Blending Sounds: Word Families works on the -at and -an families in two parts. First, kindergarten students blend an onset and a rime, such as c + at or v + an, and write the whole word beside a picture. Then the task flips. Students see a bat or a fan and fill in the missing chunk of the equation. It covers Common Core RF.K.2.c. All eight answers are in the key, from cat to the missing m in man.
RF.K.2.c
“Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.”
Part 1 blends onsets and rimes into cat, hat, pan, and van. Part 2 segments bat, fan, mat, and man back into onset and rime.
Four blends to write out: c + at, h + at, p + an, and v + an. A cat, a winter hat, a cooking pan, and a delivery van sit beside them.
Students look at a bat, a desk fan, a mat, and a man and fill the blank in puzzles like _____ + at = bat and f + _____ = fan.
Cat, hat, pan, and van for Part 1, then b, an, at, and m for Part 2.
Two-hand model
Hold c in one hand and at in the other, then bring your hands together for cat. Students copy the motion for the next three before they write.
Watch question 7
Mat splits into m + at, but students coming straight off fan often write an. Point out that the picture decides the rime.
Next-day review
Part 2 alone takes about five minutes. It works as a quick check the day after you teach onsets and rimes.
Get started today
