I was shopping for new office furniture for me yesterday when I saw these document stands. I knew I had to do something with them. I’d seen them used in preschool over on teachpreschool.org and my daughter used them like that today. Then I decided to adapt them for my big guy. We’ve been reading a lot all summer long but haven’t been doing too many targeted learning activities. I thought this would be a fun way to add a little bit of novelty to a classic word family activity . Using these document stands means that you only need a a few printables for many kids. You can write the word families they are working on , fill out a few words yourself if they need prompts or nothing at all. It’s completely customizable! He did 4 today and I will be whipping it out again later this week for a little more practice!
If word families are new for you this is a great explanation of what word families are and a wonderful list of the most common ones used.
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Gather your materials. You will need the blank word family printable , a document stand ( affiliate link), some dry erase or window markers ( the finer the tip the better), and you might want a list of word families too. Trust me you know this but when it comes time to think of some a list is a great thing to fall back on.
Print out this image. Click on it and print.
Choose two word families for your child to fill the houses up with. I used “harder” ones because this is review for my guy who is going into 2nd grade. For beginners I would start with ONE family at a time. Word families are not just groups of rhyming words, children can usually identify rhymes much earlier than when they are ready for these activities. Word families are for noticing patterns in the written words and using those patterns for strengthening skills in reading and spelling.
Write the word family on the roof and examples if you want on the line.
Add your kiddo and let them go for it! My son actually said to me ” Oh wow I have to think like a student again!”
Wipe
Write different families out.
Fill again!
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Dad and Pop: An Ode to Fathers and Stepfathers by Kelly Bennett is a simple but powerful book about a little girl with two dads. One is her biological father and the other is her step father. She compares and contrasts them but in the end the fact remains they both love her. This book doesn’t go into custody agreements, how old the little girls was when she met her now stepfather, or why her parents divorced because that’s not what this book is about. This book is about bonds between a child and the men who love her. If your child isn’t familiar with families that include step parents this is a good book to explain them.
The Family Book by Todd Parr is a book that doesn’t give readers a narrow definition of family , it doesn’t say that your family has to look a certain way, or be the same as your neighbors. As a teacher I really appreciated the matter of fact way it embraced diversity. It makes mention of some families having two moms or two dads in the same vein as all the other similarities and differences. Kids see that families are not all like theirs and it’s important to validate the truth while recognizing that while families may not all look alike, all families are made with love. Great book , cute illustrations ,and children love it.
All the Way to America by Dan Yaccarino is a wonderful story about immigration and family tradition. My kids both liked the story of the Yaccariono family and how they came to settle in America from Italy. Throughout the story there is one little shovel that gets used for all different things generation after generation. It’s a great symbol for how family roots can stay strong even if how we express them changes. I liked being able to compare it to my own immigration to the United States and how different it was for me in 2003 vs the author’s great grandfather over a hundred years earlier. Good book to talk about how people came to the United States and why people move from country to country.