The -ain Family
The first sound changes. The family stays the same! Read each word, then write it.
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This is sheet #21824601.
How to do it
- Read the big word at the top.
- Change the first sound to read each new word.
- Write each word on the line.
Teaching tip
Say the ending first: "-ain." Then add the first sound and blend: r...ain, rain. This sheet is aligned with Common Core RF.1.3b.
About this worksheet
Words that end in -ain, like rain, train, main. The first sound changes, the -ain stays the same. New words every time.
What kids practice
A word family is a group of words that share the same ending, like cat, hat and flat. The shared part (-at) is called the rime. Once a child can read the rime, they can read dozens of words by changing just the first sound. These pages work like a word family flip book, without the cutting and stapling. Reading by word family is one of the fastest ways to build phonics skills.
Watch for
- Reading the whole word letter by letter instead of seeing the family chunk. Cover the first sound and read the family, then uncover it.
- Mixing up families that look alike, like -ack and -ick. Point to the vowel and say its sound.
- Forgetting the silent e changes the vowel. In -ake, the a says its name.
It's free to print, with an answer key. See the full word family flip pages phonics guide for 1st grade.
More sheets in this set
- See it all
1. All the Word FamiliesAll 39 first-grade word families on one page, with four words each. 
2. The -at FamilyWords that end in -at, like cat, hat, bat. The first sound changes, the -at stays the same. New words every time.
3. The -an FamilyWords that end in -an, like fan, van, pan. The first sound changes, the -an stays the same. New words every time.
4. The -ap FamilyWords that end in -ap, like cap, map, tap. The first sound changes, the -ap stays the same. New words every time.
5. The -ack FamilyWords that end in -ack, like back, pack, sack. The first sound changes, the -ack stays the same. New words every time.
6. The -ash FamilyWords that end in -ash, like cash, dash, mash. The first sound changes, the -ash stays the same. New words every time.
7. The -ank FamilyWords that end in -ank, like bank, tank, sank. The first sound changes, the -ank stays the same. New words every time.
8. The -et FamilyWords that end in -et, like net, bet, get. The first sound changes, the -et stays the same. New words every time.
9. The -en FamilyWords that end in -en, like hen, den, men. The first sound changes, the -en stays the same. New words every time.
10. The -ed FamilyWords that end in -ed, like bed, fed, led. The first sound changes, the -ed stays the same. New words every time.
11. The -ell FamilyWords that end in -ell, like shell, bell, cell. The first sound changes, the -ell stays the same. New words every time.
12. The -est FamilyWords that end in -est, like vest, best, nest. The first sound changes, the -est stays the same. New words every time.
13. The -it FamilyWords that end in -it, like bit, fit, hit. The first sound changes, the -it stays the same. New words every time.
14. The -in FamilyWords that end in -in, like fin, pin, bin. The first sound changes, the -in stays the same. New words every time.
15. The -ip FamilyWords that end in -ip, like ship, dip, hip. The first sound changes, the -ip stays the same. New words every time.
16. The -ig FamilyWords that end in -ig, like pig, big, dig. The first sound changes, the -ig stays the same. New words every time.
17. The -ick FamilyWords that end in -ick, like chick, kick, lick. The first sound changes, the -ick stays the same. New words every time.
18. The -ill FamilyWords that end in -ill, like hill, bill, fill. The first sound changes, the -ill stays the same. New words every time.
19. The -ing FamilyWords that end in -ing, like king, ring, sing. The first sound changes, the -ing stays the same. New words every time.
20. The -ink FamilyWords that end in -ink, like pink, link, mink. The first sound changes, the -ink stays the same. New words every time.
21. The -ot FamilyWords that end in -ot, like pot, cot, dot. The first sound changes, the -ot stays the same. New words every time.
22. The -op FamilyWords that end in -op, like mop, cop, hop. The first sound changes, the -op stays the same. New words every time.
23. The -ock FamilyWords that end in -ock, like lock, rock, sock. The first sound changes, the -ock stays the same. New words every time.
24. The -ug FamilyWords that end in -ug, like bug, mug, dug. The first sound changes, the -ug stays the same. New words every time.
25. The -un FamilyWords that end in -un, like sun, bun, fun. The first sound changes, the -un stays the same. New words every time.
26. The -uck FamilyWords that end in -uck, like duck, truck, luck. The first sound changes, the -uck stays the same. New words every time.
27. The -ump FamilyWords that end in -ump, like bump, dump, hump. The first sound changes, the -ump stays the same. New words every time.
28. The -unk FamilyWords that end in -unk, like bunk, dunk, junk. The first sound changes, the -unk stays the same. New words every time.
29. The -ake FamilyWords that end in -ake, like cake, snake, bake. The first sound changes, the -ake stays the same. New words every time.
30. The -ate FamilyWords that end in -ate, like gate, date, late. The first sound changes, the -ate stays the same. New words every time.
31. The -ame FamilyWords that end in -ame, like game, came, name. The first sound changes, the -ame stays the same. New words every time.
32. The -ale FamilyWords that end in -ale, like whale, bale, male. The first sound changes, the -ale stays the same. New words every time.
33. The -ice FamilyWords that end in -ice, like dice, mice, nice. The first sound changes, the -ice stays the same. New words every time.
34. The -ide FamilyWords that end in -ide, like slide, hide, ride. The first sound changes, the -ide stays the same. New words every time.
35. The -ine FamilyWords that end in -ine, like vine, dine, fine. The first sound changes, the -ine stays the same. New words every time.
36. The -oke FamilyWords that end in -oke, like joke, poke, woke. The first sound changes, the -oke stays the same. New words every time.
37. The -ay FamilyWords that end in -ay, like hay, tray, day. The first sound changes, the -ay stays the same. New words every time.
39. The -eat FamilyWords that end in -eat, like beat, heat, meat. The first sound changes, the -eat stays the same. New words every time.
40. The -all FamilyWords that end in -all, like ball, call, fall. The first sound changes, the -all stays the same. New words every time.