Using word families, you will learn how to teach beginning reading using these free phonics resources and strategies. Find out what I did wrong and how I learned to teach beginning reading using word patterns.  Then you’ll access your free Word Family lessons and activities below.

How to teach beginning reading with word families. Free phonics and decoding resources. #wordfamilies #phonics #beginningreading #decoding #teacherkarma

 

Once upon a time, there was a teacher girl…

But this teacher was totally stuck!  She had tried just about everything to teach her first-grade students how to read unknown words.  And above all, she had a lesson observation scheduled with her principal… LIKE NEXT WEEK!!!

Secretly, she started doing a crazy amount of research.  This wasn’t easy either.  Believe it or not, this was before the birth of GOOGLE.

This teacher decided that no matter what, she HAD TO LEARN how to teach her newbie readers how to solve unknown words they encountered while reading.

Knowing about reading is not enough.

Knew about phonics?  CHECK

Had a specialization in reading?  CHECK

Worked for a super poor district that couldn’t afford new materials?  CHECK

Firstly, the odds were against her because not only were these students less than privileged, but English was their second language.  Her students needed a strategy that was simple and to the point.

Fast forward to about 4 days later… that awesome but crazy teacher girl stayed up for days and nights doing her research.

She pulled out her college textbooks on literacy, ESL resources and even made a trip to the public library.  Google wasn’t even a thing yet.

steps for teaching word families teacherkarma.com

Yes, I said it… LIBRARY!  Not GOOGLE, Library.

What happened?  What did I learn about word patterns?

By combining the best strategy components and getting rid of the ones we really didn’t need…

She discovered a SUPER SIMPLE STRATEGY for teaching students how to read unknown words by teaching word families.

Yes, teachers, there is a certain way that you teach word families.  Above all, it is soooo much easier and simpler than you thought.

I am super excited to share my FREE mini ebook.  When I say “mini,” I mean mini.  You will read the word families pdf super fast and just take off.

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You will be teaching students how to actively use word family knowledge to read unknown words.  Therefore, this is a strategy that every student needs to have in their reading toolbox.  Below is a simple outline for how to teach word families.

How do you teach word families?

  1. Start with one-syllable words (this is super important)
  2. Create a word family anchor chart
  3. Make new words with the pattern
  4. Engage your students with hands-on learning fun

Of course, this is just the bare bones.  In other words, you will get the meat when you read the free resource.

What resources do I need to start teaching word families?

  1. plastic letters
  2. anchor chart paper
  3. Mr. Sketch markers
  4. Tabletop magnetic dry erase board  (you can see my magnetic whiteboard in the photo above)

The educational resources above will help you prepare for the word family activities.

Word family books?

Later, in the instructions for getting started with teaching word families, you will read about using picture books to complement your word family mini-lessons.  I have been messaged by several teachers that want to know which are good books to use when teaching word families.

Teaching word families books:

The Cat in the Hat

Green Eggs and Ham

Hop on Pop

Fox in Socks

I see a nice little trend here.  Dr. Seuss is where it’s at!! You might as well shoot for the entire Dr. Seuss book collection!  There are so many more books, but that will have to be another blog post.

Next, you’ll have to do a tad bit of research.  You will want the book to match whatever word pattern – word family you are teaching.

In conclusion, when you download the FREE mini-ebook, there is also a link to an additional FREE word family product.

Teaching Word Families: 4 SUPER SIMPLE STEPS

Please leave a message below to tell me what you think.

Best wishes!

How to teach beginning reading with word families. Free phonics and decoding resources. #wordfamilies #phonics #beginningreading #decoding #teacherkarma

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Jen

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