Using Word Families to Read Unfamiliar Words
As proficient readers come to unfamiliar words, they use cues to help decipher the word. First, we think: “What would make sense?” Then we think: “What would sound right (grammatically)?” At the same time, we are thinking: “What looks right?” Using the beginning sound or sounds and the word family (known as a chunk or phonogram), we quickly decode the 1-syllable words. To practice decoding fluently, have your students learn the most common word families. If they can read these 36 word families quickly, they will be able to read over 500 other words. Not only that, but students can use their knowledge of word families to spell over 500 words. In spelling, we simply change the question to: “Does this word sound like a word I know?” Proficient spellers use word families to spell by analogy.
Use the word family cards to make words using the consonants and consonant blend cards. You can also time your students’ fluency in reading these 36 word families. A good benchmark for reading all 36 word families fluently is 36 seconds or less.
Happy teaching,
Kelly Harmon