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 some how young children learn the many different decoding skills necessary to 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 too will 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 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.

ack attack back black crack hack Jack knack lack pack quack rack sack snack stack tack track whack Zack

ad ad bad dad had lad mad pad sad

ail ail fail hail jail mail nail pail rail sail snail tail wail

ain brain gain grain main pain plain rain slain Spain strain train

ake bake brake cake fake flake lake make rake sake stake take wake

ale bale dale gale male pale sale stale tale

all ball call fall hall mall stall tall wall

am cam dam dram ham jam lam Pam ram Sam slam tam wham

ame came fame game lame name same shame tame

an an ban bran can clan Dan fan flan Fran Jan pan ran span Stan tan van

ank bank blank crank dank drank Hank plank prank rank sank tank thank

ap cap clap flap gap lap map nap rap sap tap trap wrap

ash ash bash cash dash flash gash hash lash mash rash sash slash stash

at at bat brat cat chat fat flat hat mat pat rat sat spat tat that vat

ate abate ate crate date fate grate hate late mate plate sate state

aw claw flaw draw flaw gnaw jaw law paw raw saw slaw straw thaw

ay away bray bay clay day delay flay gay gray hay jay lay may nay pay play pray ray say spray stay sway tray way

eat beat eat feat heat meat neat peat seat wheat

eel eel feel heel keel peel reel steel wheel

eep beep creep deep jeep keep peep sheep sleep steep weep

eet beet feet fleet greet meet sleet sweet

ell bell cell dell dwell fell sell smell spell swell tell well

en Ben den fen gentlemen hen men pen ten wren

ent bent cent dent lent rent sent tent vent went

est best jest nest pest quest rest test vest west

ice ice dice nice mice rice slice

ick kick lick nick pick quick Rick sick slick stick thick tick trick wick

ide bride hide pride ride side slide tide wide

ife fife knife life wife

ight bright delight fight flight fright light might night right sight slight tight tonight

ile file mile Nile pile rile smile stile tile vile while

ill bill hill ill Jill pill sill still till will

in bin din grin in kin pin shin spin thin tin win

ine dine fine line mine nine pine swine tine vine

ing bring cling fling king ping ring sing sling spring sting string swing thing wing zing

ink blink brink ink link mink pink rink sink think wink

ip grip hip lip nip ship sip slip tip trip whip

it bit fit grit hit it kit lit pit quit sit spit twit wit

oat boat coat float gloat goat oat throat

ock block clock cock dock flock frock lock mock o'clock rock sock stock

og bog cog clog dog fog frog hog jog log slog

oil boil broil coil foil oil soil spoil toil

oke awoke bloke broke joke poke spoke stroke woke

oo boo goo moo shoo too zoo

ood good hood stood wood

oof goof proof roof spoof

ook book brook cook crook hook look nook shook took

oom bloom boom broom doom gloom loom room zoom

ood brood food mood

ool cool pool spool stool tool

oon goon moon noon soon spoon

oop droop hoop loop scoop snoop troop

oot (long oo) boot hoot scoot shoot

oot (short oo) foot soot

op bop cop crop drop flop mop pop stop top

ore bore core chore lore more ore pore sore store tore wore

orn corn morn scorn thorn

ot apricot blot cot dot got hot jot lot not plot pot rot shot spot tot trot

ought bought brought fought ought sought thought

ould could should would

ouse douse house louse mouse spouse

out about out lout pout shout spout stout tout

ow (rhymes with cow) bow cow chow how now plow sow vow wow

ow (rhymes with low) bow blow crow flow glow grow low mow row show slow snow sow stow throw tow

own brown crown down drown frown gown nightgown town

uck buck duck luck muck puck pluck stuck tuck yuck

ug bug dug hug jug lug mug pug rug tug

ump bump dump hump jump lump pump rump stump trump

unk bunk flunk junk lunk plunk punk slunk sunk trunk

Word 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.