Working with family word

A post about the importance of word families and how to teach reading with word families. Daily suggestions, ideas, and activities for teachers provided.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading

Today I am sharing about one part of my word study program, how to teach reading with word families. I will be sharing how I run my schedule during the week and provide you with a day-to-day plan of action. I have seen a lot of success with this program. My students are thoroughly engaged, actively learning, and building their reading and spelling skills.

Why Teach Word Families?

Learning to read the English language is a difficult task. The English language follows so many different patterns and rules that it is often confusing for our younger students learning to read.

Word families, also called phonograms or “chunks,” provide us with groups of words that have a   predictable pattern or “chunk.” These words have the same ending, and they all rhyme. This makes learning a set of words (a word family) easier on our beginning readers.

Word Families Throughout the Week

After learning our word families for the week, my students can read and spell a group of words independently. They feel incredibly successful at their accomplishment. They now have a larger bank of words they can read in the books they are encountering.

Teaching my students word families is an incredibly efficient way for me to teach my students how to read. Since we learn word families each week, I wanted to create a set of activities that students find fun and engaging, yet help them to become fluent in reading the words within a word family.

Monday Activities for Teaching Word Families

Each week we focus on two-word families at a time. I start with teaching the short vowel word families and start with the short ‘a’ word families. The words within those word families often follow a CVC or CVCC pattern. They are simple words that children often know and understand.

I introduce our word families one at a time, and as a class, we brainstorm all the words we can think of that end with that sound pattern. Then, I encourage my students to use our alphabet posters above our whiteboard as a reference. I will say, “take each letter one at a time and put it in front of the letter pattern. Does it make a word that makes sense?” If it makes sense, I ask them to put up their hand and share with the class. I record the words they come up with on our word chart. We discuss the meaning of each word.

Some weeks I like to switch things up, and I will have my students line up and rotate one at a time or in pairs to write down a word that they have come up with. I will sit close by and help if needed.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family posters

After we have our list of new words on our chart, my students will copy those words in their word family books. They are practicing their handwriting skills and rereading their new words at this time.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family book Phonics are Fun

I send our word family book home on Monday for families to practice at home all week.

Tuesday Activities for Teaching Word Families

Each morning during our carpet time, we review our word family words. I use a pocket chart to hold our word family word cards. Our star of the day enjoys pointing to the words as the class reads them aloud.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family cards

We also play phonics games to review our words and build our reading skills. I have these activities ready during my small groups and available for students to use during free time or “fast finisher” activities. We enjoy doing puzzles where you have to match a word with a picture.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family puzzles

We use our letter magnets or whiteboard markers to spell out our words. This activity makes a great literacy center!

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family spelling

I use metal drip pans for everything. They are so versatile and functional. They store easy and sit nicely on a shelf or against a wall. Check them out HERE!

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family spelling

I also put up a poster of word family words in the classroom for students to practice reading during the week. They can use this poster if they need ideas during our making words activities.

Wednesday Activities for Teaching Word Families

We review our words again during the morning meeting. I have the students close their eyes and spell words together or one by one aloud. We complete morning messages that have word family words missing. I switch up the activities we do together at the carpet to keep things fresh, so they are thinking in different ways.

We work on our reading fluency. Together, we print, build, make, spin, stamp, and draw our words. We do things where we are reading these words over and over. My students enjoy these activities because they stay busy and have fun too!

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family spin and spell

We spin to make word family words using a paper clip and record them in our booklets.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family word work

We complete our word work with our word family words. By repeating each word in different ways, my students are learning how to read, spell, and understand word meaning.

Thursday Activities for Teaching Word Families

During our morning meeting, we take out our small whiteboards and markers and practice recording our words. Sometimes they sit with a partner and quiz each other, and sometimes I will give them words to record. This exercise is a quick assessment for me to check how they are doing. This activity could also be a part of your small group time. We work more on word meaning. We have a few activities that we rotate through each week to keep things interesting. For instance, we complete our fill-in sheets for morning work, where we have to pick the correct word to fit in an empty space. We also create read, draw, and color books where we have to read a sentence, dray its meaning, and color the picture.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - phonics are fun word family books

They also have read and write the room mini-books to work on during literacy centers.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - read and write the room

Friday Activities for Teaching Word Families

On Friday, we do one final review of our words in the pocket chart before adding them to our word wall. We also have a spelling quiz where I give my students a mix of our spelling words, sight words, and word family words together. They do an excellent job after all this review!

I also have a few simple and fun activities set up for small groups, literacy centers, and “fast finishers” for students to complete for further review. They love to “create” words using Play-Doh and recording the words they find.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family playdough mats

Making their word family ties to wear around the class is fun too. They bring these home to show their parents their learning.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family ties

Word Families Homework

After printing the word family words in their books, they take them home in their home reading folder. Read about how I set up my home reading program and grab some FREE folder handouts HERE.

Once at home, I instruct my students and their parents that they should be reading through their words each day. They can make them, spell them on a sheet of paper, or any activity they want. Occasionally, I will send an activity home if they are looking for something extra.

Word Families: Proven Method for Teaching Reading - word family book

Resources for Teaching Word Families

You can check out all of the materials and activities you’ve seen in this post, in my Phonics are Fun comprehensive word family units for short vowels HERE. There’s a bundle available too!

word families phonics activities curriculum for kids

See the word families resource in action!  

Classroom Materials for Teaching Word Families

Wanting to grab some of the great learning resources that I used in this post? Check them out on Amazon.

FREE -AT Word Family Activities

To get started, check out the free downloadable resource: short ‘a’ vowel word family pack of activities. Click the image below to get your copy!

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Being back in Kindergarten has meant a huge change in what I teach!  As a first grade teacher, I was used to teaching things like vowel patterns and digraphs and blends.  Of course, we reviewed word families as well!  But teaching Kindergarten meant going back to the basics- and at the end of Kinder, that meant teaching word families.

Why Teach Word Families?

Sorry, this is the «boring» part.   :-)

Teaching word families is a great way to get your students reading.  Word families use the natural rhyming ability of most young children to help them read simple words.  Learning how to use the spelling patterns in simple CVC word family words will help students be able to use these same patterns in more difficult words.  For example, a if a student learns words from the -at word family, they would be able to use the pattern to help them decode «category» or «acrobat».  Notice I said HELP!  We, of course, must do more than teach them word families to help them decode tricky words! 

When do I teach Word Families? 

Students who are at various stages of spelling can all benefit from instruction in word families.  Students who don’t hear medial vowel sounds can benefit from instruction in word families that have the same vowel sound, such as ip, it, and in.  Students who hear some medial vowel sounds and can hear some blends/digraphs can benefit from comparing word families with different vowels.  Students who hear the medial vowel sounds would benefit from long and short vowel sounds.  I’ve taught word families in both Kindergarten and first grade, because first graders can often use a refresher and the opportunity to practice these patterns again, especially after a long summer off.  And obviously, most Kindergarten students haven’t even been exposed to them!

I begin teaching word families when most of my students know their beginning and ending sounds but may still be struggling with medial vowel sounds.  We begin with short a word families.  Each week, we introduce a new word family.  We study each word family for an entire week, and we have a different activity we do each day to reinforce the spelling pattern and give them practice with it each day.

Here’s a typical week in my Kindergarten classroom:

Monday: 

On Monday, I introduce the new word family in two ways.  First, I introduce the poem we read each week.  I read the poem aloud twice, and then invite the students to read the poem with me the third time.  Then, we practice making words using the vowel pattern.  I have a cookie sheet with the word family pattern already on it.

We practice reading the poem a few times.  I usually read it the first time, and then I invite the students to read it with me the second and subsequent times.  We practice reading fluently at this time as well, so we incorporate some fluency practice into our phonics!  Win win!

Then we practice making words with the magnetic letters.  The kids love this part.  After doing this for a few weeks, they really caught on to how to blend the words together to make new words.  Usually they’ve already read the word as soon as they see me pick up the next letter!

I use digraphs and sometimes blends as well with our making words.  This allows my students to practice those sounds as well, since we’ve taught them and practiced them already as part of our Phonics Dance.

Tuesday:
On Tuesday, we do a picture sort using picture cards.  We sort whether a word ends with the given word family or doesn’t.  I have a pocket chart that I use to sort them.

Then, I give them a chance to do a Making Words activity using their own letters.  We use this Making Words sheet for each of the word families.  

As I model making the word on the cookie sheet with the magnetic letters, the students follow along using their own letter cards.  When I do making words with the students, I just place the exact same letters the students have on the board.  Then I manipulate the letters to make different words using the same word family.

They like being able to manipulate the letters to make different words, and they really love trying to guess which word I’m going to give them next!

Wednesday:
On Wednesday, we re-read the poem, and then we spend time highlighting the sight words and word family words in the poem as a class.  For the first few weeks, we also did this sheet together, just blown up as a poster.  We determined which words were real words and not real words.  I asked them if they could use the word in a sentence, and if they couldn’t, then it probably wasn’t a real word.  They put their thumb up for a real word, and down for a non-sense word.  (They LOVE that!  Seriously- who knew?!)

Then, once they got the hang of it, we practiced it together, and eventually I got to the point where we got to go over it before they did it on their own.  Yay independence! 

Thursday:  
On Thursday, we did the word family book.  They really liked doing the books, and they got to keep them in their book boxes for independent reading.  Since the books were very simple, most of the kids could read them on their own.  

The books had a matching page with 4 pictures and 5 words.  I did this on purpose to make it a little bit of a challenge.  A lot of students will match a few of them, and then guess on the others.  But with an uneven number of pictures and words, they actually had to think about what the word said, because they didn’t match up.  

They loved having their own books to read.  

Friday:  Assessment day!

On Friday, we used this Word Family house as a mini-assessment.  They had to use the letters at the bottom of the page to build the word family words.  I like this little assessment because it allows me to see what they can do without it really feeling like a test.  You know, since they are allowed to color the pictures after they are finished.  

I always found it really interesting to watch how they made their words.  This sweetie made all the word family endings on his page first, and then went back and did the beginning sounds.

This little cutie pie made each word in its entirety, one at a time.

Now, I know what you’re thinking!  Wow, it’s all sunshine and rainbows in there, and all the kids get it!  Right?  WRONG.  There were a few students that still really struggled with the patterns.  You can see me pointing to this little guy’s paper to show him the picture of the word he’s supposed to be building.  There were students I had to work with independently or pull in a small group to work on these particular pages because they simply couldn’t do them independently.   As the weeks went on, this number became smaller and smaller.  But yes, I definitely had a few who struggled!

One thing I really liked about these activities is that, while they seem repetitive to us, they allowed my students to gain more and more independence as they worked each week on a different word family.  Their familiarity allowed the students to focus more on the words and not the activity they were doing.

I will say that those activities definitely helped my students.  At the beginning of the year, we had to give an assessment called the Phonemic Awareness Test (I think!- we just called it the PAT).  I was taking a class through a university through my school, and that was one of the requirements.  At the beginning of the year, of course, my students could not blend and segment sounds, except for a few.  At the end of the year?  NAILED IT!  It is so exciting to see that growth and to know that these activities helped them get there! 

You can find these activities in my store.  I have 16 word families included in the bundle, or you can find the activities listed individually as well.  These activities will be on sale through Wednesday for 20% off if you want to snag them now for next year!  

Also, there is a 3 page freebie in the preview!  You can download the preview for these 3 freebie pages.  

 

Of course, I know that those few exposures to those word family words aren’t enough!  I have another post coming with some more ways we practiced word families in my classroom.  You can find it here.

Thanks for reading!

Teaching word families is a great way to improve the reading abilities of primary-grade students. A word family is any grouping of words that have the same vowel sound and contain the same short sequence of letters, often at the end. Start by teaching your students a few simple word families. Once students have familiarized themselves with an easy word family and can recognize other words in that family, move on to teaching more word families, including word families with multisyllabic words and more complex vowel sounds.

  1. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 1

    1

    Write 5-6 words in a word family on your whiteboard. Start with a simple word family that contains 3-letter words and simple vowel sounds. So, you could begin by introducing students to the “-at” word family.[1]
    Students should already know these words’ meanings and pronunciations.

    • For example, write on the whiteboard: “cat,” “hat,” “mat,” “rat,” and “sat,”
    • If there are English-language learner (ELL) students in the classroom, put a picture of each word up on the whiteboard next to the word itself.
  2. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 2

    2

    Ask your students to spot the similarities between the words in the family. This will motivate your students to engage themselves with the lesson material. While some students may initially try to find similarities in the words’ meaning, they’ll eventually conclude that the words all have the same ending and the same short vowel sound.[2]

    • If students are struggling to grasp the common element, explain that the words all end in “-at” and have the same ending sound.
    • It may help visual learners if you underline or circle the “-at” of each word with a different color marker.
  3. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 3

    3

    Ask students to add new words to the family by moving through the alphabet. After reading the initial 5-6 words out loud to the class, ask students to move through the alphabet from A to Z and try out each letter before the “-at” ending. This will allow the class to complete the list of 3-letter words in the family.[3]
    Students may think of other words like “pat” and “fat.”

    • It may help students if you hand out cards with the alphabet on them.
    • Students will inevitably come up with words like “aat,” “wat,” or “zat.” Remind students that words in the word family need to make sense and have a meaning.
    • Students may initially be confused as to why some words with similar endings do not belong in a word family, for example, “son” and “con.” If the students are too young to understand the concept of long and short vowel sounds, tell them something like, “They’re in different word families because the letters in the middle of the word don’t make the same sound.”
    • If there are ELL students in the class, have pictures of the other words in the word family ready to put up on the board.
  4. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 4

    4

    Introduce students to other simple word families. Students will easily understand the idea of the “family” as a grouping based on similarities. Encourage them to think of other simple 3-letter words that rhyme with one another. Say something like, “I’ve introduced you to the ‘-at’ word family. Now let me introduce you to a few more.”[4]
    Then write on the whiteboard:

    • The “-an” family: ran, fan, tan, man.
    • The “-ad” family: mad, sad, bad, had, pad, lad.
    • The “-am” family: ham, ram, Sam, bam, jam, yam.
  5. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 5

    5

    Encourage students to expand word families based on rhyming sounds. Students will retain the concept of word families better if you allow them to help you list the words in the family. Remind students that all of the words in a word family will rhyme with one another. Then, ask students to raise their hands or call out other words that belong in the word families you’ve written on the board.[5]

    • It’s OK to give students hints or prompts to help them come up with words in a word family.
    • For example, if you’re working on the “-an” family and students haven’t yet said “fan,” say something like, “I’m thinking of a word that starts with the letter ‘f.’ ”
  6. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 6

    6

    Ask students to use word-family words in a sentence. As students begin to understand what word families are, and add more words to the family, make sure that they understand the meaning of the words and aren’t just combining random letter sounds. If a student calls out an addition to a word family—for example, “pat”—ask the student to use the word in a simple sentence.[6]

    • Slow readers may struggle to use simple vocabulary words in a sentence. In this case, ask instead, “Could you tell me what the word ‘pat’ means?”
  7. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 7

    7

    Add 2- and 3-syllable words to your word families. Once you’ve been working with word families for a while and your students fully understand the concept, you can begin to add more complex words to the families. Clarify to your students that these multisyllabic words still have the same root vowel sound as the rest of the family, e.g., “-at,” “-an,” or “-am,” even if the vowel sound no longer comes at the end of the word.[7]

    • For example, in the “-an” family, add words like: “planet,” “panda,” “banjo,” “fancy,” and “chance.” Let students know that although these words have the “-an” in the middle of the word rather than at the end, they still belong to the “-an” family.
    • Explain the meanings of these words to any students who aren’t already familiar.
  1. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 8

    1

    Ask students to spell words in the word family. Test your students’ retention by asking them to spell words from the word family without a visual aid.[8]
    Provide each student with a sheet of paper. Explain that they need to spell the words from a specific word family. Then, enunciate words like “can,” “man,” “bed,” “fed,” “ram,” “ham,” etc.

    • Try this part of the lesson on a separate day from the word-family introduction. So, if you introduced word families on Tuesday, ask students to spell words on Wednesday or Thursday.
  2. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 9

    2

    Distribute worksheets that encourage students to form words in certain word families. Write 4 or 5 common word family suffixes (e.g., “-in,” “-an,” “-at,” and “-am”) on the left side of the page. At the bottom of the page, arrange a “letter bank” that has various letters needed to complete the words in the word families. Ask students to write letters from the word bank in front of the word-family suffixes and complete various word-family words.

    • Then, in the “letter bank,” include letters like “p,” “m,” “h,” and “b” that can be used to make a compete word in 1 or more of the word families.
  3. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 10

    3

    Ask student groups to write a story using at least 6 words from a word family. This will work best if students are placed into groups of 4-5. Once students are in groups, assign a word family to each group. Ask each group to write a 1-2 page story using at least half a dozen words from a single word family.[9]

    • For example, a group of students could use the words: «fan,» «can,» «pan,» «man,» and «tan.»
    • If students are doing well with the assignment, ask them to illustrate the story as well.
  4. Image titled Teach Word Families Step 11

    4

    Give each student a laminated note card with a word from a word family. Then place full-sized sheets of paper in each corner of the classroom, each with the suffix of a word family on it. Ask the students to move to the corner with the word family that their particular word fits into. After students have completed the exercise once, re-distribute the cards and ask students to complete the exercise again.

    • For example, place sheets of paper reading “-an,” “-am,” “-at,” and “-it” in the 4 corners of your classroom. Distribute laminated cards that display words that fit into these word families.
    • So, the child holding a card that reads “sit” will move into the corner with the “-it” word family.

Word Family Worksheet and Examples

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  • In more technical vocabulary, word families are called “phonograms.”[10]

  • The point at which you introduce complex words to word families depends on how quickly your students grasp the concept of word families, and on how quickly they learn how to spell the words and use them in sentences. If you introduce simple word families in the beginning of First grade, add complex words near the end of the school year.

References

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Using word families, you will learn how to teach beginning reading using these free phonics resources and strategies. Find out what I did wrong and how I learned to teach beginning reading using word patterns.  Then you’ll access your free Word Family lessons and activities below.

How to teach beginning reading with word families. Free phonics and decoding resources. #wordfamilies #phonics #beginningreading #decoding #teacherkarma

Once upon a time, there was a teacher girl…

But this teacher was totally stuck!  She had tried just about everything to teach her first-grade students how to read unknown words.  And above all, she had a lesson observation scheduled with her principal… LIKE NEXT WEEK!!!

Secretly, she started doing a crazy amount of research.  This wasn’t easy either.  Believe it or not, this was before the birth of GOOGLE.

This teacher decided that no matter what, she HAD TO LEARN how to teach her newbie readers how to solve unknown words they encountered while reading.

Knowing about reading is not enough.

Knew about phonics?  CHECK

Had a specialization in reading?  CHECK

Worked for a super poor district that couldn’t afford new materials?  CHECK

Firstly, the odds were against her because not only were these students less than privileged, but English was their second language.  Her students needed a strategy that was simple and to the point.

Fast forward to about 4 days later… that awesome but crazy teacher girl stayed up for days and nights doing her research.

She pulled out her college textbooks on literacy, ESL resources and even made a trip to the public library.  Google wasn’t even a thing yet.

steps for teaching word families teacherkarma.com

Yes, I said it… LIBRARY!  Not GOOGLE, Library.

What happened?  What did I learn about word patterns?

By combining the best strategy components and getting rid of the ones we really didn’t need…

She discovered a SUPER SIMPLE STRATEGY for teaching students how to read unknown words by teaching word families.

Yes, teachers, there is a certain way that you teach word families.  Above all, it is soooo much easier and simpler than you thought.

I am super excited to share my FREE mini ebook.  When I say “mini,” I mean mini.  You will read the word families pdf super fast and just take off.

how-to-teach-word-families-plastic-letters-teacherkarma-com

You will be teaching students how to actively use word family knowledge to read unknown words.  Therefore, this is a strategy that every student needs to have in their reading toolbox.  Below is a simple outline for how to teach word families.

  1. Start with one-syllable words (this is super important)
  2. Create a word family anchor chart
  3. Make new words with the pattern
  4. Engage your students with hands-on learning fun

Of course, this is just the bare bones.  In other words, you will get the meat when you read the free resource.

What resources do I need to start teaching word families?

  1. plastic letters
  2. anchor chart paper
  3. Mr. Sketch markers
  4. Tabletop magnetic dry erase board  (you can see my magnetic whiteboard in the photo above)

The educational resources above will help you prepare for the word family activities.

Word family books?

Later, in the instructions for getting started with teaching word families, you will read about using picture books to complement your word family mini-lessons.  I have been messaged by several teachers that want to know which are good books to use when teaching word families.

Teaching word families books:

The Cat in the Hat

Green Eggs and Ham

Hop on Pop

Fox in Socks

I see a nice little trend here.  Dr. Seuss is where it’s at!! You might as well shoot for the entire Dr. Seuss book collection!  There are so many more books, but that will have to be another blog post.

Next, you’ll have to do a tad bit of research.  You will want the book to match whatever word pattern – word family you are teaching.

In conclusion, when you download the FREE mini-ebook, there is also a link to an additional FREE word family product.

Teaching Word Families: 4 SUPER SIMPLE STEPS

Please leave a message below to tell me what you think.

Best wishes!

How to teach beginning reading with word families. Free phonics and decoding resources. #wordfamilies #phonics #beginningreading #decoding #teacherkarma

Some links are affiliate links.  At no cost to you, I make a small commission on those purchases.


Jen

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Word families are great for boosting the reading skills of young children.

A few years ago I had a couple of students in my class who were so frustrated with learning to read they refused to do it. Every time we had a reading session, they would have a meltdown. These children weren’t diagnosed with dyslexia but they did have autism. In their first year of school, they struggled and missed out on valuable reading instruction. They had learned that if something is hard, a meltdown would mean they wouldn’t have to do it.

Their IEP goal was to read ten new words that term. It wasn’t a huge goal but to accomplish it they needed to experience some success and begin to see themselves as readers. Rather than focus on sight words, I looked at CVC words and word families.

What are word families?

Word families are groups of words that share a similar pattern, such as hop, mop, and pop. Teaching children that some words contain recognizable “chunks” and how to search for these word parts, is an important step to developing reading fluency. When a child can read hop and knows the sound for /sh/, they can also read shop. They no longer need to sound out a word letter by letter. Very quickly you’ve also increased the number of words a child can read.

Introducing word families

Start with the short vowel sounds such as ‘-an’ when you begin teaching word families. It’s important to teach one word family at a time. You don’t want to mix them up until children have begun to master the patterns.

To introduce the word family have your students brainstorm all the words they can that have that chunk. Some of your students will quickly realize that the words rhyme. Others may give you words that have the wrong phoneme. For example, if you’re looking for an words, you might get ‘ham’. If this is the case write the word down and draw attention to the end letter.

When your students give you their words, make a column of real and nonsense words. Discuss the meanings of the real words and ask for the word in a sentence.

I also use word family posters to check and see if we were able to find the same words as the list.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

I love playing the Yes/No game with my students. When you have your word list, choose a child to close their eyes or turn their back. Choose another child to point to a word. Everyone else must be silent. The first child turns around, comes out to the front and has three chances to guess the word. I ask the child to point to the word as well to make sure they are reading the words and not just remembering the words we wrote. When they say a word, the class either says yes or no. If they haven’t guessed by three guesses they are told the word.

My kids love it and it’s a great game to play to fill in 5 – 10 minutes. You can make your list into an anchor chart or use a word family poster.

Practice with games and activities

Once you’ve introduced the new phoneme, there are so many activities you can do to consolidate your student’s learning. To make it easy for you, I’ve put together a huge pack of games, activities and worksheets which are perfect for centers and independent learning.

Use playdough mats and have your students make their words.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

Develop those fine motor and reading skills at the same time with a picture match activity. Students clip the picture card to the word with clothespins or paper clips. Combine them with other word family cards and they can play a matching game with their classmates.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

In the following activity, students match the onset (consonant or blend found at the beginning of a word) to the rime (vowel and consonant found at the end of the word) with jigsaw pieces. Add a recording sheet and they can write down the words they’ve made. Place it with other sets and you’ve got another great game.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

If your kids love playing board games, each word family has two that you can use.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

Independent practice is important too. Choose from the six different worksheets that each word family has. Have your kids practice writing their word family words.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

Students can make a list of real and nonsense words.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

Practice spelling by cutting out the letters and reassembling them to make their words.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

Use a worksheet to have your students write the word and match it with a picture.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

When you’ve taught the phonemes from one short vowel sound you can use even more games and activities to consolidate it before moving onto the next short vowel.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

Grab a pack

If you’d love a massive pack of 700 + pages of worksheets, games and activities for your classroom, you can grab one from our store. Just click here or on the image below. If you would prefer to get this from our TPT store, please click this link.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

If you prefer working with one word family pack, just click on the thumbnail below to go to our store.

Word family activities for kindergarten and first grade are perfect for your literacy centers and word work stations.

If you would prefer to purchase any of the above from our TPT store, please click on the relevant link below:

Short A Word Families Worksheets and Games

Word Families Word Work for Short E – charts, playdough mats, games, worksheets

Word Families Word Work for Short I – charts, playdough mats, games, worksheets

Word Families Word Work for Short O – posters, playdough mats, games, worksheets

Word Families Word Work for Short U – charts, playdough mats, games, worksheets

Families are dynamic, and many people make a family unique. It’s no surprise there are a lot of family words that can be used to describe members.

Here is a complete list that can be used to describe the different people who make a family unique.

Family Words Defined

A traditional family has a father, mother, and children. But we know that most families include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Additionally, many families are non-traditional. This means that there are stepparents, adoptive siblings, and other unique family members who are included in the unit.

family words defined

Family words are any family members who should be defined when talking about the unit. These include adjectives and nouns.

Remember, an adjective is a descriptive word. A noun is a person, place, or thing.

It is important to know these family words because it adds interest and accuracy to writing. If you are writing something about your family, you will want to correctly identify your family members so that the reader understands who you are talking about.

Since families are so unique, there are many words to describe family members. Use this complete family word list as your resource to write about your own family.

Complete Family Word List

Words to Describe Women Words to Describe Men Words to Describe Children
adoptive mother adoptive father children
aunt bachelor child
birth mother bridegroom cousin
daughter brother descendant
daughter-in-law brother-in-law firstborn
bachelorette brotherhood first cousin
bride dad first cousin once removed
ex-wife fraternal twin foster child
fiancee grampa grandchild
foster mother gramps grandchildren
granddaughter grandfather identical twin
grandma grandpa infancy
grandmother great-grandfather infant
granny great-grandson juvenile
great-aunt great-uncle kin
great-granddaughter groom minor
great-grandmother grandson natal
half-sister half-brother offspring
heiress heir orphan
ma husband quadruplets
maternal nephew quints
mama Mr. quads
Miss papa second cousin
matriarch pa quintuplets
mom paternal stepchild
mommy patriarch stepchildren
mother pop teenager
mother-in-law son toddler
Mrs. son-in-law triplets
Ms. stepbrother twins
nana stepdad youngster
niece stepfather youth
sister stepson  
sister-in-law twin brother  
Mrs. uncle  
Ms.    
nana    
niece    
sister    
sister-in-law    
Words to Describe Family Units Words to Describe Family History

Words to Describe Culture

adoptive family adoption heritage
blended family ancestor multi-racial family
blood relative clan bi-racial family
care-giver genealogy  
divorce hereditary  
extended family history  
family inherit  
family tree inheritance  
folks kinfolk  
foster parent kinship  
grandparent lineage  
great-grandparent maiden name  
in-law    
nuclear family    
parent    
partner    
senior    
sibling    
single-parent    
unit    
spouse    

unmarried parent

   

A Note About Names

complete list of word families

Many families have their own names to describe their family members.

Take, for example, father. This name alone could be transformed into Dad, dada, daddy, pops, papa, pa, or even Faja.

This name will vary from family-to-family, so you might not find the specific name you call your father on our list.

Another approach to family words is the cultural names for family members, specifically when it comes to talking about grandparents. Here is a concise list of different family words from different cultures:

Country of Origin Words for Grandfathers Words for Grandmothers
French Grand-pêre Grand-mère
Italian Nonno Nonna
German Opa Oma
Spanish Abuelo Abuela
Polish Dziadek Babcia
Greek Poppoús Giagiá (Yaya)
Portuguese Vovô Avó
Irish Seanathair Mhamó
Hungarian Nagypapa Nagymama
Swahili Babu Bibi
Danish Bedstefar Mormor
Japanese O jiichan O baachan
Russian Dedushka Babushka
Hawaiian Tutu Tutu
Korean Hal-abeoji Halmeoni
American Papa Nana
Creole Pawpaw Mawmaw
Filipino Lolo Lola

In addition to names associated with culture, you might also find that you use family words from your

. This is specifically clear with words describing parents, grandparents, and cousins.

family words list in english

Using Descriptive Words for Family

In addition to using different words to describe the people in your family, you will also find that you want to use words to describe your family’s personality.

These words will describe how loving, fun, and paint a picture.

Descriptive Words
brotherly helpmate nest sisterly
childhood home newlywed support
close-knit household nuptial tribe
connection kindred nurture trust
devoted love posterity trustworthy
faithful loyalty related value
flesh and blood marriage relations village
foster mate relative wed
friend matrimony separation wedding
grownup monogamy single wedlock

Conclusion

most common word families

Family words are a great way to talk about your family accurately. When you use the correct words, you can help your reader track and provide valuable insight into your family.

Here are a few things to remember about family words:

  • They are traditionally nouns and adjectives.
  • There are hundreds of words to describe your unique family.
  • Pay attention to the names that your family uses. This is often tied to your family history and culture.
  • Sometimes family names are a reflection of the region where you live.

What words do you use to describe your family? Let us know in the comments below!

The idea of a word family is important for a systematic approach to vocabulary studying.
A word family is a group of related words that are formed from the same word. 
A word family consists of a base word and its inflected forms and derivations.

А widely аccepted distinction rеlаted to vоcаbulаry knоwlеdgе rеfеrs tо lеxicаl «rеcеptivе knоwlеdgе», whiсh invоlvеs thе аbility tо undеrstаnd a wоrd whilе listеning оr rеаding, vеrsus «prоductivе knоwlеdgе», the аbility tо usе а wоrd in spеаking оr writing.
Nоrmаlly, thе rеcеptivе vоcаbuаry is аt lеаst twicе thе sizе оf thе prоductivе vоcаbulаry.
Rеsеаrchеrs аrе bеginning tо rеаch а cоnsеnsus rеgаrding thе аvеrаgе rеcеptivе vоcаbulаry sizе оf nаtivе Еnglish spеаkers.
Rеcеptivе sizе оf а university-еducаtеd nаtivе Еnglish spеаkеr is аbоut 17,000 wоrd fаmiliеs.
Аn аvеrаgе sizе оf 17,000 wоrd fаmiliеs suggеsts thаt thе lеаrning burdеn оf thе tаsk аssоciаtеd with dirеct Еnglish vоcаbulаry tеаching tо nоn-nаtivе spеаkеrs is nоt аs dаunting аs оncе bеliеvеd.
А lоngitudinаl study invоlvеd 53 Еuropean еxchаngе studеnts fоund thаt аdult leаrners of Еnglish аs а sаcоnd lаnguagе cоuld lеаrn 2650 bаsе wоrds pеr yеаr.

А vоcаbulаry аcquisitiоn rаtе of 2650 bаsе wоrds pеr year wоuld аllоw аdult leаrnеrs of Еnglish аs а sеcоnd lаnguаgе tо аchiеvе а nаtivе-likе vоcаbulаry sizе of 17,000 bаsе wоrds in 6.41 years.

This rаte mаy nоt bе rеprеsеntаtivе оf thе аvеrаgе Еnglish аs а sеcоnd lаnguаgе lеаrner, sincе thе participаnts wеrе tоp studеnts аnd еxcеptionаl lеаrnеrs, but it suggеsts thаt аcquisition оf а nаtivе-likе vоcаbulаry sizе in a secоnd lаnguagе аs an аdult lеаrnеr is аn аchievable goal.

Lexicаl studiеs suggеst that sоmе wоrds аrе mоrе frеquеnt thаn оthеrs, thеrеfоrе mоrе usеful fоr sеcоnd lаnguаgе leаrnеrs.
Thе 2000 mоst frеquеnt wоrd fаmilies оf Еnglish mаkе up 79.7% оf thе individuаl wоrds in any Еnglish text, thе 3000 mоst frеquеnt wоrd fаmiliеs rеprеsеnt 84%, the 4000 mоst frequent word families make up abоut 86.7%, and the 5000 mоst frеquеnt wоrd fаmilies cоver 88.6%.

Below is a list of more than 250 word families

1. Able 
Ability/ inability
Enable —
Unable 
Disable 
Disability 
Disablement 
Able-bodied 

2. Absence 
Absent
Absentminded 

3. To Absorb 
Absorbent 
Absorbing 
Absorbable

4. Access
Accessible 
Accessory 
Accession 

5. To Act 
Action 
Actually 
Active 
Acting

6. Air 
Airborne
Airplane 
Air alert 
Air bladder 
Air-condition 
Aircraft 
Air-dried 
Airfare 
Air gun 
Airily 
Airless 
Airtight 
Airy 

7. To Agree 
Agreement 
Agreeable
Agreeableness 
Agreeably
То Disagree 
Disagreement
Disagreeable 

8. To Alter 
Alternative 
Alternatively 
Alternate 
Alteration 

9. Аmple 
Ampleness
Amplifier 
Amplify 
Amplification
Amply

10. To Аnnounce 
Announcement 
To Pronounce 
To Renounce 
To Denounce 

11. Apt 
Aptitude 
Aptly 
Aptness 

12. Аrt
Artful 
Artist  
Artificial 
Artistry 
Articulate 
Artifact 

13. Back 

To be taken aback 

Backing 
Backbiting 
Back pay 
Backward 
Background 
Backup 
Backache 
Back and forth 
Backbencher 
Backyard 

14. Bank 
Bank account
Banker 
Banking 
Bankruptcy 
Bankable 

15 Тo Bare 
Barefooted  
Barely 
Bare-ass

 
16. Base 
Baseless 
Basement 
Basic 
Basis 
Baseline 
Baseball 
Based 

17. Bath 
To Bathe 
Bathroom 
Bathing suit 
Bather 
Bathhouse 
Bathtub 

18. Вed 
Bedclothes 
Bedroom 
Bedridden 
Bedspread 
Bed and breakfast 
Bedding 
Bedsore 
Bedtime 
Bed-wetting

 
19. Benefit 
Beneficial 
Benediction 
Benevolent 
Вenign 

20. Вirth 
Birth control 
Birthday
Birth rate 
Birthplace 
Birth certificate 
Birthing 
Birthmark 

21. Вlack 
Blackcurrant 
Blackout 
Blackmail 
Blackboard 
Blacksmith 

22. Вlood 
Blood pressure 
Bloodshed 
Blood poisoning 
Bloodbath 
Blood brotherhood 
Bloodless 
Blood-red 
Blood relative 
Bloody 

23. Вook  
Bookcase
Booking 
Bookkeeping 
То book 
Bookstall 
Bookworm 

24. Boy 
Boyfriend 
Boyish 
Boyhood 
Boyishness 
Boyishly

25. Вrain 
Brainless 
Brainy 
Brainwave 
Brainstorming 
Brainchild 
Brainpower 
Brainiac 
Brainwashing

 
26. Busy 
Busyness 
Busybody 
Busy bee 
Business 
Businessman 

27. Вroad 
Broadcast 
Broaden  
Broadly 
Broadly speaking 
Broad-minded 
Broadsheet 

28. То Capture  
Capture 
Captivity  
Captivate 
Captive
Captivating 

29. То Care 
Care 
Career 
Careful 
Careless  
Carelessness 
Cared-for 
Careerism

 
30. Сatch 
Catch up  
Catching  
Catchy 
Catch-phrase 
Catch a glimpse 

31. Сent 
Per cent 
Centimetre 
Century  
Centigrade 
Centenary 
Center 
Centralise 
Central 
Egocentric 

32. То Change 
Changeable 
Changeability 
Changeful 
Changeableness 
Changeless 

33. Сlass 
Classical  
Classic 
Classification 
Classify 

34. Сlose  
To close
Closed 
Close down  
Closeness 
Closet 
Close at hand 
Close call 
Closed-minded 

35. Сome 
Income 
Incoming 
Outcome 
To Overcome 
Oncoming 

36. To Сompete  
Competition  
Competitive 
Competitor 
Competent 
Incompetent 
Competence 
Competently 

37.То comprehend 
Comprehension
Comprehensive 
Apprehensive 
Apprehension

 
38.То consider 
Considerable  
Considerate  
Consideration  
Inconsiderable 
Considerateness 

39. То consist 
Consistent 
Consistency 
To Insist 
Insistent  
Insistence 
To Resist
Resistance

 
40. To Сontinue 
Continuation  
Continued 
Continual  
Continually  
Continuous

 
41. Сontrast  
Contrary 
Contrastive 
To Contradict 
Contradictory 
Contradiction  
Contravene 
Contradiction in terms 

42. To Сonvert
Convertible  
Divert 
Extrovert 
Introvert 

43. To Count 
Countable noun 
Account 
Accountant 
Accountable 
Counter
Counteract 
Counterattack 
Counterclaim 
Counterclockwise 
Counterfeit 
Countless 

44. Country 
Country house 
Countryside 

45. Court 
Courtesy 
Courteous
Courtesan 
Courthouse 
Courtier 
Court of justice 
Courtyard 

46. Credit 
Creditor 
Creditable 
Creditably 
Creditworthy 
Credulous 

47. Critic 
Critical 
Critically  
Criticality 
Criticism 
Criticize 

48. Cross 
Crossroad 
Crossword 
Cross-banded 
Crossbar 
Crossover 

49. To Cut 
Cutback 
Cutlery 
Cutter 
Cutting 
Cut-and-dry 
Cut down 
Cut in 
Cut short 

50. Day 
Daydream 
Daylight 
Daily 
Daybreak 

51. Dead 
Deadlock 
Deadline 
Deaden
Dead-end 
Deadly 

52. Deceit 
Deceitful 
Deceitfulness 
To Deceive 
Deception 
Deceptive 

53. То Decide 
Decision 
Decidedly
Decisive 
Decided 

54. То Defend 
Defendant 
Defender 
Defence
Defenceless 
Defensive 

55. То Define 
Defined 
Definable  
Definite article 
Definition 
Definitive 

56. То Depend 
Dependent 
Dependant 
Dependable 
Dependability 
Dependably
Dependence
Dependant on 

57. То Descend 
Descendant 
Descending 
Descent 
Ascent 

58. Design 
Designate 
Designation 
Designer 

59. To Dictate 
Dictator 
Dictatorship 

60. To Differ 
Different 
Difference 
То Differentiate 
Differently

61. Dignity 
To Dignify 
Dignifying 

62. Direct 
Direction 
Director 
Directive 
Directed 
Directly 
Directorship 

63. Diverse 
Diversely 
Diversion 
Diversity 
To Diversify 

64. To Divide 
Dividend 
Divider 
Division 
Divisible 

65. То Doubt
Doubtful 
Doubtless 
Doubtfully 
Undoubted
Undoubtedly 

66. Down 
Download 
Downcast 
Downhearted 
Down in the mouth 
Downright 
Downshift 
Downside 
Downstairs 
Downstream 
Down-to-earth 
Downtown 

67. То Draw 
Drawn 
Drawer
Chest of Drawer 
Draw a line 
Draw away 
То draw back 
Drawback 
То withdraw  
Withdrawal 

68. Dress 
Dress up 
Dresser 
Dressing 

Dressing-down 
Dressy 

69. During  
Durable 
Durability 
Duration 
Endure 
Enduring 
Enduringness

70. Dust 
Dusty 
Dustbin 
Duster 
Dustpan 
Dustiness 

71. Ear  
Earlobe 
Earphone 
Earring 
Earshot 
Earache 
Eardrum 
Earmark 

72. Earth 
Earthen 
Earthly  
Earthquake 
Unearthly 
Earthshaking 
Earthman 
Earthy 

73. Ease  
Easily  
Easy  
Easy-going 
Uneasiness 
Easement 
Ease off 

74. Economy 
Economic  
Economically 
Economical  
Economize 
Economics 

75. Edge 
Edgeways 
Edging 
Edgy 
Edged-tool 
Edged 
Edgewise 

76. Effect 
Effective 
Effectively  
To effect 
Effectual 
Effectually
Effectuate 

77. То emerge 
Emergency 
Emergent 
Merge 
Merger 
Submerge 
Submergence 

78. То engage 
Engaged 
Engagement  
Engagement ring 
Engaging 
To Disengage 

79. Engine 
Engineer 
To engineer 
Engineering 
Engine-driver 

80. Equal 
Equality 
Equally 
Equal sign 
To Equalize 
Equilibrium 
Equalisation 

81. То err 
Erratic 
Erroneous 
Erroneously 
Error 
Inerrancy 
Erroneousness 

82. Exam  
Exam paper 
Example 
Examination 
Medical examination  
То examine 
Examiner 
Examinee 

83. То excite 
Excited 
Excitedly  
Excitement 
Exciting 

84. То excel 
Excellence 
Excellency 
Excellent 
Excellently 
То excel at 

85. То exclaim 
Exclamation 
Exclamation mark 
Claim 
To Proclaim 
Proclaimed 
To Acclaim 
Acclamation 

86. То exclude  
Excluding
Exclusion 
Exclusive  
Exclusively 

87. То exceed 
Exceedingly 
Exceedance 
Proceed  
Proceeding  
Procedure 

88. То exist  
Existence 
Existential 
Existing 
Existentionalism 

89. То expand 
Expanse 
Expansion 
Expansionist  
Expansive 

90. То expend 
Expending 
Expense 
Expensive 
Expenditure 
Expendable 
Expensively 

91. То extend 
Extended family 
Extension 
Extent 

92. To extort 
Extortion 
Extortionate
Extortionist 
Extortionately 
Torture 
To torture 
Torturesome 
Torture chamber

93. Eye  
Eyebrow 
Eyesore 
Eye-catching  
Eyesight 
Eye-witness 
Eyeball 

94. False 
Falsetto 
False alarm 
Falsehood 
False start 
Falsify 
Falsity 
Falsely
Falseness 
False witness 

95. Family 
Familial  
Familiar 
Familiarity 
Familiarize 
Family tree 

96. Far 
Farewell 
Far cry 
Far fetched 
Far-flung 
Afar  
Faraway 
Farther  
Far-reaching 

97. Favour 
To favour 
Favourable 
Favourite  
Favouritism 
Favourably 

98. Fear 
To fear  
Fearful 
Fearless 
Fearsome 
Fearlessness 

99. Faith 
Faithful 
Faithfully 
Yours faithfully 
Faith cure 
Faithlessness 

100. То fill 
Fill in 
Fill out 
Filling 
Filling station 

101. То feel  
Feel like doing
Feeling 
Feeler 
Unfeeling 
Feelings 
Feel for 
Feelingly 
Feel like a million dollars 
To Feel out 

102. Final 
Final 
Finale 
Finalist
Finalize 
Finally 
Final stage 
Finality

 
103. Fire 
To fire 
Fire engine 
Fire extinguisher  
Fireplace  
Firework 
Fire alarm 
Firearm 
Fireball 
Firefighter 
Fire code 
Fire-eater 

104. Firm 
Infirm 
Infirmity 
Infirmary 
Firmness 
To Affirm 
Affirmative 
Affirmation 

105. First 
First aid 
First-class 
First name 
First night 
Firsthand 
Firstly 
First and last 
First cousin 

106. Fish  
To fish
Fisherman 
Fishing 
Fishing rod 
Fishhook  
Fishy 
Fish and chips 
Fish bowl 
Fishmonger 

107. Fit 
Fit  
Fitness 
Fitful 
Fitter 
Fitting 
Fit in 
Fittingly 

108. Finite 
Infinite 
Infinitesimal 
Infinitive  
Infinity  
Infiniteness 

109. Flame 
To Flame up 
Inflame 
Inflamed  
Inflammable 
Inflammation 

110. To Fold 
Fold up 
Folder  
Folding 
Unfold 
Foldable 
Foldout 

111. То follow 
То follow up 
Follower 
Following 
Follow-up 
Follow out

112. Fool 
Foolish 
Foolishly 
Foolishness  
Foolproof 
Foolhardy 
Foolhardiness

 
113. Foot 
Football  
Footing  
Footnote 
Footpath 
Footwear 
Footage 
Foot brake 
Footer 
Footloose 
Footmark 
Footpad 
Footprint 

114. Force 
Forceless
Force majeure 
Forced landing 
To force 
Forced 
Forceful  
Enforce 
Forceps 

115. Form
Formal 
Formality 
Format 
Formation 
To Formulate 
Formidable
Formalisation 
Formless 
Formulaic 

116. Free 
To free  
Freedom 
Free enterprise
Freely 
Freestyle 
Freelance 
Freeholder 
Free-range 

117. Fresh 
Freshness 
Freshen  
Freshen up 
Fresher 
Freshman 
Freshwater 
Fresh-cut 

118. Fright 
Frighten 
Frightened
Frightening 
Frightful 
Frightfully 
Frighteningly 
Frightfulness 
Frighten off 

119. Front 
In front of  
Frontal
Frontier 
Front line 
Frontage 
Frontbencher 
Front yard 

120. Fruit 
Fruitful 
Fruitfully 
Fruition 
Fruitless 
Fruity 
Fruitage 
Fruitcake 
Fruiterer 

121. Full  
To Fulfil 

Fullness 
Full stop 
Full time 
Fully 
Full-blooded 
Full-face

 
122. General 
General 
General election 
Generalize  
Generalized 
Generally 

123. Gold 
Golden 
Goldfish  
Gold plated 
Goldmine 
Golden age 
Golden-brown 

124. Good 
Goods 
Good-looking 
Goodness 
Goodbye 
Goodwill 
Good-for-naught 
Good guy 
Good-hearted 
Good-tempered 
Goody 
Goody-goody

 
125. Grade 
Gradation 
Gradual 

Gradually 
Graduate 
Postgraduate 
Grader 
Grade-appropriate 

126. Grave 
Gravely 
Graveness 
Gravity 
Gravitation 
Aggravate 
Aggravator 

127. Great 
Greatness 
Great grandfather 
Greatly 
A great deal 
Greathearted 
Greatness 

128. Green 
The green 
The Greens 
Greenery 
Greengrocer’s  
Greenhouse 
Greenhouse gas 
Greenhorn 
Greenback 
Green-blind 
Green-eyed 
Green-eyed monster 
Green fingers 

129. Ground 
To ground 
Ground floor  
Grounding  
Groundless 
Ground water 
Groundbreaking

130. Guide
To guide
Guidebook 
Guiding 
Guidance 
Guideline 
Guide dog 

131. Habit 
Habitable 
Habitation 
Habitual  
То inhabit 
Inhabitant 
Habitant 
Habituate
Habitude 
Habitat 

132. Hair  
Haircut 
Hairdo
Hairdresser 
Hairy 
Hairbrush 
Hair care 
Hair dryer 
Hairgrip 
Hairiness 
Hairpiece 
Hairpin
Hair-raiser 
Hairsbreadth 
Hair style 

133. Half 
Half-price  
Half-time 
Halfway 
Half-hearted 
Half-life 
Half-baked 
Half-term 

134. Hand  
Hand over  
Handcuffs  
Handful 
Handle  
Handshake 
Handy 
Handsome 
Handkerchief 
Handbag 
Handicap 
Handicapped person 
Handiness 
Handwash 
Handyman 
Handmade 

135. Hang  
Hang out 
Hanger 
Hanging 
Hangover 
Hang-up 
Hangdog 
Hanger-on 

136. Happy 
Happily  
Happiness  
Unhappy  
Mishap 
Happy-go-lucky 
Happy hour

 
137. Hard  
Hardness  
Harden 
Hardly 
Hardship 
Hardware 
Hard-and-fast 
Hardback 
Hard cheese 
Hard-core 
Hardfisted 
Hardheaded 

138. Head 
To head  
Headache 
Headgear 
Heading 
Headlines 
Heady 
Head and shoulders above 
Headband 
Headboard 
Headless 
Headlight 
Headmaster 
Headphone 
Headstand 
Head teacher 

139. Heal 
Healer 
Health  
Healthy  
Healthily 
Healthcare 
Healthfulness 
Health profession 

140. Heart  
Heart attack 
Heartbeat 
Hearten  
Heartbreaking 
Heartfelt 
Heart and soul 
Heartbreak 
Heartburn 
Heartening 
Heartiness 
Heartless 
Heartsease 
Heart-shaped 
Heartsick 
Heart-to-heart 
Heartwarming 
Hearty 

141. Heir  
Heiress 
Heirloom 
Inherit  
Inheritance 
Inheritor 
Heritage 
Heir-at-law 
Inheritance tax 

142. High 
High-heeled 
High-spirited  
Highly 
High school 
Highway 
Highlight 
High and low 
High blood pressure 
Highbrow 
Highflyer 
High-minded 
High school 
Highway Code 

143. To Hold 
Hold out 
Holder  
Holding 
Hold-up 

Hold-down 

Holdfast 
Holdout 
Holdover 
Hold tight 

144. Home 

Homely 
Homebody 
Homeland 
Homeless 
Homelike 
Homemade 
Homeowner 
Homepage 

145. Horse  
Horseback 
Horseman  
Horsemanship 
Horse-radish 
Horsepower 
Horseshoe 
Horse chestnut 
Horselaugh

 
146. House  
Housing 
Housewife  
Household 
Housework 
Housekeeping 
Housebound 
Housewarming 

147. To Hunt  
Hunting 
Hunt down 
Hunter  
Huntsman 
Hunting dog 

148. Ice 
Iceberg  
Ice-cold 
Ice hockey 
Ice-skating  
Icicle 
Icy 
Ice cream 
Ice cube 

149. Ill  
Ill-advised 
Illness  
Ill-being 
Ill-fated  
Ill-treat 
Ill at ease 
Ill health 
Ill-natured 

150. Image  
Imagine 
Imaginative 
Imagination  
Imaginary

 
151. Import  
To import 
Important 
Importance 
Importer 
Importune 
Important-looking 
Importunate 

152. Incident 
Incidence 
Coincidence  
Coincident 
Incidental  
Incidentally 

153. Initial 
Initially  
Initiate 

Initiative 
Initials 
Initialise 

154. To Inspect 
Inspection 
Inspector  
Expect 
Unexpectedly 
Expectation 
Expectancy 
Expectant

155. To judge 
Judge 
Judgement 
Judicious 
Judge’s robe 

156. Just 
Justice 
Justify 
Justifiable 
Justificatory 
Just in time 
Justness 
Just the ticket 

157. То lead 
Leader  
Leadership 
Leading 
Mislead 
Misleading 

158. Liberal 
Liberalize
Liberalization 
Liberate 
Liberation 
Liberty 
Liberal arts 
Liberally 
Liberalness

 
159. Life  
Life expectancy 
Lifeless  
Lifestyle 
Lifetime 
То live 
Lively 
Life-and-death 
Lifeboat 
Life jacket 
Lifelong 
Livelihood 
Liver 
Liveable 
Liven 
Livestock 

160. Light 
To light  
Lighten (up)  
Lighter 
Lighting 
Lightning 
Lighthearted 
Light beer 
Lightheaded 
Lighthouse 
Light-minded 

161. Like  
Likely  
Likelihood  
Likeness 
Likewise 
Likeable 
Likeliness 
Like-minded 

162. Line 
Line up 
Linear  
Linear equation 
Liner 

163. Literate  
Literacy 
Literal 
Literally  
Illiterate 
Literature 

164. Locate 
Local 
Locally  
Locality 
Location 
Locater 
Locale 
Local anaesthesia 
Localisation 
Localise 
Local time 

165. Lock 
To lock  
Lock up 
Locker 
Lockup 
Lockbox 
Lockdown

 
166. Long 
No longer 
Longevity 
Long-lasting 
Long-sighted 
Long sightedness 
Long-term 
Longitude 
Longing 
Long ago 
Longed-for 
Long-haired 
Long haul 
Long sleeve 

167. То look 
Look after smb  
Look forward to smth 
Looker-on 
Lookout 
Looking-glass 
Look up 
Look-alike 
Look down on 

168. To love 
Love  
Lovely  
Lover 
Loving 
Love affair 
Loveable 
Loveliness 

169. Low 
Lowlands 
Lowly 
To lower 
Low-paid 
Lowbrow 
Lowliness 

170. Make 
Make 
Make out 
Make up 
Maker  
Making 
Makeover 
Make up one’s mind 

171. Manage 
Manageable 
Management  
Manager  
Managerial 
Manageability 

172. Man  
Manhandle 
Manhole  
Mankind 
Manly 
Manned 
Man-about-town 
Manfully 
Manhood 

173. Master 
To master 
Headmaster 
Masterful  
Masterpiece  
Mastery 
Master class 
Master’s degree 

174. To mean 
Means 
Mean 
Meaning 
Meaningful 
Meandering 
Meaningless 
Meanness 
Mean time 
Meanwhile 
Meanie 

175. Medic 
Medical 
Medication  
Medicine  
Medicinal 
Medical care 

176. Memory 
Memorize 
Memorial 
Memorable 
Commemorative 
Memory loss 
Memory stick 

177. Mend 
Mendacity 
Mending 
Amends 
Amendment 
Recommend 

178. Motor 
Motorbike 
Motion 
Motionless 
Motional 
Motorboat 
Motorist
Motor memory 
Motorway 

179. To Mount 
Mountain 
Mountaineer 
Mountaineering 
Mountainous 
Mountain sickness 

180. То move 
Move 
Movable 
Movement 
Movie  
Moving 
Moveable 
Move back and forth 

181. Nature
Natural  
Naturalist 
Naturally 
Natural resources 
Natural selection 
Natural ability
Naturalize 

182. Note 
То note  
Notable 
Noted 
Notebook 
Noteworthy 
Notecase
Notepad 

183. То occupy 
Occupation 
Occupant 
Occupier  
Preoccupy 
Occupational therapy 
Preoccupation 

184. Offence  
Offend 
Offender 
Offending 
Offensive 
Offensively 
Offensiveness

185. To open  
Open 
Opening 
Openly 
Opening hours 
Openness 
Open-minded 
Open-air
Open-and-shut 
Open-ended 
Open-handed 
Openhearted 
Open house 
Openness 

186. То pack 
Package  
Packaging 
Packet  
Packing case 
Pack animal 

187. Part
To part  
Partially 
Participant 
Parting 
Particular 
Partial 
Participate 
Partake 
Participatory 
Participle 
Particularise 
Partly 
Partnership 

188. То pass  
Pass away 
Pass 
Passage 
Passer-by 
Passenger 
Password 
Passable 

189. Passion
Passive 
Passionate 
Passively 

190. Perfect 
Perfect tense 
Perfectly  
Perfection 
Perfectionist 

191. То permit 
Permit  
Permission 
Permissible 

192. Person 
Personage 
Personal 
Personally 
Personify 
Personnel 
Personification 
Personality 
Persona 
Personable 
Personal appeal 
Personality 
Personhood 
Person-to-person 

193. То pity 
Take pity on smb 
Pitiable  
Pitiful 
Pitiless 
Pityingly 

194. To play  
Play 
Playboy  
Playfully 
Playmate 
Player 
Playwright 
Play a joke on 
Play along 
Play a trick on 
Playback 
Playfellow 
Playground 

195. Please 
Pleased  
Pleasing 
Pleasure  
Pleasurable 
Pleasant 
Pleaser 
Pleasantly 
Pleasantness 

196. Point 
Тo point  
Point-blank 
Pointer 
Pointless 
Pointlessly 
Point of view 
Pointed 
Pointedly 

197. Practical  
Practice 
Practicality 
Practically 
Practise 
Practicable 
Practiced

198. Present 
Тo present 
Presentation 
Presently 
Presentable 
Present-day 

199. Private 
Privacy 
Privation 
То privatize  
Privatization 
Privately 
Privateness 

200. Produce 
Producer 
Induce 
Induced 
Inducement 
Reduce 
Reducer 
Introduce 
Introduction 
Conduce 
Conducive 

201. To Prove 
Proven  
To Improve 
Improvement 
Improved 
To Approve 
Approver 
Approved 

202. To Protect 
Protection 
Protective 
Protectorate 
Protectively 

203. To Provide 
Provided 
Providing 
Providence
Provident 
Provider 

204. Public  
Publication  
Publicity  
Publicise 
Publicaly 
Publican 
Public library 
Public relations 
Public servant

205. Pure
Purity 
Purify 
Puritan
Purely 
Purebred 
Pureblood 
Pureness 

206. Quality 
Qualitative 
Qualify 
Qualification 
Qualified 

207. Question 
To question 

Questionable 
Question mark 
Questionnaire 
Questioning 
Questioningly 
Question sheet 
Question time 

208. Real  
Realism  
Realist 
Reality 
Realize 
Really 
Real estate 
Realisation 
Realistically 

209. To Receive 
Receiver 
Receipt 
Reception 
Receptionist 
Reception desk

210. Regular 
Regularly 
Regularity 
Regulate 
Regulation 
Regularize 

211. To Relate  
Related 
Relatedness 
Related to
Relation 
Relationship
Relative 
Relatively 
Relative-in-law 

212. To Require 
Requirement 
Inquire 
Inquirer

 
213. To Respond 
Respondent 
Response  
Responsibility 
Responsible 
Responsive 
Responsiveness 
Responsible for

 
214. Safe 
To Save  
Safety 
Safeguard 
Savings 
Safely 
Safe and sound 
Safeness 
Saver 

215. Sane 
Insane 
Insanity  
Insanely 
Sanity  
Sanely 
Sanitary 

216. Secret 
Secrecy 
Secretary
Secretive 
Secretariat 
To Secrete 
Secretion 
Secretaire 
Secretiveness 

217. To Sell 
Sell out  
Sell off 
Seller  
Best-seller 
Sale  
Salesman 
Sellable 

218. Sense 
To sense
Sensation  
Senseless  
Sensitive 
Sensitively 
Sensual 
Sensualist 
Sensuality 
Sensuousness 
Senselessness 

219. Sequel 
Sequence 
Consequence 
Consequent 
Consequently 

220. То Serve 
Server 
Service 
Serving 
Deserve 
Deservedly 

221. Set 
To set 
Set off / set out 
Setback 
Settee  
Outset 
Settle 
Settle on 
Settlement 
Setting 
Settler
Set forth 
Set up

 
222. Ship  
To ship 
Shipping 
Shipwreck 
Shipyard 
Shipment 
Shipbuilding 

223. Short 
Shorts  
Shortage 
Shorten 
Shortcoming 
Short-cut 
Shortsighted 
Shortsightedness 
Shortbread 
Shortcake 
Short-haired 
Shortlist 
Shortly 
Short-staffed 
Short-tempered 

224. Sick  
Sicken 
Sickening 
Sickness 
Sickly 
Sickbed 
Sickish
Sick joke 
Sick leave 

225. Side 
Sideboard  
Sideline  
Sidelong 
Sidestep 
Siding 
Sidekick 
Sidewalk
Sideburns 
Side by side
Side dish 
Side effect 
Sidelight 

226. Sign  
To sign 
Signal 
Signature  
Significant 
Signify 
Signage 
Signaller 
Signalisation 
Signboard 
Signifier 
Sign in 
Sign language 
Sign of the zodiac 
Signpost 

227. Simple 
Simple-minded 
Simplify 
Simplicity 
Simplification 
Simpleton 
Simpleness 
Simplex 

228. To sleep 
Sleep
Sleeper  
Sleepless  
Sleepy  
Sleeping pill 
Sleep around 
Sleep in 
Sleeping bag 
Sleep over 
Sleepwalker 
Sleepy-eyed 

229. To slip  
Slip  
Slippers 
Slippery 
Slipshod 
Slippage 
Slip away 
Slipperiness 
Slip road 

230. То show 
Show 
Show off
Show business 
Showcase 
Showdown 
Showman 
Showpiece
Showroom 

231. Soft  
Soften  
Software  
Softhearted  
Softly 
Soft-cover book 
Softheaded 

232. Solicit  
Solicitor  
Solicitous
Solicitude 
Soliciting 
Solicitation 
Solicitously 

233. Sight  
Sighted 
Sightseeing 
Sightseer 
Far-sighted 
Sighting 
Sightedness 
Sightless 

234. Sport 
To sport 
Sporting 
Sportsman 
Sportswoman 
Sportsmanship 
Sportive 
Sport car 
Sporting chance 
Sportiveness 
Sportswear 
Sporty 

235. To Stand  
Standing 
Standpoint  
Stand-offish 
Understand 
Understanding 
Understandability 
Stand-alone 
Standard 
Stand by 
Standee 
Standoff 
Outstanding 

236. To Stop 
Stop 
Stopover 
Stoppage 
Stopwatch 
Stopgap 
Stopover 
Stopple 

237. Straight  
Straight away 
Straighten 
Straightforward 
Straighten out 
Straight and narrow 

238. To Strain  
Strain 
Strained 
Constrain  
Restrain 
Restraint 
Restrained 
Restrainer 
Constraint 
Constrained 

239. Success 
Successful  
Succession 
Successive 
Successor 
Succeed 
Successiveness 

240. Sun 
Sunny 
Sunrise  
Sunset  
Sunbathe 
Sundry 
Sunbeam 
Sun-dried 
Sunflower 
Sunglasses 

241. Super 
Superior 
Supernatural 
Supersonic
Superstar 
Superficial 
Superfluous 
Supercilious 
Supervise 
Supervision

 
242. To suspect 
Suspect 
Suspicion 
Suspicious
Suspected 

243. Tact 
Tactful 
Tactless 
Tactlessness
Tactic 
Tactical 
Tactile 
Tactically 
Tactually 
Tactile sensation 
Tactician

244. Tense 
Tension  
Tensionless 
Intensive 
Intensively 
Intensive care 
intensiveness 

245. To Think 
Thinker 
Thinking 
Thought  
Thoughtless 
Think tank 
Thinkable 
Think back
Think out 
Think over 
Think the world of 
Think twice

246. Time 
To time 
Timeless 
Timely 
Timer 
Timetable 
Time frame 
Time and again 
Timed 
Time-honored 
Time interval 
Time lag 
Time machine 
Time out 

247. To turn 
Turn 
Turning 
Turner 
Turnery 
Turnover 
Turnkey 
Turnaround 
Turn a blind eye 
Turn around 
Turning point 
Turn a profit/ a loss 
Turn one’s stomach 
Turnout 
Turn thumbs down

 
248. Unit 
Unity 
To Unify 
Unitary 
United 
Unitise 

249. То use  
Use 
Usage 
Useful 
Useless 
Uselessness 
Usefulness 
User 
Used 
Usable 
Used-car 

250. Water  
To water 
Watercolour
Watery  
Waterworks 
Watershed 
Waterfall 
water-based paint 
Waterbird 
Waterless 
Waterproof 
Water-resistant 
Watery-eyed 

251. Way 
Wayward
Waylay 
Wayfarer 
Way of life 
Way-out 
Ways and means 

252. Work 
To work 
Worker 
Working 
Workman 
Workmanship 
Workshop 
Workforce 
Workable 
Workaday 
Workaholic 
Workbook 
Workfellow 
Working-class
Working day 
Work of art 
Works 

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