A word family is a group of words that share the same ending sound and spelling pattern. Cat, hat, mat, sat and bat all belong to the -at family.
The shared ending is sometimes called a rime or chunk, and the first sound that changes is called the onset.
Why word families help early readers
- One chunk, many words. Once a child can read -at, they can read cat, hat, mat, rat, sat and more by changing just the first letter.
- They build pattern spotting, which helps with spelling as well as reading.
- They connect to rhyming. Word families rhyme, and rhyming games build the listening skills behind reading.
- They're motivating. Reading five new words in a minute feels amazing.
Common first word families
These short-vowel families are a great place to start:
- -at: cat, bat, hat, mat, rat, sat
- -an: can, fan, man, pan, ran, van
- -ed: bed, red, fed, led, wed
- -en: hen, pen, ten, men, den
- -in: pin, bin, fin, tin, win
- -ig: pig, big, dig, fig, wig
- -op: hop, mop, pop, top, stop
- -ot: hot, pot, dot, cot, not
- -ug: bug, hug, mug, rug, jug
- -un: sun, run, fun, bun
Word family activities for home
Flip the first letter
Write the chunk (like -ug) on a card and make small cards for different first letters. Your child flips a letter onto the front and reads the new word: bug, hug, mug, rug.
Word family houses
Draw a simple house with the chunk on the roof. Your child writes or places words that 'live' in that family inside the house.
Real or silly?
Make words and decide if they're real (hug) or silly (zug). Silly words are a great sign your child is truly blending, not memorising.
Rhyme time
Say a word and ask for a rhyming word. Our free Sound Safari game has a Rhyme time level where children pick the picture that rhymes.
Read little books
Children love reading a whole book by themselves. The CVC Word Families Worksheets include five printable mini-books for the -an, -ed, -in, -op and -ug families.
Word families vs. CVC words
Most first word families are made of CVC words, so the two go hand in hand. Word families are a great way to practise CVC words in organised groups before mixing all the short vowels together.
Keep it short and fun
One family per week, a few minutes a day, is plenty. Mix in the families your child already knows for quick review, and celebrate every new word they read.
