Hello, Reader
Welcome back, Reader!
Today you learn a big reading secret: word families.
A word family is a group of words that all end the same way. Because they end the same way, they all rhyme.
Here is the magic part. To make a new word in the family, you only change the first sound. Everything else stays the same!
Look at cat and hat. They both end in -at. Change the first sound from /c/ to /h/, and cat becomes hat. Same family, new word!
When you learn one family, you can read a whole bunch of words fast. Let us meet some families.
The -at Family
Here is the -at family. Say each word out loud. Listen for how they all rhyme:
- cat
- hat
- mat
- sat
See? They all end in -at. Only the first sound changes each time.
The -an Family
Meet the -an family. Say them out loud and hear the rhyme:
- can
- man
- pan
- ran
- fan
They all end in -an. Just like before, only the first sound changes.
The -ig Family
Meet the -ig family. Say them out loud and hear the rhyme:
- big
- dig
- pig
- wig
They all end in -ig. A word is only in this family if it ends in -ig.
The -op Family
Meet the -op family. Say them out loud and hear the rhyme:
- top
- mop
- hop
- pop
- cop
They all end in -op. Change the first sound and you hop from word to word!
Family Challenge
You are a word family star! Time for a challenge.
Think back to the -at family: cat, hat, mat, bat, sat, rat. They all rhyme and end in -at.
Great Job!
You did it!
Today you learned the secret of word families. Words in a family rhyme because they end the same way, and you only change the first sound to make a new word.
You explored four families:
- -at family: cat, hat, mat, bat, sat, rat
- -an family: can, man, pan, ran, fan
- -ig family: big, dig, pig, wig
- -op family: top, mop, hop, pop, cop
When you spot a family, you can read a whole group of words fast. That is how strong readers zoom along!
Come back soon to meet even more word families. You are a reader now!