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What Are Word Families and Why Are They Important? (by Deanna Mascale)
When we consider all the elements that go into becoming a skilled reader, it seems a monumental task, and yet somehow young children learn the many different decoding skills necessary for them and most become proficient readers within the first few years of school.
However, not all young children learn to read with ease, and even those who will eventually succeed face struggles on the road to success. One easy way that parents can help smooth the path to reading success for their children is through the use of word families.
Word families, sometimes called phonograms or chunks, can really help emergent readers begin to understand our complicated, and often inconsistent, language by providing some predictable patterns within words. As you and I learned to read, we picked up these patterns effortlessly, and they still help us when we try to decode new words. When we direct our students' attention to these same patterns, they will also be able to untangle the seemingly unrelated sounds of English.
When learning to read, patterns are important. Children recognize word patterns and this makes it easier when sounding out words.
For example, let us consider the "all" word family. First, show "all" to the child and have them repeat the sound. Then show the word "ball" and demonstrate how you can "read" the word by first making the "b" sound and then the "all". Repeat it slowly and then more quickly. Now we continue with some other members of the "all" family, such as call, fall, hall, mall, stall, tall, wall.
Can you see how much easier this method of using "chunks" of letters is compared to sounding out one letter at a time? We break words into chunks naturally as skilled readers and teaching children this skill can help them learn to read.
What is even better is that once children learn the 37 most common word families in English, they will be able to decode 500 words. That puts emergent readers well on their way to mastering the entire decoding process. 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.
Word families are indeed an efficient way to get children reading. Once children learn these one-syllable phonograms, then they will more easily be able to decode longer words, too.
Exposing your child to word families, teaching the use of these language patterns, and reinforcing the knowledge with rhyming games and activities will help your child learn to read.
Click on each individual Family Name to view a YouTube of each family.
Word Familiesack attack
back
black
crack
hack
Jack
knack
lack
pack
quack
rack
sack
snack
stack
tack
track
whack
Zackad
ad
bad
dad
had
lad
mad
pad
sadail
ail
fail
hail
jail
mail
nail
pail
rail
sail
snail
tail
wailain
brain
gain
grain
main
pain
plain
rain
slain
Spain
strain
trainake
bake
brake
cake
fake
flake
lake
make
rake
sake
stake
take
wakeale
bale
dale
gale
male
pale
sale
stale
taleall
ball
call
fall
hall
mall
stall
tall
wallam
cam
dam
dram
ham
jam
lam
Pam
ram
Sam
slam
tam
whamame
came
fame
game
lame
name
same
shame
tamean
an
ban
bran
can
clan
Dan
fan
flan
Fran
Jan
pan
ran
span
Stan
tan
vanank
bank
blank
crank
dank
drank
Hank
plank
prank
rank
sank
tank
thankap
cap
clap
flap
gap
lap
map
nap
rap
sap
tap
trap
wrapash
ash
bash
cash
dash
flash
gash
hash
lash
mash
rash
sash
slash
stashat
at
bat
brat
cat
chat
fat
flat
hat
mat
pat
rat
sat
spat
tat
that
vatate
abate
ate
crate
date
fate
grate
hate
late
mate
plate
sate
stateaw
claw
flaw
draw
flaw
gnaw
jaw
law
paw
raw
saw
slaw
straw
thaway
away
bray
bay
clay
day
delay
flay
gay
gray
hay
jay
lay
may
nay
pay
play
pray
ray
say
spray
stay
sway
tray
wayeat
beat
eat
feat
heat
meat
neat
peat
seat
wheateel
eel
feel
heel
keel
peel
reel
steel
wheeleep
beep
creep
deep
jeep
keep
peep
sheep
sleep
steep
weepeet
beet
feet
fleet
greet
meet
sleet
sweetell
bell
cell
dell
dwell
fell
sell
smell
spell
swell
tell
wellen
Ben
den
fen
gentlemen
hen
men
pen
ten
wrenent
bent
cent
dent
lent
rent
sent
tent
vent
wentest
best
jest
nest
pest
quest
rest
test
vest
westice
ice
dice
nice
mice
rice
sliceick
kick
lick
nick
pick
quick
Rick
sick
slick
stick
thick
tick
trick
wickide
bride
hide
pride
ride
side
slide
tide
wideife fife
knife
life
wifeight
bright
delight
fight
flight
fright
light
might
night
right
sight
slight
tight
tonightile
file
mile
Nile
pile
rile
smile
stile
tile
vile
whileill
bill
hill
ill
Jill
pill
sill
still
till
willin
bin
din
grin
in
kin
pin
shin
spin
thin
tin
winine
dine
fine
line
mine
nine
pine
swine
tine
vineing
bring
cling
fling
king
ping
ring
sing
sling
spring
sting
string
swing
thing
wing
zingink
blink
brink
ink
link
mink
pink
rink
sink
think
winkip
grip
hip
lip
nip
ship
sip
slip
tip
trip
whipit
bit
fit
grit
hit
it
kit
lit
pit
quit
sit
spit
twit
witoat
boat
coat
float
gloat
goat
oat
throatock
block
clock
cock
dock
flock
frock
lock
mock
o'clock
rock
sock
stockog
bog
cog
clog
dog
fog
frog
hog
jog
log
slogoil
boil
broil
coil
foil
oil
soil
spoil
toiloke
awoke
bloke
broke
joke
poke
spoke
stroke
wokeoo
boo
goo
moo
shoo
too
zooood
good
hood
stood
woodoof
goof
proof
roof
spoofook
book
brook
cook
crook
hook
look
nook
shook
tookoom
bloom
boom
broom
doom
gloom
loom
room
zoomood
brood
food
moodool
cool
pool
spool
stool
tooloon
goon
moon
noon
soon
spoonoop
droop
hoop
loop
scoop
snoop
troopoot (long oo) boot
hoot
scoot
shootoot (short oo) foot
sootop
bop
cop
crop
drop
flop
mop
pop
stop
topore
bore
core
chore
lore
more
ore
pore
sore
store
tore
woreorn
corn
morn
scorn
thornot
apricot
blot
cot
dot
got
hot
jot
lot
not
plot
pot
rot
shot
spot
tot
trotought
bought
brought
fought
ought
sought
thoughtould
could
should
wouldouse
douse
house
louse
mouse
spouseout
about
out
lout
pout
shout
spout
stout
toutow (rhymes with cow) bow
cow
chow
how
now
plow
sow
vow
wowow (rhymes with low) bow
blow
crow
flow
glow
grow
low
mow
row
show
slow
snow
sow
stow
throw
towown
brown
crown
down
drown
frown
gown
nightgown
townuck
buck
duck
luck
muck
puck
pluck
stuck
tuck
yuckug
bug
dug
hug
jug
lug
mug
pug
rug
tugump
bump
dump
hump
jump
lump
pump
rump
stump
trumpunk
bunk
flunk
junk
lunk
plunk
punk
slunk
sunk
trunkWord families used in Nursery Rhymes:
Bees: ay, may, hay.
The Boy in the Barn: ay, hay, away.
Curly Locks: ine, mine, swine.
Five Speckled Frogs: og, frog, log; ool, cool, pool.
Georgie Porgie: ay, play, away.
Hey Diddle Diddle: iddle, diddle, fiddle; oon, spoon, moon.
Hickety, Pickety, My Black Hen: en, hen, gentlemen; ay, day, lay.
Hickory Dickory Dock: ock, dock, clock; ive, five, hive; ine, nine, fine.
Humpty Dumpty: all, wall, fall.
Hush A Bye Baby: all, all, fall.
I'm a Little Teapot: out, out, spout, stout.
Jack and Jill: ill, Jill, hill; own, down, crown.
Jack Be Nimble: ick, quick, stick.
Knick Knack Paddy Whack: ee, three, knee; ive, five, hive; ine, nine, shine; en, ten, hen, eleven, heaven.
Little Bo Peep: eep, peep, sheep.
Little Boy Blue: orn, horn, corn; eep, sheep, asleep.
Little Jack Horner: horner, corner.
Little Mouse: ouse, mouse, house; eal, steal, meal; out, about; un, fun, run; eep, creep, peep.
Little Sally Walker: est, west, best.
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: ary, Mary, contrary; ow, row, grow; ells, shells, bells.
Mockingbird: ing, ring, sing; brass, glass.
Monday's Child: ace, grace, face; ing, giving, living; ay, day, gay.
The Northwind Doth Blow: ow, blow, snow; ing, wing, thing.
Old Mother Hubbard: ead, bread, dead; at, cat, hat; ig, wig, jig; oat, coat, goat.
One, Two, Buckle my Shoe: en, ten, hen; twelve, delve.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five: ive, alive, five.
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-eater: ell, shelll, well.
Rain, Rain: ay, away, day.
Rub-a-Dub-Dub: ub, dub, tub; ee, be, three.
See-Saw Marjorie Daw: aw, Daw, saw, straw.
Sing a Song of Sixpence: ing, king, sing; oney, money, honey.
Star Light, Star Bright : ight, light, bright, night.
Ten Little Monkeys: ed, bed, head.
There was a Crooked Man: ile, mile, stile; ouse, mouse, house.
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly: at, cat, that; og, hog, dog; ow, cow, how.
Three Blind Mice: ife, wife, knife.
Three Little Kittens: en, kitten, mitten; ear, dear, fear.
To Market: ig, pig, jig; og, hog, jog.
Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son: eat, eat, beat.
Tommy Tittlemouse: ouse, Tittlemouse, house.
Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee: attle, battle, rattle.
Vintery, mintery, cutery, corn,: orn, corn, thorn; ock, lock, flock; est, west, nest.
Wee Willie Winkie: own, town, nightgown; ock, lock, o'clock.
What Are Little Girls Made Of? What Are Little Boys Made Of?: ice, spice, nice; ails, snails, tails.
Yankee Doodle: andy, dandy, handy; ing, Gooding, pudding.
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