Free printable word families phonics worksheets. Six practice activities: decodable passage, picture words, word sort, phrasing cards, rapid naming chart, and word search.
Grade: KPhase 1: FoundationsPattern: CVC word families: -at, -an, -ap
catbathatmatsatratcanmanpanranfanvan
1 Decodable Reading Passage
A short, decodable story embedding word families words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.
Dan's Good Nap
Skill: Word Families • Sight Words: the, is, a, and, to, was, it, on, his, in
Illustrated mini-book
It was hot. Dan set up a fan. He ran to his red mat for a nap.
But Gus the fat pup sat on the mat.
"Get off, please," said Dan.
Gus did not get up. He sat on his lap!
To get Gus off, Dan got his cap to toss. Gus ran to get the cap.
Cut out the word cards and sort them into the correct columns: -at Family vs -an / -ap Family.
-at Family
-an / -ap Family
cat
bat
hat
mat
sat
rat
flat
brat
can
man
pan
ran
fan
van
cap
map
nap
tap
gap
lap
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4 Phrasing Practice Cards
Practice reading these phrases for fluency. Cut out the cards and read them quickly and smoothly.
the cat on the mat
a man and a van
a cap and a map
the rat sat
ran to the fan
a nap on his lap
tap the pan
the bat and the hat
zap the gap
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5 RAN Chart (Rapid Naming)
Read each word in the grid as quickly as you can. Time yourself and try to beat your best time!
Decodable RAN Chart — Word Families
cat
rat
fan
cap
man
cat
fan
man
rat
cat
cap
cat
man
fan
cap
rat
Target words: cat, man, cap, rat, fan
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6 Word Search
Find and circle the word families words hidden in the grid. Words go across, down, and diagonally — a fun way to reinforce word families word recognition.
Word Families Word Search
S
L
V
B
A
T
D
K
J
B
X
A
G
V
Y
M
H
H
X
D
D
P
T
A
R
A
N
H
A
H
J
A
C
N
Y
T
I
G
P
T
F
N
J
A
A
G
F
M
B
L
Q
A
W
J
T
P
K
C
Y
Q
R
E
N
T
S
E
L
A
B
Y
Q
V
N
M
O
R
E
N
L
V
Q
X
X
V
H
A
E
W
N
D
D
T
V
K
N
T
X
M
A
N
BATCANCATFANHATMANMATPANRANRATSATVAN
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📖 More Word Families Stories
A new decodable story with the same word families sounds — each comes with its own set of worksheets.
Word families like -at, -an, and -ap introduce kindergarteners to predictable spelling patterns, building foundational decoding skills. This early phase focuses on CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, where only the initial sound changes while the rime remains consistent. A common challenge arises with the short /a/ sound, as students might over-articulate it, saying "c-ah-t" instead of a quick, blended "cat." Differentiating between the similar-sounding /a/ in "fan" and "ran" versus the slightly more open /a/ in "tap" and "gap" can also be tricky for developing ears. Additionally, ensuring a clear distinction between /n/ and /p/ at the end of words like "pan" and "cap" requires careful modeling and practice, preventing mispronunciations or confusion.
To maximize learning with these word family worksheets, begin by reading the "Pat the Cat" decodable passage together, highlighting the target words as you encounter them. Use the word sort activity to visually group words like "cat," "hat," and "mat" under the -at family, reinforcing the consistent rime. The phrasing cards are excellent for building fluency; practice reading short phrases such as "a big van" or "tap the mat" to develop natural reading rhythm. Finally, implement the Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) chart, encouraging quick identification of words like "can," "man," "pan," and "map," helping students move from sounding out to automatic recognition, strengthening their sight word vocabulary within these families.
