What are Word Families?

First, lets review what word families are…
Word families are words which end the same forming a chunk that the children can learn to say altogether rather than sounding out each letter sound. For example can: sound out the c and add the chunk an forming can.

Word families also encourage children to find patterns in words so they can recall this information in a timely fashion.

Word families encourage children to spell better as you guide them to search for a word in the family that they already know how to spell. For example if they know how to spell can then they can remember the chunk (an) to spell van. They have to only replace the first letter.

I just read a book to AJ yesterday that had great word families in it and he giggled the entire way through…Duck in a Truck. See, Duck is driving a truck and gets stuck in the muck.

Patterns are important to kids, especially kids who have trouble reading, paying attention, or listening. If we can show them that reading is fun because sometimes it rhymes, then we can catch their attention. How much fun is a Duck who goes flying into the muck and gets stuck?

Now, take for example, the word “all”. Once a child has learned this sight word we can teach that child to “chunk” or about word families.

“all” can become ball, call, fall, hall, mall, tall, wall, etc. all with the same sound.

There are 37 common word families:

The most common word families include: ack, ain, ake, ale, all, ame, an, ank, ap, ash, at, ate, aw ay, eat, ell, est, ice, ick, ide, ight, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it, ock, oke, op, ore, ot, uck ,ug, ump, unk.