Fun with the -at Word Family

15 FREE Resources Exploring the “-at Word Family”

The cat is fat. Matt is a bat. Teaching short /a/ specifically the -at family, is a logical beginning point when students are learning phonics. The letter /a/ is after all the first letter in the alphabet. This blog post contains some pretty good free resources that your children might enjoy as you plan your -at word family lessons.

“Phonics is the relationship between sounds and the spelling of the words.” You can read more in the simple article from Scholastic.

The resources include mostly CVC (consonant vowel consonant – as in C-A-T) pertaining to short /a/ sound and the -at word family. These FREE resources are suggestions you might want to add to your lesson plans. Included in this post are online books, videos and free printables. Enjoy!

Online Books

Outside of phonics readers, it can be challenging to find books that are specific for the -at word family. For older students, you can add books like “The Gingerbread Man” or “Green Eggs and Ham” and have students look for the short /a/ words as you read. The following online books I chose because they are introductory to the learning process and the -at word family.

The Fat Cat Sat on a Mat

“The fat cat sat on the mat. “Get off!” said the rat. But the fat cat just sat. Will the rat get the fat cat off the mat? This funny, phonetic Level One I Can Read is perfect for kids learning to sound out words and sentences.” – Excerpt Amazon

Pat the Cat

This book was published in 1995 and is out of print. However, the link here will suggest used copies should you decided to bring it into your classroom or home library. It truly is a wonderful resource for introducing -at word family to students.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat

This is a fun book to read to children around Halloween.

There Was an Old Lady Who Had a Fat Cat

Online Videos

There are thousands of short /a/ learning videos on YouTube. Here are some of my top picks for sharing with young learners. And these resources are related to the -at word family.

Cat on the Mat

This first video is an interactive video where the story is told three times, and the last time young learners do their best to read the words. This would be good for repetition.

The Cat Sat on the Mat – Alphablocks

This is “Alphablocks” created by the BBC for children. It is a cute catchy song and excellent learning video for teaching the -at family. The video for “The Cat Sat on the Mat” ends at about five minutes, yet the video is longer and explores other word families.

Word Family -at Phonics Song – Jack Hartmann

“Learn about the at word family. Word families are groups of words that have a common pattern. Word families, sometimes called phonograms or chunks, can help emergent readers by providing predictable patterns within words. Sing along with this at word family song.The first time through we give the beginning sound and the at word family ending sound. The second time through we give a chance for independent practice of the at word family.” – Excerpt Jack Hartmann

Learn How to Read -at Rhyming Words – SandZ Academy

“Learn how to read Bat, Cat, Fat, Hat, Mat, Pat, Rat, Sat, Vat with this fun song!! Great for 2-5 year olds!” – Excerpt SandZ Academy

Word Families 1 “The Cat Sat” – Little Fox Stories and Songs for English Learners

“Word Families 1: The Cat Sat Learn some words that end with “-at”! Word Families help kids to learn ʺfamiliesʺ of words that appear frequently in English. It introduces a new word family, with a simple, easy-to-read story!” – Excerpt Little Fox Stories

Starfall -at Word Family (sample) – PFamily Channel

Finally, there are many wonderful learning applications for young learners. Starfall is one of the tried and true when incomes to safe and expedient learning. Kids love it as it’s fun for them to play as they learn. This video is a small sample of one of the exercises pertaining to the -at family. Some of the app is free, however to access the entire application Starfall does charge a monthly fee.

Printable Resources

The last few resources are from some of my peers at Teacher Pay Teacher. Even if you are not a traditional classroom teacher, any caregiver can download free and/or purchase these teachers created resources from the TpT website.

CVC Puzzle Center Featuring Short /a/ – STEMHAX

Check out this FREE sample from the “Rhyme & Couplet” packet from STEMHAX. This download includes seven rhyme pair puzzle cards and a recording sheet. Included in this freebie are some pairs from the -at family. Simply, download, print, laminate and cutout for an easy center, also great for the early finishers, too.

Short a CVC Board Game – Games 4 Learning

“This Short a CVC Board Game from Games 4 Learning can be a game for 2 players or can be used for teacher directed activities. It includes the game board and 4 activity cards that suggest different games and activities for the game board. The board provides practice at blending onset and rime in short a CVC words. It is ideal for reading intervention or phonics intervention. This phonics game can be printed on card stock or it can be projected onto your smart board.” – Excerpt Games 4 Learning

Short a CVC Clip Cards – The Chocolate Teacher

“These clip cards offer a perfect opportunity for your students to practice reading short a CVC words. There are a total of 24 cards with short a words. All the cards have a picture and 3 words underneath it. The words for each card start with the same initial & medial sounds- only the final sound is different. This will encourage your students to read through a word to determine which one is correct.” -Excerpt The Chocolate Teacher

cvc Writing of the Week – From the Pond

“This resource will help you sequence a whole week of reading and writing for your WORD FAMILY lessons! Print the pages and make each of your students their own mini writing book for the week. This book has a focus on the “at” word family. The ‘at’ words are all in cvc formation.” – Excerpt From the Pond

Word Family Sliders – Make Take Teach

The last resource us from Make Take and Teach. “You’ll receive 18 colorful word family sliders when you print this activity! Ideal for small group instruction when teaching your students identify “chunks” in words.” – Excerpt Make Take Teach

If you like these free resources please consider following these teacher creators. They are always developing new and cool things, for you and I, to share with young learners.

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