dancing
Ask:
- “Which pair rhymes with rise?”
- “Can you think of another word that rhymes with bed?”
- “What sound do you hear at the end of night and light?”
6. Healthy Habit Sort
Write or say these actions. The learner sorts them into “Helpful for a Good Routine” and “Not Very Helpful for a Good Routine.”
- Brushing teeth before bed
- Reading a quiet book
- Drinking water
- Keeping a regular bedtime
- Using a screen all night
- Skipping sleep
- Preparing clothes for the next day
- Waking up with enough time to get ready
Discuss the choices. Ask the learner to choose one helpful habit they would like to practice.
You Do: Independent and Creative Practice
7. Make a Morning or Bedtime Rhyme
Invite the learner to create two or more lines about a healthy routine. Provide these sentence starters if needed:
- “When I get ready for bed, I…”
- “When the morning sun is bright, I…”
- “After I sleep at night, I…”
- “To start my day just right, I…”
Possible examples:
“I brush my teeth before I sleep,
Then rest my body, calm and deep.”“When morning comes, I stretch and say,
I’m ready for a healthy day!”
The learner may write the rhyme, dictate it to an adult, or record it aloud.
8. Draw and Perform
Ask the learner to choose one option:
- Draw a picture of a healthy bedtime routine.
- Draw a picture of a cheerful morning routine.
- Create a four-picture routine showing bedtime, sleeping, waking, and starting the day.
After drawing, the learner performs the original rhyme using movements. For example:
- Bed: pretend to lie down.
- Rise: slowly stand up.
- Healthy: pretend to exercise.
- Wealthy: pretend to hold something valuable.
- Wise: point to the head as if thinking.
Formative Assessment
Check understanding throughout the lesson by asking:
- “What are the two words that rhyme in the original rhyme?”
- “What does early to rise mean?”
- “Why might sleep be important?”
- “Which healthy habit would help you feel ready in the morning?”
Listen for whether the learner:
- Recognizes similar ending sounds.
- Uses the words healthy, routine, or rhyming appropriately.
- Can explain the message without simply repeating the rhyme.
Summative Assessment: Rhyme and Routine Challenge
Ask the learner to complete all three tasks:
- Recite the original rhyme.
- Identify the rhyming words and give one additional rhyming word.
- Perform, write, or record two original lines about a healthy bedtime or morning habit.
Simple Evaluation Guide
| Skill | Achieved | Needs More Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Recites the rhyme | Says most or all words clearly and in order | Needs prompts or repeated modeling |
| Recognizes rhyme | Identifies rise and wise and gives another rhyming word | Needs help hearing ending sounds |
| Explains meaning | Connects sleep and routines with feeling ready and well | Gives an unclear or unrelated explanation |
| Creates a rhyme | Creates at least two connected lines with rhyming or rhythmic language | Needs a sentence starter, word bank, or adult support |
Differentiation and Adaptations
For a Learner Who Needs Support
- Use pictures or gestures for bed, rise, healthy, and wise.
- Practice one short phrase at a time.
- Offer a word bank: bed, red, rise, wise, night, light, sleep, deep.
- Allow the learner to choose rhyming words from two options.
- Let the learner draw or dictate instead of writing independently.
For an Advanced Learner
- Write a four-line rhyme with an alternating rhyme pattern.
- Find additional rhyming words in a book or poem.
- Compare the rhyme’s advice with their own sleep routine.
- Create a short song, commercial, or puppet performance about healthy habits.
Flexible Learning Options
- Movement-based: act out each line and create a routine dance.
- Audio-based: record the rhyme with different voices and rhythms.
- Digital: type the rhyme and create a simple digital storyboard or voice recording.
- Family-based: interview a family member about their bedtime or morning routine.
Conclusion: Closure and Recap
9. Tell What You Learned
Ask the learner to complete these sentences:
- “The rhyme says…”
- “The words that rhyme are…”
- “A healthy bedtime or morning habit is…”
- “One rhyme I created is…”
Review the key ideas:
- Rhymes use words with similar ending sounds.
- Rise and wise rhyme.
- The rhyme encourages regular sleep and a thoughtful morning routine.
- Healthy routines can help people feel prepared for the day.
Optional Follow-Up Activity
For one week, the learner can keep a simple “Ready for the Day” chart. Each morning, they check whether they:
- Went to bed at their planned time
- Got enough rest
- Completed one healthy morning habit
- Felt ready to begin the day
At the end of the week, discuss which habits were helpful and let the learner create a final rhyme about their experience.