Teaching students to identify “chunks” in words is an important step in learning to read. Identifying these “chunks” helps to build fluency as the student will not have to stop and blend each individual sound. Word families are groups of words that share the same ending. For example, the words: can, Dan, fan, man, pan, ran, tan, and van all belong to the “-an” word family. Learning these “chunks” and patterns within words also helps students spell when writing words. Word Sliders and Word Wheels are helpful when introducing word families. Try this little freebie when teaching word families in your classroom.
To assemble the word family sliders you will need:
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6 8 1/2x 11 full sheet labels (Avery 48165)
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18 Glidden 3×5 paint sample cards (if you want to color coordinate your pictures, I listed the paint sample colors on the last page of the pdf)
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4 sheets of cardstock.
1. Print pages 1-6 of the attached pdf on the full sheet labels and pages 7-10 on cardstock.
Click HERE to download the pdf of the cards and letter strips
2. Cut word cards along the dotted line and cut out the letter strips
3. Peel the backing from the word cards and place over color coordinating paint sample.
4. With an Exacto knife, cut a line on the dotted lines on the cards.
5. Weave the corresponding letter strips though the slits. The colors of the strips should match the card and the word family is typed toward the bottom.
When you assemble this activity, you will have 18 Word Family Sliders to use during your small group intervention!
