Word families are groups of words that share a common feature or pattern, usually because they have the same combination of letters and sounds. For example, words like cat, hat, bat, and mat all belong to the “-at” word family because they share the “-at” ending and have similar sounds. 

Working with word families can help children recognize patterns in words and contribute to stronger reading and spelling skills. For instance, introducing words like back, snack, and track from the “-ack” word family helps children see the recurring pattern of the “-ack” letters and sounds. With practice, they will learn to automatically associate the correct letter sounds with the each word family, which can improve word recognition and decoding skills. 

Tips for Teaching Word Families

You can introduce word families to your child through fun activities like singing nursery rhymes or reading stories that contain common word families. Repeating the rhymes or stories can help children memorize the sounds and spelling patterns of common word families.

For a more structured approach, focus on one word family per week. Start with simple word families like “-at” (cat, hat, bat) and gradually introduce more complex ones. To support this learning, we’ve created Word Family Worksheets for Kindergarteners that you can download, print, and use at home. These worksheets are a great tool for practicing with word families.

Lists of Common Word Families

Here are some common word families and a few examples of words that belong to each:

-ack Word Family:

-at Word Family:

-an Word Family:

-ing Word Family:

-op Word Family:

-ip Word Family:

-ug Word Family:

-ake Word Family:

-ill Word Family:

-ell Word Family:

-ock Word Family:

Word Family Practice and Learning Activities 

Turn word family practice into a game with creative activities for your child. Here are a few of our favorites:

ABCmouse Word Family Games: 

Note: Some of these games are only available with an ABCmouse subscription. Sign up now!

⭐ Word Family Match Up

In this game, players are challenged to match cards showing words in the same word families. 

⭐ Word Family Tile Match

The objective of this game is to correctly match each CVC word tile with the picture that corresponds to the word family. 

⭐ Hidden Word Family Hunt

In Hidden Word Family Hunt, children are presented with a series of pictures, and they must match each picture to its corresponding word. This game focuses on three-letter word families. 

⭐ Crazy Race: The -am Word Family

This game aims to help children practice identifying and mastering words in the -am word family. Players will race past pictures of different items and they’ll need to quickly identify if the picture represents a word with the -am sound. By clicking on the correct pictures, players will race ahead of their opponents towards the finish line.

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Hands-On Word Family Activities

1. Word Family House

Help kids build a “word family house” that visually represents the structure of words within the same family.

• Materials: Paper, crayons, markers, stickers
• Instructions: Draw or print a simple house template. At the top of the house, write a word family (e.g., “-op”). Each window or door on the house will contain a word from that family, like hop, top, and mop. Kids can draw or decorate the house with images that represent each word.

2. Word Family Flower Garden

Create a colorful flower garden to showcase different word families!

• Materials: Construction paper, markers, scissors, glue
• Instructions: Cut out circles for the center of each flower and write a word family in the middle (e.g., “-at” or “-an”). Cut out petals, and on each petal, write a word that belongs to that word family (like cat, hat, bat). Attach the petals around the center to form a flower, and create multiple flowers to form a “garden” of word families.

3.  Word Family Train

Build a train of words from the same family to practice phonics!

• Materials: Paper, markers, scissors, tape, tape or string
• Instructions: Cut out train cars from colorful paper. Write one word family per car (e.g., “-ug”). In each train car, kids will write or draw words that belong to that word family (bug, hug, rug). Connect the train cars using tape or string, and hang the train up as a fun visual display.

2.  Word Family Tree

Grow a “word family tree” by adding new words to the branches!

• Materials: Brown and green paper, markers, glue
• Instructions: Create a tree trunk out of brown paper and cut out leaves from green paper. On each leaf, write a word from a specific word family (e.g., “-in” words like bin, pin, win). Glue the leaves onto the tree to show how all the words are connected by their shared ending sound.

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