Learn About Palindromes
Wow! Let’s Learn about Palindromes
Words needn’t be used only for communicating—they can be fun to play with, too! And the more fun that students have with words, the likelier they’ll be to enjoy reading, writing, and learning. One of the more amusing examples of wordplay is palindromes.
Read on to learn more about palindromes and discover some amazing examples!
What Is a Palindrome?
Take a look at the sentence below.
Was it a car or a cat I saw?
Did you notice anything special? How about the words below?
- mom
- dad
- noon
These are all examples of palindromes. Palindromes are words or phrases that are read the same forward and backward. Look again at the examples above, and notice how the order of the letters is the same backward as it is forward.
The History of Palindromes
The word palindrome comes from the Greek words palin, which means “again,” and dromos, which means “direction.” Historians have found that Ancient Greeks started having fun with palindromes over 2,000 years ago! However, the Ancient Greeks didn’t actually call them palindromes. They described these words and phrases as “crab-like”—because crabs regularly walk both forward and backward.
More Palindromes
Check out these other examples of palindromes!
One-Word Palindromes
- mom
- dad
- noon
- kayak
Multi-Word Palindromes
- my gym
- top spot
- taco cat
- evil olive
Phrase Palindromes
- Madam, I’m Adam.
- Never odd or even.
- Eva, can I see bees in a cave?
Name Palindromes
- Ava
- Elle
- Otto
- Hannah
Fun with Palindromes
It’s time to let your students get creative and have some fun with palindromes! Start with one-word palindromes, and then progress to longer ones. Remember: The palindromes don’t need to make sense—but you get extra points if they do!