Free printable word families phonics worksheets. Four practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, and rapid naming chart.
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.
Pat the Cat
Skill: Word Families • Sight Words: the, is, a, and, to, was, it, on, his, in
Coloring page included in PDF
Pat the cat sat on a mat. He had to nap. His pal, Dan, sat on the mat too. It was hot. Dan got a big fan. The fan was not for Pat — it was for a hot pan on the mat. Zip! Zap! The fan was fast. It got Pat’s hat! Pat was mad. “That is my hat!” said Pat. He ran to get his hat. Dan got the cat. “You can nap on my lap,” said Dan. Pat sat on his lap. The fan did not get him. Pat had a good nap.
Circle all the -at words in red, all the -an words in blue, and all the -ap words in green. How many of each did you find?
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
Generated in your browser
3 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
Generated in your browser
4 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
fan
rat
cap
man
rat
rat
man
cat
cat
cap
fan
fan
cap
cat
cat
man
Target words: cat, man, cap, rat, fan
Generated in your browser
5 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
W
U
M
H
F
X
G
L
L
O
I
W
C
C
N
V
F
G
V
B
I
Y
A
M
N
D
D
H
A
T
S
R
N
K
M
A
T
M
N
V
H
A
F
A
N
L
K
P
A
G
L
T
F
S
R
S
Q
B
A
N
C
R
A
N
C
A
K
R
A
N
Q
A
T
U
G
T
F
Q
Z
T
R
H
T
M
N
N
X
R
S
N
C
B
T
K
B
U
D
N
X
Z
BATCANCATFANHATMANMATPANRANRATSATVAN
Generated in your browser
📖 Decodable Readers for Word Families
Next step: once your child can sound out these words, have them read a matching decodable mini-book. Each Word Families reader is a printable story + coloring page using only sounds they've learned.
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.
