Looking for some FREE printable word family books to use with your child at home or students in your classroom? This is where I have collected all the word family books from my beginning reading curriculum, Learn to Read (featuring short vowel word families).
*Look towards the bottom of this post for the image gallery of all our free word family books!
*This post contains affiliate links.
FREE Printable Word Family Books
In these books are simple and fun stories with a mostly predictable text structure. Not only will kids practice a particular short vowel word family with these, two beginning sight words are also featured for each book.
*Look towards the bottom of this post for the image gallery of all our free word family books!
Other activities are included in each word family book download, too! We’ve included our:
- free, printable puzzles for each word family – they’re simple to cut out and use to help learners read the word families
- NO PREP Rainbow Roll & Write activity for the two featured sight words from each book
- NO PREP activity called Roll, Read, & Find, which helps learners practice reading the word family words and the two new sight words from each book
Keep scrolling to get to the freebies.
Then, grab our Learn to Read bundle pack!
Assembling the Word Family Books
If you want to print just the books, make sure you only print those page numbers from the download. The books are designed to be printed front to back on cardstock and stapled with a long-armed stapler to get them ready for your learners.
*Keep scrolling down for the image gallery of all our free word family books!
Need further help with printing and assembling the books? Follow the steps in our tutorial!
Having trouble getting to all the word family books? This video may help!
FREE Word Family Books
Hover over each image so you can see the link icon. Click on the link icon to get to the post about each book. On each individual post, you can read about them and get the free download.
Get our Sight Word Activity Pages for ALL
the sight words in Learn to Read below!
You Might also like The Measured Mom’s FREE Phonics Books! See them all HERE.
Enjoy!
~Becky
Chunks / Word Family
List of Best Books
Below is a chunks / word family list of books that help teach this vital part of literacy education. Many are really quite clever and cute! We know every book includes long and short vowel sounds and word family words, but the books below either:
(1) feature particular short or long vowel sounds
(2) are just a bit more ‘full’ of a particular one
(3) focus on a particular word family.
The following titles are great for this task and are written especially for young ones in Kindergarten-1st grade.
We’ve
actually found that mixing the series is best, as it seems to help
prevent the «I’ve already read this» attitude that children sometimes
get when looking at multiple books from the same series. We like all three series in our word family list of books below. We hope you do too.
our word family list of books we use
Sounds Like Reading series
by Brian Cleary
Created by a former literacy coach, the Sounds like Reading
series is a step-by-step program that’s great for teaching long and short
vowel sounds to emergent readers using word families, repetition,
rhyme, and phonics. Paired with Miskimins’ vibrant cartoon
illustrations, they’re a hit! Books in the series include:
-The Frail Snail on the Trail (long)
-Stop, Drop, & Flop in the Slop (short)
-The Thing on the Wing Can Sing (short)
-Whose Shoes Would You Choose (long)
-The Bug in the Jug wants a Hug (short)
-The Nice Mice in the Rice (long)
click here to see inside / learn more about this series
Usborne Phonics Readers
This fun series combines phonics-based text with silly, kid-friendly stories to create titles that are perfect for helping children learn to read. There are fold-out flaps on some of the pages so readers can try to predict what might happen next. Each volume also has a section at the back with a phonic breakdown of the words in the story. The series includes:
Ted’s shed — Shark in the park — Hen’s Pen — Sam Sheep Can’t sleep — Mouse Moves House — Ted in a red bed — Goose on the Loose — Big Pig on a dig — Fox on a Box — Frog on a Log — Fat cat on a Mat — Toad Makes a Road
click here to see inside this series & learn more / buy
Word Family Tales
by Scholastic
A series of funny read-aloud stories, each designed around a specific family. The illustrations and storylines are charming and easy to follow, and each one has a ‘Reading Tips’ section in the back that provides additional ways to use the story to help early readers. Published by Scholastic.
Covers the following families: -ack -ail -ake -an -ank -ap -at -eep -ide -ice -ay -in -ine -ing -ink -ip -ock -op -ot -uck -ug -ump -ill -est
click here to see inside this series & learn more / buy
Now I’m Reading Amazing Animals
A Level 2 book in the Now I’m Reading series. Introduces long-vowel sounds and related sight words. Includes two mini-books for each long vowel sound so that early readers can practice reading over and over to build their confidence.
Click here to see inside or learn more
Of course any children’s book can be used when teaching long and short vowel sounds. Simply emphasize the sounds in question. And keep your eye out for books that seem to emphasize certain sounds. For example, the popular book Willy the Wimp by Anthony Brown is a fun story and can be great to use when teaching the short i sound.
Download a complete set of Word Family Minibooks! These printable books are just the right size for little hands and provide children with an easy introduction or review of beginning letters. Each minibook requires a single sheet of paper. Click here for folding instructions.
Subscribe Free for easy print options
ACK Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AD Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AG Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AIN Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AKE Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ALE Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ALL Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AME Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AM Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AN Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AP Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ASH Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AT Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ATE Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
AY Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
EAT Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ED Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ELL Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
EN Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ENT Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
EST Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ET Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
IB Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
Free printable Word Family Minibook
IG Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
ING Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
IP Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
OAT Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
OB Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
OD Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
OT Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
OX Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
EG Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
UB Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
UG Word Family
Free printable Word Family Minibook
21 Free Word Family Printables to Help Beginning Readers
Storytime Standouts features 21 free word family printables for kindergarten, grade one and homeschool
Whether supporting my own children as they learned to read, tutoring kindergarten and/or grade one children who are struggling with reading or presenting my Beginning to Read program, I have always been a great fan of teaching Word Families.
Introducing the concept of Word Families helps kindergarten and first grade students understand that elements of words are the same. Three words may have different parts but they may also be very alike. Once a child learns to decode the word “RING,” he can be encouraged to substitute the beginning sound and read, “SING,” “KING,” or “BRING” with word family materials.
The idea of substituting a beginning sound (or an ending sound) can be introduced long before a child is learning to read. Phonemic Awareness activities will encourage preschool and kindergarten children to play with sounds. A young child with good phonemic awareness skills will grasp the idea of decoding Word Families very quickly.
If you are working with a child who is not reading at the expected level, we think that phonemic awareness should be one of the very first things that is assessed.
Step 1 – Make sure you have Adobe Reader. If you don’t have it, please click on the ‘Get Adobe Reader’ button to install it for free.Step 2 – Pin this page, bookmark this page, share this page or “Like” us on Facebook.
Step 3 – Choose from any of our 250 free downloads, including these free word family printables.
10 Printable Word Family Flip Books for Kindergarten and First Grade –
An easy way for children to learn and practice the an, at, ed, ell, ick, ing, op, ot, ug and uck word families
I use these Word Family flip books in my Beginning to Read program. I find they are terrific for encouraging young children to see the relationship between BAT, CAT, FAT, MAT, PAT, RAT and SAT.
For good readers, it is very obvious that bed, fed, led, red and Ted are related. They all end the with “ED.” For a beginning reader, the relationship between these words may not be understood. When children create and use a Word Family flip book, they will notice the relationship between the letters and the words and they quickly learn to substitute the beginning sounds. Before long, they discover that they can read several words quite easily.
Word family flip books are easy to make* and can be tucked into a pocket or a backpack for extra practice at home or on the road.
We really recommend that children make the flip books themselves.
10 Word Family Flip Books
10 printable Word family flipbooks, great learning resources for children in kindergarten and first grade.
Printable PDFs for the an, at, ed, ell, ick, ing, op, ot, ug and uck word families
How to Make a Word Family Flip Book
Instructions for assembling a word family flip book for beginning readers. Great for kindergarten and first grade.
Free Word Family Printables – Words with Pictures for Kindergarten and Grade One
I also use these Word Family printables in my Beginning to Read program. For children who are not quite ready to decode words, the picture clues provide additional support.
Short A Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers
The «All» Word Family
Free — all word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «An» Word Family
Free -an word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Ap» Word Family
Free -ap word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «At» Word Family
Free -at word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Am» Word Family
Free -am word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
Short E Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers
The «Ed» Word Family
Free -ed word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Ell» Word Family
Free -ell word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «En» Word Family
Free -en word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Et» Word Family
Free -et word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Est» Word Family
Free -est word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
Short I Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers
The «Ig» Word Family
Free — ig word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Ip» Word Family
Free -ip word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «It» Word Family
Free -it word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Ill» Word Family
Free -ill word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
Short O Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers
The «Og» Word Family
Free -og word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Op» Word Family
Free -op word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Ot» Word Family
Free -ot word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Ock» Word Family
Free -ock word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
Short U Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers
The «Ub» Word Family
Free -ub word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
The «Ug» Word Family
Free -ug word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.
You will find our selection of free writing paper for kids here , our free printable picture dictionaries here and all of our homeschool, preschool and kindergarten printables together with parent/teacher resources here.
We invite you to follow Storytime Standouts’ Word Family Board on Pinterest
If you want to teach your children how to read then word families are a good place to start. I have designed a large set of word family worksheets, flashcards, and even a free workbook for you to download.
The word family materials included can be used as worksheets or as flashcards by laminating them and cutting them out. I have also designed some simple sentences using the CVC words which means after children can read the word families, they can practice reading them in sentences!
Word Families Workbook
DOWNLOAD
I have made a printable workbook that can be used as a structured way to improve your child’s reading. The workbook contains word family CVC sentences that are easy to read. The word family workbook is a great resource to use at home or at your kindergarten!
To make the word family book even more useful in the classroom, I have included the CVC word family sentences as a separate download. The idea is to print out the CVC sentences and practice reading them as a group.
After reading the CVC sentences, children can practice writing them too by copying the sentences in the workbook. Each time you do a new sentence, you can use the book to review the word family sentences! Once children finish the book, they can enjoy reading it to their parents!
CVC Sentences PDF DOWNLOAD HERE!
If the workbook is too difficult, I recommend practicing the word family sheets below. you can use the sheets for practicing reading each of the word families.
-ad, -ag, -am, -an, -ap, -at, -ack word family worksheets PDF
Before using this set of ‘a’ word families, make sure your child can already recognize and sound out the individual letter phonemes. If your child is still having trouble, go back to practicing basic phonics.
I have various flashcard sets available for FREE including colorful Aa-Zz cards, A- Z animal cards, and also simple letter flashcards. You’ll also find various phonics sheets on the site too! Learning how to read can take a while, so be sure not to rush : )
I have organized these CVC words in alphabetical order, so reference the downloadable word family workbook if you want to see exactly where you should start in terms of teaching order. I would avoid teaching ‘-ack’ until all 3 letter words are finished.
| ad | ag | am | an | ap | at | ack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bad | bag | am | ban | bap | bat | back |
| dad | rag | bam | can | cap | cat | hack |
| had | tag | dam | fan | gap | fat | lack |
| lad | wag | ham | man | lap | hat | pack |
| mad | jam | nan | map | mat | rack | |
| pad | Sam | pan | nap | pat | sack | |
| rad | Pam | ran | rap | rat | tack | |
| sad | ram | tan | tap | sat | ||
| tad | yam | van | zap | vat |
-ed, -en, -et, -eck, -ell, -est word family worksheets PDF
Here are all the CVC word family worksheets containing ‘e’. Just like the previous word family, try to avoid teaching the 4 letter words until later. You will notice that names like ‘Ben’ are capitalized. I recommend laminating the worksheets so that they can be traced and reused.
| ed | en | et | eck | ell | est |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bed | Ben | bet | deck | bell | best |
| fed | den | get | neck | dell | jest |
| led | hen | jet | fell | nest | |
| red | Ken | let | hell | pest | |
| Ted | men | met | sell | rest | |
| Pen | net | tell | test | ||
| Ten | pet | well | vest | ||
| yen | vet | yell | west | ||
| wet | zest |
-ig, -ip, -it, -in, – ip, -it word family worksheets PDF
With the ‘i’ word family worksheets, I have not included any 4 letter words. Please let me know if you would like some and I can add to this collection as time goes on. Remember that children don’t have to know all of the words, they just need to learn the skill of decoding.
| ig | in | ip | it |
|---|---|---|---|
| big | in | dip | bit |
| dig | bin | hip | fit |
| fig | kin | kip | hit |
| pig | pin | lip | kit |
| rig | sin | pip | lit |
| wig | tin | rip | pit |
| win | sip | sit | |
| tip | wit | ||
| zip | zit |
-ob, -og, -ot word family worksheets PDF
Here are the ‘o’ CVC words. Feel free to teach only the easier words from the word family. If I was to teach this word family to younger students, I would probably choose Bob, dog, and pot. When discussing the meaning of words, its always easier to use nouns.
| ob | og | ot |
|---|---|---|
| bob | bog | cot |
| cob | cog | dot |
| fob | dog | got |
| hob | fog | hot |
| job | hog | jot |
| lob | jog | lot |
| mob | log | not |
| rob | pot | |
| yob | rot |
-ub, -ug, -un, -ut, -uck, -ump word family worksheets PDF
Finally, we have the ‘u’ word families. Remember with all of these flashcards and materials, you don’t have to do them all in order for your child to read. If a student can read at a reasonable speed, on around 70 percent of the 3 letter CVC word, then you can start using the word family workbook!
| ub | ug | un | ut | uck | ump |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cub | bug | bun | but | buck | bump |
| dub | dug | fun | cut | duck | dump |
| hub | hug | gun | gut | luck | hump |
| pub | jug | hun | hut | muck | jump |
| rub | mug | nun | put | puck | lump |
| sub | pug | pun | suck | pump | |
| tub | rug | run | tuck | rump | |
| tug | yuck |
Easy reading word family sheets PDF
If it feels like there are too many sheets to print out, I also prepared some more sheets that are designed specifically for reading. These flashcards will work well if you have many students and not enough materials : )
Download all six reading sheets as a zip file here.
If you need any help downloading the flashcards, or would like to see a step by step guide of how to print the flashcards, click here!
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