Word Family House Building

Large paper or poster board

Markers or crayons

A pencil for writing words

Draw a simple house on paper. Write "-at" on the roof.

Ask: "What words live in the -at house? They all end in -at."

Start: "Cat lives here! C-A-T!" Write CAT inside the house.

Prompt: "What if we put H in front of -at?" "HAT!"

Fill the house: cat, hat, bat, mat, sat, rat, fat, pat.

Draw a second house: "-ig" roof. Fill: big, pig, dig, wig.

Third house: "-op." Fill: hop, mop, top, pop, stop.

Read through each family. Show how one letter change makes a new word.

Word families are one of the most effective early reading tools because they teach pattern recognition. Once a child knows "-at," they can read cat, hat, bat, mat, and sat — five words from learning just one pattern.

The house metaphor makes the abstract concept concrete and visual. Words that sound alike live together. It makes perfect sense to a 5-year-old brain.

Let your child write the words inside the house, even if the letters are wobbly. The act of writing reinforces the sound-letter connection.

Hang the word family houses on the wall or fridge. Kids will point to them and read the words spontaneously, which is exactly the practice they need.

Start with three families (-at, -ig, -op). Add new houses over time: -an, -en, -ot, -ug, -in.