Word Families: -at, -an, -ig, -op
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Skill: Sorting rhyming CVC words into word families
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About this worksheet
Word families are groups of words that share the same ending, like cat, hat, and bat. Once children can read one word in a family, they can read the others by changing just the first sound. That makes word families one of the fastest ways to build early reading skills. This kindergarten worksheet practices four common families: -at, -an, -ig, and -op.
In Part A, children read sixteen short words from a word bank and write each one under the right family ending. In Part B, they look at six rows of four words and circle the one word that does not belong, because it is from a different family. Part B also brings in new words such as rat, fig, and shop, so children use the pattern rather than memory.
How to use it: read the word bank aloud together first and stretch the sounds: c-at, h-at. Ask, "What sound do these words end with?" For Part B, read the whole row and listen for the word that does not rhyme. Children who are still learning letters can point while a grown-up reads, then copy the words.
The answer key lists the words in each family and the odd word in each row. This worksheet supports Common Core standards RF.K.2.a (recognize and produce rhyming words) and RF.K.3.d (distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ). Pair it with our Rhyming Words worksheet, and try our Short Vowel CVC Words worksheet next.