Word Family Sort Worksheet (PDF)

A cut-free sorting activity: each page has a scrambled word bank and three family columns, so a child has to look at the end of each word to place it.

What’s inside

• Five pages, one per short vowel.
• Short A — sort bat, can, cap, chat, clan, clap, flat, hat, man, map, plan, snap into -at, -an, -ap.
• Short E — bed, bet, den, fed, hen, net, pen, pet, shed, sled, vet, when into -et, -en, -ed; Short I, O and U follow the same layout.

Every word in this PDF (54)

Handy for checking the list fits your child before printing, or for making your own games.

bat, can, cap, chat, clan, clap, flat, hat, man, bed, bet, den, fed, hen, net, pen, pet, shed, sled, vet, when, bin, bit, chip, dip, grin, knit, pin, sit, spit, chop, clog, cot, dog, frog, hop, hot, jog, plot, spot, stop, top, bug, bun, cub, hug, rub, rug, run, shrub, snug, stun, sun, tub

How to use it

1. Read the word bank together first.
2. Your child writes each word under its family column.
3. Read each column aloud — hearing the rhyme confirms the sort.
4. Some words use digraphs or blends (chat, sled); skip them if those haven't been taught yet.

Who it’s for

Ages 5–6, late Stage 3 into Stage 4.

Where it fits: Stage 3 — Blending & Segmenting (CVC Words)

Goes well with

• Word Families List: 23 Rime Families with 200+ CVC Words
• Onset and Rime: The Pre-Phonics Skill That Doubles Decoding Speed
• Word Family Sort game