What is a Word Family?
One of my favorite ways to help young readers learn to read is to use the patterns found in word families. What exactly is a word family? Word families are words that share the same ending chunk (rime), but have different beginning beginning parts (onsets). For example, words such as cat, bat, sat, fat, that, and mat are all a part of the -at word family.
The How Behind Word Families
There are several reasons reading and writing by word families are helpful.
For example, word families can help those younger readers who struggling with blending words together. Word families also help kids write new words by their shared patterns. Let’s say your child knows how to spell cat. But in his writing, he needs to spell bat and he’s not sure how. You can say, “How do you spell cat?” (Child spells C-A-T). Now you can help him relate it to a word he knows by saying, “Well, since bat and cat are in the same word family, all you have to do is take off the c on the front of the word and put a b there instead.”
Reading new words by word families works very much the same. When your child comes across an unknown word that is a part of a word family, relate it to a word he already knows that has the same pattern. It is absolutely amazing how many words can be read and spelled simply using the most common short and long vowel word families.
Christmas Tree Word Family Sorts
To integrate a little Christmas fun into your word sorts, download this FREE Christmas Tree Word Family Sorting activity. It features 10 short vowel patterns and 10 long vowel patterns.
Print out a Christmas Tree mat with a certain vowel pattern you’d like your child to work on (say, short o). Then print out the corresponding ornaments. Cut the ornaments apart, mix them up and ask your child to read each word and sort them on the correct tree (using the pattern on the star as your guide). You can choose from the patterns created or there is also a blank Christmas Tree and ornament template for you to write your own.
Also included in the pack is this writing template. After your child sorts his ornaments, he can write the pattern in the star and then record all his words on the trees with lines. Merry Christmas!
To download a FREE copy of Christmas Tree Word Family Sorts, click HERE!
Want more winter themed word family activities? Check out the color by vowel winter pack.
Looking for great tips and insights for teaching your children to read and love learning? Make your plans to join us at Teach Them Diligently! Find out if Teach Them Diligent is the perfect homeschool event for your family– AND get a free audio workshop download here.
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Looking for a fun Christmas activity to practice with your child? You will love these Word Family Christmas Trees from Kindergarten Worksheets and Games!
There are a number of word families to choose from in this activity, so only print out what you would like! Then, once all of the images are cut out, your child can decorate the word family trees! It’s a really fun way to practice reading skills with young learners. This resource also comes with word family worksheets, so students can record their work.
For other word family activities, check out:
- Word Family Bookmarks and Printables
- -Ed Word Family Worksheets
- and more!
Get the Word Family Christmas Trees here!
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Keri
Keri is a former elementary and middle school teacher who’s worked overseas for 4 years. She loves to write and so decided to pursue her writing dream!
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Christmas time in Kindergarten is the most wonderful time of year! I love using Christmas themed activities in my math and literacy center rotations. Today, I am going to share a Christmas Tree Word Family Picture Sort that you can use in your literacy centers or small groups.
*Pair with our Kindergarten Printables Bundle – December
When teaching children how to read it is important to know what a word family is. It is the rhyme, or ending, of a word, such as -at, -ip, or -un.
When students learn how to read, identifying word families is a great way to build fluency.
Some students find it easier to blend the onset and rhyme of a word, like c-at, rather than sounding out each individual sound, like c-a-t.
As a teacher, you need to make sure your students practice blending both ways. I like to introduce word families using picture sorts, so this Christmas themed word family activity is great for any level!
How to Prepare
You can either cut out each word family tree, or leave as is and use it like a mat.
Then, cut out all of the ornament pieces and mix together.
I always suggest to laminate center activities, so you can use with future students as well.
How to Use
Whenever I introduce a new center, I always practice it the day before in a whole group setting. This allows you as the teacher, to model exactly how they will play in their center groups.
First, set up the Christmas tree word families on a table or carpet.
This would also work on an easel or whiteboard with magnets. Students will pick an ornament and look at the picture. They will name the picture and then isolate the word family.
I make sure my students say it out loud, as they sort the picture. Students will place the ornament on the correct word family tree. Continue taking turns until all ornament pieces are sorted.
RELATED RESOURCE: Clothespin Math and Literacy Clip Cards – December
Extension Activity
An easy way to challenge your students is to practice writing out the word.
For example, a student sorts the “cat” picture onto the -at word family tree.
Next, have them use a mini whiteboard to spell and write the word. This will help them see how easy it is to spell words, if you know the word family.
Grab Your Free Copy
I hope you enjoy using this Christmas themed word family sort in your December literacy centers! If you’re ready to get started, then scroll down and click on the large, yellow button below!
Then, be sure you request your invitation to let us help you plan all year long inside the Print and Play Club!
With monthly, themed centers, and instant access to hundreds of printables by topic and skill (no more scouring the internet!) your planning time just got easier.
Request your invitation below for more info!
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Kristina has been teaching Kindergarten for 6 years, using hands-on and engaging activities to help her students foster a lifetime love of learning. She couldn’t live without coffee, Target trips, and Amazon Prime. Kristina blogs over at Sweet for Kindergarten, and loves to share ideas on Instagram and Pinterest.
Looking for some short vowel word family activities this Christmas season? These word family Christmas trees should do the trick! Because learning to read short vowel words by word families is often times easier for kids, I decided to create 6 different word family Christmas trees for each short vowel.
Want more FREE Christmas activities and printables? We have quite the collection!
*This post contains affiliate links.
Short Vowel Word Family Christmas Trees
Included in the free download {link at the end of post} are two levels of word family learning.
For each word family, I’ve included Christmas trees with just the images and Christmas trees with just the words.
With 30 different word family Christmas trees included, there are lots of things you can do with them! For example,
use them as a rhyming activity {what rhymes with at},
matching word family pictures to word family words,
sorting by word families with different vowels {-at vs. -ot},
or sorting by and building word families of the same vowel {-ot vs. -op}
*I recommend printing the Christmas trees on cardstock and laminating them for durability.
More Word Family Activities
- Short Vowel Word Study App
- BOB Books Word Family printables
- Word Family Blackout
- Flip a Word
- Word Family Memory Match
- Word Family Hats {perfect for Dr. Seuss Day}
~Becky
More Christmas Activities & Printables
ADChoices by Google
ADChoices by Google
CVC & CVCC Word Family Christmas Tree Writing
CVC & CVCC Word Family Christmas Tree Writing contains 102 pages:
- CVC Words families: -ad, -ag, -am, -an, -ap, -ar, at, -ed, -en, -et, -ig, -in, -ip, -it, -og, -op, -ot, -ow, -ox, -ug, -un, & -ut
- CVCC Words families: -all, -ill, -ell, -ull, -ing, -ang, -ung, -ong, -ast, -ist, -ust, -ost, -est, -ack, -ick, -ock, -uck, -and, -end, -ind, -ond, -und, ink, -unk, -onk, -amp, -imp, -ump
- 1 Christmas Tree Scene per page word family plus a writing page for that word family
Looking for additional ideas check out my Pinterest board.
CVC Word Family Printables