Free printable word families e phonics worksheets. Five practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, rapid naming chart, and word search.
A free illustrated mini-book for Word Families E, plus the same story as a passage sheet for highlighting.
A full-color picture book your student reads on their own. Skill: Word Families E. Print, cut and staple.
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Ben had ten hens. Ben led his hens to a pen. The hens got in the pen. But a big red hen did not. The red hen ran and ran.
“Get in the pen, Red!” said Ben. But the red hen was fast. Ben was sad.
Pip the pig had a net. “Let me get the hen,” said Pip. Pip ran with his net. Pip got the red hen in his net.
Ben set the red hen in the pen. Ben had his ten hens. “Pip is a big help!” said Ben.
The words this story set practices, in the two groups used by the word sort.
bet, get, jet, let, met, net, pet, set, vet, wet
ben, den, hen, ken, men, pen, ten, bed, fed, red
Short E words to read, match and write, with pictures. Each PDF has its answer key on page 2.
The sheets above are free. The pack is every sheet for short a, i, o, e and u in order, a review set and all the answer keys, ready to print.
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4 ready-to-print PDFs for this story's word families e words. Each one opens as its own file.
Cut-apart word cards to sort: -et / -en Family or -ed Family. Answer key on page 2.
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More picture worksheets: beginning sounds, ending sounds, rhyming and syllables — new pictures every time you print.
A new decodable story with the same word families e sounds — each comes with its own set of worksheets.
Learning word families with the short 'e' sound, specifically -et, -en, and -ed, marks an important step in foundational phonics for kindergarteners. This phase builds on earlier sound recognition, moving into blending three-letter CVC words. The short 'e' sound, as in 'bed' or 'jet,' can be particularly tricky because it’s a quick, subtle sound, often confused with short 'i' (as in 'sit') or even short 'a' (as in 'bat'). Children might mispronounce 'men' as 'min' or 'met' as 'mat,' demonstrating the need for precise auditory discrimination. Focusing on the consistent vowel sound within these families helps solidify the understanding that only the initial consonant changes, making decoding predictable and reinforcing the short 'e' sound's distinct quality. Our Printable Scholar worksheets provide targeted practice for these -et, -en, and -ed word families. Begin by reading the decodable passage "Pip Helps Dad Ben" together, emphasizing the target words like 'Ben,' 'hen,' 'red,' and 'bed.' Point out how the consistent middle and ending sounds make these words part of a family. Next, use the word sort activity to visually group words by their shared endings, helping children see the patterns in 'bet,' 'get,' and 'set.' Practice fluency with the phrasing cards, encouraging smooth reading of short phrases containing these CVC words. Finally, the Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) chart helps build quick recognition of 'ten,' 'pen,' and 'fed,' boosting both speed and accuracy for these essential short 'e' words.
For more early literacy resources, explore our sight word flashcards, tracing worksheets, handwriting worksheets, and coloring pages.
Printable Scholar