3 Tips on How to Teach Word Families like a Pro with Easy-to-Use Reading Comprehension Passages in Primary Grades
Do you ever feel stuck when teaching a particular language arts or reading skill? I know math has always been my strength and teaching it feels easy to me. But teaching reading to my littles sometimes feels like a maze and I’m not sure how to start or where to end.
Good thing there is always someone there to help you and an amazing resource is never too far away! 😊
When teaching Word Families, it’s important to first assess your students’ prior knowledge and decoding skills. Once you have an idea of where they are in their reading level, you can then begin teaching CVC words and word families.
Here are 3 Tips on How to Teach Word Families like a Pro:
1. Make it FUN! 🎶
Sing songs, find the words in story read-alouds, dance or hop on each letter on the floor. Do fun activities your littles will enjoy and it will make learning word families so much more enjoyable.
2. Create references and visuals 📝
Make anchor charts and reference sheets students can keep in their interactive notebooks, homework folder and reading centers in class. You could also send them to parents via email or post on your class website for reference at home.
3. Use reading comprehension passages 📚
Passages are simple and easy-to-use. Give your littles crayons, highlighters or other fun manipulatives they can use to identify word families in the passages and practice writing them in their journals.
I am so excited to share a newly updated resource with you all! It is something Kindergarten ELA teachers need and it is so incredibly helpful when teaching reading to your students. It targets the main components of reading: phonemic awareness, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary and phonological awareness.
This is the Reading Comprehension Passages: Word Families unit.
This set will be part of a Reading Comprehension Phonemic Awareness BUNDLE that will be added soon to my TPT shop. This bundle will include:
Silent/Magic E
R-Controlled Vowels
Consonant Buddies
Double Consonants
Digraphs and
Diphthongs
Ok, let's get started! This unit has a total of 25 reading comprehension passages focused on word families.
It includes 20 different word families (as shown below) and 1 review assessment for each short vowel (a, e, i, o, u). This packet can be used to teach short vowel word families and reading comprehension in:
Whole group
Small groups (centers, DI)
Independent work
Distance Learning
It can also be used to reinforce concepts for homework. I recommend using this packet over a 5-week period when the students are learning to build their fluency with short vowel sounds.
You can make learning to read fun and exciting without the hassle of prepping any activities. These engaging NO PREP - PRINT & GO activities contain ELA skills that are aligned with CCSS. This unit contains a plethora of fun-to-read passages that can be split into 5 weeks or tailored to your students' learning pace!
Each section of this unit contains B/W options allowing easier printing at schools and coloring there or at home opportunities for students.
What's Included?
* How to Use This Product
* Scope & Sequence
* Photos in Action (as seen on this post)
* ELA Standards
* 25 reading comprehension passages
* TOU
Targeted Word Families:
* Week 1: -ag, -am, -ap, -at, Review
* Week 2: -ed, -eg, -en, -et, Review
* Week 3: -id, -ig, -in, -ip, Review
* Week 4: -ob, -og, -op, -ot, Review
* Week 5: -ub, -ug, -um, -un, Review
These activities are PERFECT for ELL, ESOL and/or ESE learners. This packet also includes differentiated levels of content in ELA so they can be used to differentiate instruction in small groups and/or homework. ANSWER KEYS are included!
I hope this post on teaching word families was helpful and that this unit creates a load of fun for your students! Want to try a sample? Grab your freebie HERE! 💖
Questions about this teaching word families? Please feel free to comment below or email me at chanty@chantymacias.com. Also, check out this post on teaching Vowel Teams.
Stay tuned for more reading comprehension guidance coming soon! 👏