📖 Reading & talking · Ages 5–6 · about 3 weeks

Word Families

Goal: Read and make rhyming families of words: -at, -an, -ig, -op, -ug, -ell.

For parents: Word families teach children to use a chunk they know to read new words quickly — the step from sounding out every letter to reading fluently.

Do together

  1. Word family houses

    You need: Paper houses, each with a family written on the roof (-at, -ig, -op)

    Write words in the windows of each house: cat, hat, mat, sat. How many can your child add?

  2. Flip book

    You need: Card, a stapler

    Staple small first-letter cards over an '-ug' card. Flip through: bug, hug, mug, jug, rug. Read each one.

  3. Rhyme race

    You need: A timer

    Give a word; how many rhyming words (real ones) can your child say in one minute?

Talk about it

  • What do 'hop', 'top' and 'mop' have in common?
  • If you can read 'bell', can you read 'shell'?
  • Which word does not belong: pig, wig, cat?

Words to use

  • rhyme
  • family
  • chunk
  • ending

Play

  • Rhyme Time
    Rhyming
  • Rhyme Families
    Rhyme families
  • Word Builder
    Syllables & word building
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