Word Families



Phonics word families are groups of words that havesimilar letter patterns. By learning just one patternyour child can learn many words at the same time.

The word family materials included can be used as worksheets or as flashcards by laminating them and cutting them out. I have also designed some simple sentences using the CVC words which means after children can read the word families, they can practice reading them in sentences! Word families are sets of words that have a common letter and sound pattern. (For example, the -an word family contains the words ran, man, can, fan, van, and span.). The word family units below contain printable word wheels, flashcards, word sliders, worksheets, and more. Word Families Books Showing 1-50 of 51 Hop On Pop (Paperback). Seuss (shelved 5 times as word-families) avg rating 3.98 — 50,322 ratings — published 1963.

When two vowels are placed side-by-side, in most cases the first vowel says its name and the other is silent. Take for example the word rain. Notice that the a in rain says its name and the second vowel i is silent.


Word Families Chart

Here is a great way to teach this basic phonics rule to a child.

Word Family Examples

Here is a word family your child will learn as anearly reader.

cat matsat fat rat bat hat pat vat

All of these words have the letters at incommon. When we read the words aloud the second part of each word sounds and looks the same . This makesthem rhyme. In the at family the words are identical, except for thefirst letter. This is one of the first phonics word families children learn.

The following word family is more complex and wouldbe taught at a much later stage in a child's reading and spelling. The partthat is repeated in this family of words is ain.

train gainrefrain obtain main remain explain rainbrain drain grain stain


Follow This Sequence of Phonics Word Families

There are many different patterns or word families in the English language. The good news is that patterns are recyclable! That means that if your child learns a particular pattern once, they will be able to learn all the other words in that phonics word family without stress. It speeds up the process of learning to read and write.


This is how I, as a literacy teacher, teach thestages. I introduce my students to simple phonics word families in this order...

1. am family

Words like...

ham Samram bam dam jam Pam yam

I choose this family first because the letters aand m are among the first letters children should be taught to blendtogether. They are the easiest for beginner readers to learn.

2. at family

Words like those mentioned above...

cat matsat fat rat bat hat pat vat

You probably have memories of reading books aboutcats on mats. Again this is because the t sound is learned early as somany words contain it.

3. an family

Words like...

can, Dan,fan, man, pan, ran, van

4. ad family

Words like...

bad dadhad lad mad pad sad

All these words have what we call a short vowel ain the middle of them. The short a sounds like the way we say aaaat the beginning of the word apple.

Once your child understands what paticular sounds the lettersmake and how to form the letters they will be able to spell them as well asread them. It all depends on how well they can use a pencil but if their pencilgrip is good they can sound out the letters and spell them not long after theylearn to read them.

I focus on the vowel e when I teach the nextgroup of phonics word families.

5. et family

Words like...

bet getjet let met net pet set vet wet

6. ed family

Words like...

bed, fed,led, Ted, Jed

7. en family

Short e word families

Words like...

Ben, den,hen, Jen, men, pen, ten

You will be getting the idea by now. Notice that atthe early stages the words should only contain three letters. For young readersthat is plenty to concentrate on.

Word families list

Next you move towords with other vowels like...

i then o thenu.

For a full list of words using these other vowels, click on the link

How To Teach Spelling.

Word Families Flash Cards



Once your child has learned to smoothly blend thefirst few word families they will understand what to do as they work their waythrough the different vowels.

Learn these word patterns and the more advancedones and it will make reading and writing much easier.


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TOEIC | Grammar: Word Families

Introduction

How well you understand many kinds of grammar are tested. Your knowledge of vocabulary is also tested. For this section, the correct answer may be a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. The correct choice may also depend on its form. Should it be singular or plural? Is it the right tense for the sentence? Should it be comparative or superlative? These are some things to think about. Finally, does the choice you pick make sense? Read through the sentence with your answer.

Learning Hint:

With word families, the possible answers are four forms of the SAME word. Memorize common noun forms, adjectives, adverbs, and verb forms.

Word Forms

Word families tests how well you know the various types of words that can be made from one word. A word can go from noun to verb to adjective to adverb by changing the ending of the word.

Example:

Finale (noun, thing) -> finalist (noun, person) -> finalize (verb) -> final (adjective) -> finally (adverb)

Free activities for word families

Remember the common word endings used to make the different kinds of words:

NounVerbAdjectiveAdverb
-ance -en-able -ly
-ancy -ify-ible -ward
-ence -ize-al -wise
-ation-ful
-ian-ish
-ism-ive
-ment-ous
-ness
-ship
-or
-er

Typical Question Examples Found in Word Families

1) The manager read the report _____.

(A) careful

(B) carefully

Free Activities For Word Families

(C) care

(D) caring

The correct answer is (B). An adverb is needed to complete the sentence. Carefully is the only adverb. Adverbs modify verbs. How did the manager read the report? He read it carefully. Answer (A) is an adjective. Answer (C) and (D) are verb forms.

2) The procedure was _____ properly to the new employee.

(A) explain

(B) explanation

(C) explanatory

(D) explained

The correct answer is (D). There is no main verb in this sentence. Was is only acting as a helping verb. The correct verb form must have a past tense form to agree with was. Only explained is both a main verb and in the past tense. Answer (A) is the present tense verb form. Answer (B) is a noun. Answer (C) is an adjective.

Word Families Worksheets


TOEIC | Grammar: Word Families