You know that dogs bark and cats meow—but have you ever wondered how these words came to be? Say bark and meow out loud—do you notice anything interesting? That’s right—they sound like what they mean!
When a word sounds like or imitates the thing it describes, it is called onomatopoeia (ŏn–ō–mah–tō–pē–uh).
Here’s one to try with your student: “What sound does food cooking in a frying pan make? Did you make a hissing sound with lots of s’s and z’s? That’s because the food sizzles!”
Onomatopoeia is more common than you might think, and we teach it beginning in Level 1 of the All About Reading program. In fact, English contains so many of these words that it can be easy to overlook that everyday words like splash, knock, buzz, and clap are all examples of onomatopoeia.
Have some fun by trying these other examples with your student.
“What does a cow say?”
(Student makes a mooing sound.)
“Great! Now can you say that like a cow?”
Moo!
“What does a frog say?”
(Student makes a ribbit sound.)
“Can you say that like a frog?”
Ribbit!
“What does a car engine sound like?”
(Student makes an engine sound.)
“Now can you say that like a car?”
Vroom!
Onomatopoeia can be a lot of fun, but it can also be tricky for students to read these words if they’re not familiar with them. Take a look at how we teach onomatopoeia in the All About Reading program to get some extra practice! As you read the stories included below, have your student circle any examples of onomatopoeia they come across.
Learn the sounds of the circus with this story and activity from All About Reading Level 1.
AAR Level 1 introduces onomatopoeia in Lesson 27 with an activity called “Swish and Flip!” Many of the words introduced here are encountered in “The Big Top” and subsequent stories.
Download Level 1 Onomatopoeia Activity “Swish and Flip!”
Download Level 1 Story: “The Big Top”
Learn how a girl and her pony take care of each other with this story and activity from All About Reading Level 2.
Students are exposed to more examples of onomatopoeia in an activity from Lesson 24 called “Clip, Clop, Crack!” Many of the words introduced here are encountered in a short story called “Champ.”
Download Level 2 Onomatopoeia Activity “Clip, Clop, Crack!”
Download Level 2 Story: “Champ”
If you had fun learning about onomatopoeia, then you’ll love our other Fun with Words posts! Here are a few of our favorites:
I won’t beat around the bush—this blog post about teaching idioms takes the cake!
Introduce your student to portmanteaus and open up a whole new world of fun with words!
Let your students get creative and have some fun with palindromes!
Now that we’ve learned all about onomatopoeia and how to spot these fun words, please share your favorites in the comments below!
Heidi Davidson
says:This lesson looks like so much fun and could be incorporated with other subject areas, looking forward to trying :)
Kristie Brock
says:I have enjoyed using your curriculum. It is easy to teach and well written.
Jaquelyn Carrillo
says:I hesitated to buy this curriculum at first and now I have 3 levels of it even though I struggled to pay because it has provided a worry free style of teaching reading. My children can read and I’m so grateful for it. We have 5 children that will be using all of them. I’m just missing the last level.
Jessica
says:Such a fun concept to teach to kids. Especially ones that he bored with regular book work type stuff.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceJessica,
Yes! This can be a great change up topic!
Kat
says:Onomatopoeia is such a cool word. I’m going to see if my daughter can say it.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceKat,
I love saying onomatopoeia! It’s a lot of fun!
Kristi Holman
says:Looking forward to the give-away this month! We have never used AAR before. :)
Robin
says: Customer ServiceKristi,
Let me know if you have any questions about All About Reading! I’m happy to help!
Janet
says:I’m so excited to help my child. Can’t wait to start.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI love your excitement, Janet! Let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to help!
Inna Chizh
says:Super colorful and engaging
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Inna!
Shannon
says:We just started our homeschooling journey and looking forward to starting All About Reading – I know several moms who have recommended this program and I’m super excited to also learn alongside my daughter about things like Onomatopoeias!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceShannon,
I love your excitement! Let me know if you have questions about placement or anything else. I’m happy to help!
Lynne
says:We just went over this lesson in Level 1, and it was engaging for my child!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceLynne,
Thank you for letting us know this lesson was engaging!
Iris
says:We love being on the lookout for Onomatopoeia!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceIris,
Oh, yes! Such fun!
Alison Sullivan
says:We just did “Swish and Flip!” This week and my son loved it!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceGreat to hear, Alison! Thank you!
Brenda G
says:My son is just loving his reading lessons with All About Reading, it is his favorite part of the day!
When reading superhero books with him he loves all the sound effects like Bang and Boom! Onomatopoeia can be such fun!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceBrenda,
One of my sons LOVED sound effects! It does make for more enthusiastic conversations!
Julia Daniels
says:We just did these lessons this week in AAR1! We loved The Big Top story, might have been our favorite so far!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceJulia,
Thank you! “The Big Top” is a great story, and learning about onomatopoeia is a lot of fun!
Dayl
says:Even I can learn from this! Portmanteau was a new term for me!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceDayl,
Glad we could teach you something new!
Amy King
says:The bright colors and fun pictures make learning so fun!
Jessica
says:I love this! When learning is fun it makes it much easier and my daughter remembers it so much better!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceOh, yes! Such a great point, Jessica. Learning is remembered more easily when it’s fun!
Sarah
says:The activities for this look engaging and fun!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Sarah!
Kaa
says:Words are powerful. I am new to All About Learning but look forward to learning and using new ideas with my kids. Thanks for all you do to help me help my kids (and myself!)
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re so welcome, Kaa!
Dana
says:Thanks!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Dana!
Christy Bender
says:Sounds very interesting
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThanks, Christy!
Courtney W
says:My son loves saying onomatopoeia, so he’ll point out onomatopoeias just to say it!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceCourtney,
Onomatopoeia is a super fun word to say! You may want to introduce your son to parallelograms and antidisestablishmentarianism. I love saying those words too!
Laurin
says:My daughter will love this onomatopoeia activity! Thank you for sharing!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Laurin! Enjoy!
Celia
says:Thank you for the Word Flippers! I cant hardly wait to use them with my grandkids.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Celia! I hope your grandkids get a lot out of them!
Rachel Booth
says:Sounds like something my little girl will live when she does level 1!
Rachel Peterson
says:Probably one of my children’s favorite lessons they’ve done!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceAww, thank you, Rachel! Onomatopoeia is a topic that is easy to make fun!
Erin
says:I learn something new everyday. My kids would have fun with these activities!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceGlad we could help you learn something new, Erin! Enjoy!
Kristen B
says:Such a fun word! The resource shown looks great.:-)
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThanks, Kristen!
Ashley Little
says:Looks amazing! I absolutely love how this is laid out for children to learn!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Ashley!
Christine
says:This looks great! Can’t wait until my kids get to these since they are fun to teach!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceChristine,
Oh, yes! Onomatopoeia’s are so much fun!