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Beep! Bang! Boom! Let’s Learn about Onomatopoeia

cat using the onomatopoeia word 'meow'

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.

a cartoon illustration of a cow with a speech bubble saying 'moo'

“What does a cow say?”
(Student makes a mooing sound.)
“Great! Now can you say that like a cow?”
Moo!

a cartoon illustration of a frog with a speech bubble saying 'ribbit'

“What does a frog say?”
(Student makes a ribbit sound.)
“Can you say that like a frog?”
Ribbit!

a cartoon illustration of a racecar with a speech bubble saying 'vroom'

“What does a car engine sound like?”
(Student makes an engine sound.)
“Now can you say that like a car?”
Vroom!

How Do We Teach Onomatopoeia?

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 Story and Activity to help teach onomatopoeia

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.

AAR Level 2 Story and Activity to help teach onomatopoeia

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”

More Fun with Words

If you had fun learning about onomatopoeia, then you’ll love our other Fun with Words posts! Here are a few of our favorites:

cartoon illustration of a piece of cake

Teaching Idioms: It’s a Piece of Cake!

I won’t beat around the bush—this blog post about teaching idioms takes the cake!

cartoon illustration of a moped

Fun with Portmanteaus

Introduce your student to portmanteaus and open up a whole new world of fun with words!

cartoon illustration of a kayak

Wow! Let’s Learn about Palindromes

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!

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Heidi Davidson

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This lesson looks like so much fun and could be incorporated with other subject areas, looking forward to trying :)

Kristie Brock

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I have enjoyed using your curriculum. It is easy to teach and well written.

Jaquelyn Carrillo

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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 Service

Jessica,
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 Service

Kat,
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 Service

Kristi,
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 Service

I 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 Service

Thank 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 Service

Shannon,
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 Service

Lynne,
Thank you for letting us know this lesson was engaging!

Iris

says:

We love being on the lookout for Onomatopoeia!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Iris,
Oh, yes! Such fun!

Alison Sullivan

says:

We just did “Swish and Flip!” This week and my son loved it!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Great 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 Service

Brenda,
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 Service

Julia,
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 Service

Dayl,
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 Service

Oh, 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 Service

Thank 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 Service

You’re so welcome, Kaa!

Dana

says:

Thanks!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Dana!

Christy Bender

says:

Sounds very interesting

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Christy!

Courtney W

says:

My son loves saying onomatopoeia, so he’ll point out onomatopoeias just to say it!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Courtney,
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 Service

You’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 Service

You’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 Service

Aww, 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 Service

Glad we could help you learn something new, Erin! Enjoy!

Kristen B

says:

Such a fun word! The resource shown looks great.:-)

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Kristen!

Ashley Little

says:

Looks amazing! I absolutely love how this is laid out for children to learn!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank 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 Service

Christine,
Oh, yes! Onomatopoeia’s are so much fun!