• 1st Grade
  • Reading & Phonics
  • About 10 minutes

Read It, Circle It

Read the word. Circle the picture that matches.

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This is sheet #16024601.

How to do it

  1. Read the word in the box.
  2. Look at the three pictures.
  3. Circle the picture that matches.

Teaching tip

The pictures often share the same vowel, so your child has to read every letter. This sheet is aligned with Common Core RF.1.3b.

Read It, Circle It worksheet for 1st grade phonics (short-vowel word families), free printable
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About this worksheet

Eight short-vowel words, each with three pictures that look alike or sound alike.

What kids practice

A word family is a group of words that share the same ending chunk, like cat, hat and sat (the -at family). Once kids can read one word in a family, they can read the rest by changing the first sound. Short-vowel families (-at, -ig, -op, -ug, -en and more) are the first big step from sounding out letter by letter to reading chunks. Word families are a core part of first grade phonics.

Watch for

  • Guessing from the first letter (seeing c and saying cup for cat). Ask them to look at the whole word.
  • Mixing up short e and short i, like reading pen as pin.
  • Reading the chunk but forgetting the first sound. Have them slide a finger under the whole word.

It's free to print, with Fewer, Standard or More on the page and an answer key. See the full short-vowel word families phonics guide for 1st grade.

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