BellaOnline Forums Education Reading Word Families Challenge

Word families are those small words at the end of a word. By adding different letters to the beginnings of the words, a reader can make a whole new word. Word families start with a vowel and are followed by one or more consonants. They are an important part of early reading instruction. By using word families, emerging readers can quickly add many words to their sight word lists.

One word family is and. By adding the letter "b" to "and," I can make the word band. When I drop the "b," then add "l" to "and," the "and" the word is land. What if I put a "b" in front of "land?" It's the word bland! You get the picture.

Some of the common word families, in addition to and, are un,an,old,and ale. How many word families can you name?

Challenge yourself:
Give yourself 25 points for the word family.
Then, take 5 points for the first 5 words that you make in the family.
Count 10 points for each word after 5. Can you reach 100 points?
100 points=Word Master
150+ points=Word Wizard

Start working your magic!
Here's an example--and my first word family: ake (25)
bake, cake, fake, jake, lake (25)
make, rake, sake, take, wake, brake, flake, slake, stake, snake, awake (110)
25 +25+110 =160 1st degree Word Wizard-Add a degree every time you get to wizard.

Do you know any that I forgot? Can you take the challenge?

What fun!

Here are a few additions for you: drake, hake, shake, quake

and the archaic spake

I love that little almost rhyme! archaic-spake

Are there versions with a bonus for cousins-once-removed in the family? Like break, steak, sheik, ache, opaque.

Good question!

Mona, you are so creative! I love the rhymes, but since they aren't a part of the family, sadly, there are no points. However, words like uptake, and remake do get points because they end in the ake family name.

So I guess forsake, cupcake, mandrake and canebrake would work.

They are all A++ words!

Let's play just for fun! Can you guess my word family? Yes! It's un!

fun, bun, dun, gun, nun, pun, run, sun, spun, stun, rerun

If this wasn't just for fun, how many points have I won? 85!

Who can take this score and add to it??

shun, Hun, tun, overrun, outrun, homerun, homespun, shogun, shotgun (and I guess lots of other -guns)