Word Families: Reading Activities and Spelling Games

Students can benefit greatly from exposure to common word families within displayed word lists and interactive games. A lot of details about spelling patterns and rules can be absorbed incidently, by viewing them every day. Card and board games can provide repetitive and successful learning experiences with any word lists that students need to focus on. Learning groups of words that have similar letter patterns is a much more efficient strategy than learning individual words, and exposure to common letter strings or patterns, can be as simple as producing a set of Bingo boards and matching cards that can also be used for Memory, Snap or Go Fish.

Included in my collection, are sets of cards for many word lists, and these can be used with any of the generic Build a Board games as well. The blank templates can also be used with any set of word cards. Students write their own words (chosen from any of the card sets) onto the laminated boards, and play Bingo. Students then have the experience of writing, reading, saying and listening to the words during each game.

Whole Class Games:

These cards make a fun team game with explicit teaching about word families. (Great for when you have 5 or 10 minutes between activities, or as a useful introduction to a literacy lesson focusing on these word families.)

This is an enjoyable way to expose young learners to lots of different word families. As those who are less confident listen to their classmates calling words,they too will gain understandings and develop 'sounding out' skills that will help with both reading and spelling.

*20 cards are provided with the word families printed on one side. Each game has a list of suggested words to match, which need to then be handwritten on the back of each card (it's really tricky trying to get this to work on printers as the cards never match up). Instructions for how to play with a whole class are included.

Could Be: ag an ab ad am word families

Could Be: in ig id im ip word families
Free resource

Could Be: en em ed eg ep et

Could Be: um ub ug un up ud

Could Be: at et it ot ut

Could Be: ash amp ack all ass

Could Be: eck est ell end ess

Could Be: ick ish imp ift itch

Could Be: ock oss oop ool oon

Could Be: uff ush ull ump uck

Word Family Riddles

A whole class activity to introduce different word families each week. Add the word cards to your Word Wall after guessing the riddles.

Pond Word Families (at ate ap ape)

A game with cards and a shared board. Players say each word aloud and place it on the right spot according to the word family. The player who places the third card on a stack takes the cards.

The goal of this game is recognise the difference between the short 'a' sound in words like 'cap', and the long 'a' sound when there is an 'e' on the end like 'cape'.

Target Word Families (ake ade ame ace)

A game with cards and a shared board. Players say each word aloud and place it on the right spot according to the word family. The player who places the third card on a stack takes the cards.

Giraffe Word Families (ump unk ust usk)

A game with cards and a shared board. Players say each word aloud and place it on the right spot according to the word family. The player who places the third card on a stack takes the cards.

Word Families Game (ide ile ine)

A game with cards and a shared board. Players say each word aloud and place it on the right spot according to the word family. The player who places the third card on a stack takes the cards.

The goal of this game is to read 'bossy e' words (words where the e on the end makes the vowel in the middle have a long sound - in this case 'i' as in time).

Snowman Word Families (ing ang ung)

A game with cards and a shared board. Players say each word aloud and place it on the right spot according to the word family. The player who places the third card on a stack takes the cards.

The goal of this game is to read 'ing', 'ang' and 'ung' words.

Bowling Word Families (ee ea oa oo)
Free resource

A game with cards and a shared board. Players say each word aloud and place it on the right spot according to the word family. The player who places the third card on a stack takes the cards.

Happy Word Families Instructions For Play

Simple Rimes Happy Word Families an ap at in ip it op ot ug ub Play these games like the old card game: Happy Families. The goal is to make as many complete word families as you can. The lesson aim is to see and read lots of letters strings and identify them as word families to aid spelling and reading.

Set 1 Happy Word Families Free resource ing ick est ack ank ash ell ill ong ang The goal is to make as many complete word families as you can. The lesson aim is to see and read lots of letters strings and identify them as word families to aid spelling and reading.

Set 2 Happy Word Families ine ate ake ale ame unk ump uck ock ink The goal is to make as many complete word families as you can. The lesson aim is to see and read lots of letters strings and identify them as word families to aid spelling and reading.

Set 3 Happy Word Families ight eat ail ain ay aw ore oke ice ide The goal is to make as many complete word families as you can. The lesson aim is to see and read lots of letters strings and identify them as word families to aid spelling and reading.

Ghost! and Wipe Out!

(these are a very simple, fast games)

Card games with lots of repetition of the focus words.
Most sets have 36 words and 12 special cards. Players keep drawing cards and reading the words aloud until they draw a Ghost! or Wipe Out! card. Then play moves to the next player.

Slam Dunk!

(a fast game but with a few extra rules)

Card games with lots of repetition of the focus words.
Most sets have 30 words,10 special cards and 4 puzzle pieces.

Games with beginning letter blends:

Frog Blends Card Game
(beginning letter blends with easy to read words - all short vowels, some words with 'sh' and 'ck')

A card game with lots of repetition of the focus words.
There are 45 different words with beginning blends and 15 special instruction cards.

Dragon! (beginning blends with easy to read words - short vowels)

(a very simple, fast game)

Card games with lots of repetition of the focus words.
Most sets have 33 words and 8 special cards.

Blends Bingo (beginning blends with easy to read words - short vowels)

Four boards with 6 words on each.

Games with common diagraphs:

ch sh Bingo

Four boards with 6 simple to read words on each.

Sheep Card Game: ch sh th

9 words from each word family - ch, sh, th - and some special instruction cards.

tch - nch Bingo

Four boards with 6 simple to read words on each.

th Bingo

Four boards with 6 simple to read words on each.

External Links to
Online Activities and Games

Readquarium Games