Sight words and phonicsK and grade 1
Word families worksheets
Three rhyming word families fill the page, each with a labeled box and up to six words in grey to trace beside a line. It is for kindergarten and first-grade readers learning CVC patterns.
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On this page
What prints
The title is "Word Families", with the vowel in front if you choose one. The page is divided into three equal bands. At the left of each band is a shaded box with a family ending in bold, such as -at, -ig or -ug. To the right are six short ruled lines in two columns of three. Each line has a CVC word from that family printed on it in light grey, and the child traces it and can write it again in any space left.
Families come from a set of eighteen: -at, -an, -ap, -ag, -ad, -ig, -in, -it, -ip, -op, -ot, -og, -ug, -un, -ut, -et, -en and -ed. Three are chosen at random each time. Words follow list order within a family, so the first six are used. A short family such as -ut (cut, hut, nut) has only three, which leaves the other lines blank for the child to fill with words they think of.
There is no answer key, because the words are printed on the page.
The settings
- Activity. "Word family read and write". The sort and real-or-nonsense activities are on CVC words worksheets and real and nonsense words.
- Vowel. Mixed vowels, or Short a, Short e, Short i, Short o or Short u. With a single vowel, all three families share that vowel sound.
- Number of words. Not used in this activity.
Using the page
Read down one family together first. Point at the ending and say it once, then read each word with a different first sound: "-at: b-at, c-at, h-at." That swap of the opening sound is the whole idea of a word family, and children usually enjoy hearing the rhymes.
Next, trace the grey words, saying each aloud. Ask for a word that is not on the page, such as flat or chat, and write it on a spare line. Do not worry if the spelling is off; the family ending will usually be right.
Reading Rockets explains why attending to letter patterns supports decoding. For handwriting itself, the lines match the proportions of the letter tracing worksheets.
Worked example: -ig, -un and -et
Say the page shows -ig (big, dig, fig, pig, wig), -un (bun, fun, run, sun) and -et (bet, get, jet, let, met, net).
Your child starts with -ig and reads the five words. They trace big, dig, fig, pig and wig, and on the sixth line you say, "Can you think of one more? It starts with a j." They write "jig".
In -un, there are four printed words, so two lines are free. They add pun, or maybe gun. In -et, they read six words, then you ask for the odd one out. It might be jet, the only word starting with a j. This takes a few minutes and covers reading, writing and listening for sounds.
Next steps
When three families feel easy, change to a single vowel for the next page, then try mixed vowels. The grade 1 foundational standard RF.1.3 covers this kind of word analysis.