Word Families

In the Classroom Spelling Program I have words, nonsense words, phrases, and sentences for students to practise their reading when they’re confident with the letters. I’ve separated the program out into three sections. The first section uses the first nine letters from the scope and sequence - a, m, s, o, c, i, n, e, h. The second section uses the first nine letters and - t, r, d, l, g, f, k, p, u. The third section uses the first eighteen letters and the remaining letters in the alphabet - w, b, v, j, x, z, y, q. I have included word lists from section two and section three of the program in this activity.

I have already introduced my students to rhyming and letter patterns before I do this activity. I use this as a warm up for younger students who need extra practise with reading, spelling, and rhyming.

They cut, glue, look for patterns in words, select the words they want to use, write new words following the same spelling pattern, and record the spelling pattern.

In this activity the students are developing their hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, concentration, independence, classification, reading, spelling, printing and following multi-step instructions.

I ask my student, to choose three words from the word list that rhyme, cut them out, stick them on the top of the page, then write three new words that follow the same spelling pattern, and record the pattern.

Students can make up nonsense words that rhyme, but they have to identify the alien words. Some of my students like to make up a meaning for their nonsense words.

If you have time you can supplement this lesson with reading a poem or a rhyming story. I like using the Brian P. Cleary books here because they’re short stories explaining a concept and they’re written in verse. They have lots of new vocabulary and really funny illustrations by Brian Gable. This is a fun way for your students to hear rhyming in action.