Teaching CVC Words and Word Families: A Simple Way to Start Reading

CVC words are short words made of a consonant, a vowel and a consonant, such as cat, pig and sun. They are often the first words children read on their own, because every letter makes its usual sound and the words are easy to sound out.

Start with letter sounds

Before reading words, a child should know the sounds of most consonants and a few short vowels. Practice the sounds for a few minutes a day. You do not need to teach the whole alphabet first. Five or six letters that build many words, such as a, t, p, s, n and i, are a good start.

Teach one word family at a time

A word family is a group of words that share an ending, such as cat, bat, hat and mat. Children learn the ending once and change only the first letter. This makes reading feel easy, which builds confidence. Start with a family such as -at or -an and stay with it until your child reads the words quickly.

Sound it out, then blend

Say each sound slowly, such as c, a, t, and then blend them into cat. Point to each letter as you say its sound. If your child gets stuck, say the first two sounds for them and let them add the last one.

Add tracing and writing

Tracing a word helps a child notice each letter. A fill-in-the-letter row, such as __ at, builds attention to the first sound. Writing a word from memory shows whether it has really been learned. Keep each page short.

Make it a game

• Bingo. Call a word and have players cover it on their card.
• Sorting. Cut word cards apart and sort them under -at, -an and -ap.
• Memory. Turn cards face down and find pairs of the same word.
• Rhyme time. Say a word and have your child say another that rhymes.

Keep sessions short and happy

Five to ten minutes a day is plenty. Stop when your child is still enjoying it. If a family feels hard, go back to a simpler one and try again later. Celebrate every word read, even a slow one.

Move on when ready

When your child reads a family quickly, add a new one. After several families, mix words from different families to check that they are reading each word, not guessing from the ending.

Children learn to read at different speeds. If you have concerns, talk with your child’s teacher.

Printable word family games

Our CVC Word Family Reading Games include 18 word family pages, bingo, sort mats and memory cards. Try some pages with the free CVC sample.

You can also browse every free sample on the Free Printables page, or see all digital downloads.