Word families: 15 free word lists with audio
A word family is a group of words that share the same ending, like cat, hat and flat. Choose a family below, hear every word, read the sentences and play a short listening game.
Word families lists
- At family words25 wordsbat · cat · hat · mat · pat · rat
- An family words25 wordsban · can · fan · man · pan · ran
- Ap family words25 wordscap · gap · lap · map · nap · rap
- Ag family words24 wordsbag · lag · nag · rag · sag · tag
- Ig family words23 wordsbig · dig · fig · gig · jig · pig
- In family words25 wordsbin · din · fin · kin · pin · tin
- It family words25 wordsbit · fit · kit · lit · pit · sit
- Ip family words25 wordsdip · hip · lip · nip · rip · sip
- Op family words25 wordscop · hop · mop · pop · top · chop
- Ot family words26 wordscot · dot · got · hot · jot · lot
- Og family words26 wordsbog · cog · dog · fog · hog · jog
- Ug family words25 wordsbug · dug · hug · jug · lug · mug
- Un family words25 wordsbun · fun · nun · pun · run · sun
- Et family words30 wordsget · jet · let · met · net · pet
- En family words26 wordsden · hen · men · pen · ten · then
Sample word families to hear
Word families game
Short answer
What are word families?
Word families are groups of words that share the same rime, the vowel and the letters after it, such as -at in cat, hat and flat, or -ug in bug, rug and plug. Only the first sound or sounds change. Teaching one family at a time lets a beginning reader blend the new first sound onto a chunk they already know, which is why word family lists are a common step in early phonics after simple CVC words.
- A word splits into an onset (the sounds before the vowel) and a rime (the vowel and what follows): c + at, fl + at.
- The 15 families here all use a short vowel: -at, -an, -ap, -ag, -ig, -in, -it, -ip, -op, -ot, -og, -ug, -un, -et and -en.
- In English, a rime such as -at is usually spelled the same way in every word of its family, even when single vowels are less predictable.
- Word families support blending; they do not replace it. Children should still look at every letter of the word.
How word families fit into learning to read
Every one-syllable English word can be split into two parts: the onset, which is the consonant or consonants before the vowel, and the rime, which is the vowel and everything after it. In cat the onset is c and the rime is -at. In flat the onset is fl and the rime is still -at. A word family is simply all the words that share one rime, so a child who can read -at can read bat, mat, chat and splat by changing only the start.
Rimes matter more in English than in many other languages. English vowels are spelled in lots of ways, but the rime chunk tends to be more stable than a single vowel on its own. Research on how children learn to read across languages suggests that readers of English lean on larger units such as rimes as well as single letter sounds. That is one reason word families sit naturally in a systematic phonics sequence, usually straight after children can blend simple CVC words.
The risk with word families is guessing. If a child only looks at the ending and says any word that rhymes, they have learned a trick, not a skill. The fix is to keep blending: say the onset, say the rime, then push them together, and mix families once each one feels easy so the child has to check the vowel and the final letter as well as the first. Short, frequent practice across several days beats one long session.
How to teach word families
- 1Start with CVC words firstWord families build on blending three sounds. Make sure your child can read simple words like cat, pig and sun by sounding them out before you start on families.
- 2Teach one family at a timeBegin with a short a family such as -at or -an. Read the rime on its own, then add first sounds one by one: at, bat, cat, hat. Keep the first session to six or eight words.
- 3Add blends and longer wordsWhen the three-letter words are easy, move to the second group on each page: words with two-letter starts such as flat or chip, and longer words such as wombat or lollipop that end in the same chunk.
- 4Mix families and reviewPut two families with different vowels side by side, such as -at and -it, so your child has to look at the vowel. Come back to earlier families every few days so they stay fresh.
Word families: frequently asked questions
What is a word family in phonics?
A group of words that end with the same rime, the vowel and the letters after it. Cat, hat and flat are in the -at family; pig, wig and twig are in the -ig family. The words rhyme and share the same spelling for that rhyme.
Which word families should be taught first?
Most programmes start with short a families such as -at, -an and -ap, then short i families like -it, -ig and -in, then short o and u. Short e families such as -et and -en usually come a little later because short e is easy to confuse with short a and short i.
What is the difference between word families and CVC words?
CVC words are three-letter words with a short vowel, like cat and sun. A word family groups words by their ending, so the -at family includes the CVC words cat and hat but also flat, chat and wombat. Most early word families are built from CVC words.
Where can I find a word family list to print?
Every family page on this site has a printable list of 25 or more words, split into CVC words and longer words, plus sentences to read aloud. Use the Print this list button at the top of the list.
Sources
- Ziegler JC, Goswami U (2005). Reading acquisition, developmental dyslexia, and skilled reading across languages: a psycholinguistic grain size theory. Psychol Bull, 131(1), 3-29.
- Galuschka K, Ise E, Krick K, Schulte-Körne G (2014). Effectiveness of treatment approaches for children and adolescents with reading disabilities: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS One, 9(2), e89900.
- Cepeda NJ, Pashler H, Vul E, Wixted JT, Rohrer D (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: a review and quantitative synthesis. Psychol Bull, 132(3), 354-80.