• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Member Login

The Measured Mom

Education resources for parents and teachers

  • Alphabet
  • Reading
    • Structured literacy
    • Printable Books
    • Pre-Reading
    • Phonics
    • Sight Words
    • Comprehension
    • Fluency
    • Vocabulary
  • Writing
    • Grammar
    • Handwriting
    • Spelling
    • Writing in Pre-K
    • Writing Workshop in K-3
  • Math
    • Counting
    • Number Recognition
    • Addition & Subtraction
    • Colors, Shapes & Patterns
    • Visual Discrimination
    • Time, Money & Measurement
    • Place Value
    • Graphs
    • Multiplication & Division
    • Fractions
    • Problem Solving
  • Book Lists
    • Letter of the Week
    • Early Childhood Themes
    • Pre-Reading Skills
    • Math Concepts
    • Writing Mentor Texts
    • Versions of Familiar Tales
    • Holidays and Seasonal
    • History
    • Leveled Book Lists
  • Join Membership
Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • Alphabet
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Book Lists
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Membership
  • Contact

PSPKK123August 22, 2013 •  19 Comments

5 free word family activities for short a

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

 

Looking for word family activities? The Measured Mom has five free printables for short a - perfect for preschool through first grade.

Did I just call these fabulous? I guess I did.  That’s not very humble of me.  But I did work really hard at them – and they’ve been great learning tools for my son.

Plus, they’re free.  That alone makes them fabulous, right? 🙂

You can use these in a classroom as learning centers – or make a learning center right at your kitchen table.

I’m going to share them in order from easiest to most challenging.

UPDATE: These activities give reading practice with analytic phonics instruction. Analytic phonics is when you use known words or word parts (such as word families) as analogies for figuring out words. Many children do very well with analytic phonics instruction. However, as I learn more about the science of reading, I now prefer to start with synthetic phonics instruction. You can learn more about that in this video blog post.  

 

Short a word family activities

1) Word Family Houses.

Looking for word family activities? The Measured Mom has five free printables for short a - perfect for preschool through first grade.

You’ll find 8 word family houses that can be printed on cardstock, cut apart, laminated, and easily assembled.  Kids will love how quickly they can zip through this learning activity.  Get them by visiting this post.

2) Read ‘n Stick Mats

Looking for word family activities? The Measured Mom has five free printables for short a - perfect for preschool through first grade.These take a little time to assemble, but I think it’s so worth it.  You’ll find eight picture mats along with eight word cards for each word family.  Print, laminate, and attach velcro dots so your student can read the word and match it to the picture.  Some of the words are a bit unfamiliar, so it’s a great vocabulary builder too!  I’ve heard from several readers who found these especially helpful for children with special needs.  My Four will do a stack of these pages without complaint.  Get them by visiting this post.

3. Milk Cap Spelling Mats

Looking for word family activities? The Measured Mom has five free printables for short a - perfect for preschool through first grade. I love how these versatile mats turned out!  They’re two-sided when you print front to back.  One one side your child can simply match the milk cap letters to the letters. On the reverse, he can guess the spelling — then slide down the letters and flip over the mat to check his work.  Bottle cap letter mats are included too (with smaller circles).  Bonus: you can make milk cap letters just like mine — with a free pattern you can get here.  For the spelling mats, visit this post.

4. Word Family Flower Garden File Folder Game 

Looking for word family activities? The Measured Mom has five free printables for short a - perfect for preschool through first grade.

I admit it: assembling this one is a bit tedious.  But it’s worth it! Your students will be able to compare words from all the different word families as they read each circle one by one and match it to the correct flower.  Read more about it and get the printable here.

5. Word Family Uno 

Looking for word family activities? The Measured Mom has five free printables for short a - perfect for preschool through first grade.

When I first created this game a few months ago, it was too challenging for my four-year-old. But now that he’s reading short a word family words with much more ease, he asks to play it!  You’ll need at least two students to play this game together.  Get the printable in this post.

I hope you’ve found some learning centers you can use in your classroom or at home!  

You’ll love our word family mats and games!

Short Vowel Word Family Mats & Games

$10.00

This is a set of 35 printable short vowel word family picture mats with corresponding word cards. The mats come in three different versions – full color with a border, color without a border, and black and white. Each mat also comes with a worksheet and two games.

Buy Now

Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: first grade, kindergarten, short a, word families

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

Printable leveled book list R-controlled vowel words game 10 Car games to get your child ready to read
Choose a tiny topic: a simple writing lesson
Getting to know The Measured Mom

Reader Interactions

19 Comments

  1. Heather M

    January 18, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    This game is amazing I have been struggling to find some way to get my son to enjoy letters/words as much as he loves the magic of numbers. He was very reluctant to play but we ended up play 10 family games. I can not say thank you enough for this resource!

    Reply to this comment
    • Heather Groth, Customer Support

      January 19, 2021 at 9:46 pm

      That is wonderful to hear, Heather! We are so glad that this resource was helpful for your son!!

      Reply to this comment
  2. Emily Pratt

    May 6, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    thank you! there’s many worksheets and boring straightforward lessons out there; it is harder to find interactive fun activities when beginning to teach the vowel sounds and other reading concepts, so your page here is a welcome relief for those of us like myself who want to continue using hands-on multisensory approaches even with the more formal concepts like beginning reading.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      May 8, 2015 at 8:19 pm

      Yay! I’m always so happy to hear from readers who aren’t looking for worksheet packs. 🙂 You’re right that there’s no shortage of those… it’s a challenge to come up with creative approaches to basic reading concepts, but it’s a fun challenge – and all the more so when others can benefit too. Thanks so much for your comment, Emily!

      Reply to this comment
  3. Sarah Stout

    September 1, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    Thank you so much for the great products. These are going to be so helpful to me as I am a sixth year teacher, but this is my first year in first grade. Thank you so much! They are awesome!! My school website is not complete yet. I started it when I was teaching second grade and I have not had a chance to go in and change things around. Sorry for the inconvenience. Your products are amazing!! Thanks so much!!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      September 6, 2014 at 9:30 am

      You’re very welcome, Sarah! I hope you keep finding things you can use here – I have lots for first grade! It was fun to get to know you a bit on your web page. Mexican is my favorite too 🙂 Have a wonderful school year!

      Reply to this comment
  4. Heidi Butkus

    September 9, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    WOW! You are amazing and very generous! I can’t wait to share these with my followers, too!
    Thanks a million!
    Heidi Butkus

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      September 9, 2013 at 12:50 pm

      Wow, THE Heidi of Heidi Songs? My daughter came home singing so many of your little songs from kindergarten last year. She loved them! Thanks SO much for sharing, Heidi!

      Reply to this comment
      • Heidi Butkus

        September 9, 2013 at 1:11 pm

        Yes, “the” Heidi of HeidiSongs. 🙂
        Oh, wow, I’m amazed that you have heard of HeidiSongs! And glad, too! I have just spent the last half an hour pouring over your blog. And pinning, pinning, pinning as much stuff as I could find time to pin. I am absolutely amazed at how many very creative and high quality materials you are offering here free of charge! You rock!
        I can’t believe that you only have as many Pinterest followers as you do. I’m going to be letting everyone know about YOU!!!!!
        🙂
        Congratulations on a FABULOUS blog! I really love your philosophy on learning through movement, and your activities are top notch. Well done!
        Heidi

        Reply to this comment
        • Anna Geiger

          September 9, 2013 at 1:15 pm

          You caught me at quiet time – I am normally not so prompt in my replies to comments. 🙂 I first heard of you because my sister taught kindergarten in California, and she was telling me about when she heard you speak. Then I asked my daughter’s teacher where she was getting all those fun songs, and she mentioned you again. I have only been blogging since January, and I have not really figured out how to get more Pinterest followers. I’d love to work more at that, but as I have four little ones (6,5,3,1 – and one coming in January) I just have to pick and choose what I focus on! Unfortunately, social media takes something of a back seat.

          I do love that this blog keeps me accountable so that I do more with my own kids – so I can share it! Thanks SO much for telling people about me, Heidi – that helps me so much when respected teachers like you can give me a good word 🙂 Have a great day!

          Reply to this comment
          • Heidi Butkus

            September 9, 2013 at 1:19 pm

            You bet! It is my pleasure to pass along word about hidden gems like this one! I just posted your blog post on five free short a activities on a Pinterest board that has about 25K followers! So maybe your traffic here will increase. 🙂 That one is a collaborative board that I contribute too. My own boards have about 13K followers at the moment, but it has taken a while to get there.
            If you would like to try out some of my products at home and do a blog review, let me know and I will send you out a few free of charge.
            🙂
            Heidi

            Reply to this comment
  5. Jackie Higgins

    August 31, 2013 at 6:46 am

    I love the milk cap game. All of these are great hands on word work activities. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 31, 2013 at 5:24 pm

      Thanks so much for checking it out, Jackie!

      Reply to this comment
  6. Caroline

    August 24, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    Good gracious. This is awesome. I saw most of these activities on your individual posts, but I missed the word family UNO game! I really want to try the Word Family flower garden game with my fella, too. He might able to begin that activity now.

    Thanks for putting these resources all in one post, Anna! It really does help make it convenient.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 28, 2013 at 6:26 am

      Hi Caroline, I’m glad rounding them up was useful for you! It was nice because it kind of gave me a free day 🙂 I’m glad to finally have been doing this long enough to be able to write a round-up!

      Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Top Reading Activities for Elementary Learners - This Reading Mama says:
    December 22, 2013 at 5:48 am

    […] The Measured Mom shares some amazing free printables for teaching reading. I love her hands-on approach to teaching short a word family words. Go ahead and get you a BIG cup of coffee/tea and enjoy her site. You’ll be there a while. […]

    Reply to this comment
  2. Free Homeschool Curriculum & Resources — Love Me Some Coupons says:
    September 7, 2013 at 5:47 pm

    […] 5 free word family activities for short “a” at The Measured […]

    Reply to this comment
  3. Free Homeschool Curriculum & Resources | Money Saving Mom® says:
    September 6, 2013 at 4:50 pm

    […] 5 free word family activities for short “a” at The Measured […]

    Reply to this comment
  4. 5 Free Word Family Activities for Short A | Free Homeschool Deals © says:
    September 3, 2013 at 4:21 am

    […] 5 free word family activities for short “a” at The Measured […]

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS Preschool (ages 2-3 years)
  • PK Pre-K (ages 4-5 years)
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 1st grade
  • 2 2nd grade
  • 3 3rd grade

Teach your child a foreign language in just 5 minutes a day!

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Hello, I’m Anna!

Welcome to The Measured Mom. I’m so glad you’re here!

Meet Our Team

Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!

Shop these popular reading resources!

Editable Reading Games for Every Season – MEGA PACK!

$24.00

Phonics Books & Games – Complete Set

$49.00

Reading response sheets & Early chapter book lists

$18.00

Shop All Resources

Members get more!

The Measured Mom Plus is the perfect online membership for Pre-K to third grade educators.

Learn More

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Join our online courses and get the tools you need to teach every learner in K-2!

Confidently teach every reader in your classroom. Still have time to live your life.

Learn More

Get everything you need to teach writing well, including over 200 ready-to-use lessons.

Learn More

Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher

Check out these recent podcast episodes:

  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Lindsay Kemeny
  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Heidi Jane
  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Christina Winter
More Episodes

Check out these FREE email courses...

Get strategies and tools to teach a particular topic with a free 5-day email series! Just click an image to sign up. We recommend signing up for just one at a time.

For Pre-K Educators

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

Learn my must-follow tips for teaching the alphabet in this free 5-day email series!

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

Learn how to develop this important pre-reading skill with a free 5-day email series!

How to teach preschool math

How to teach preschool math

Learn exactly what to teach your preschoolers in this free 5-day series!

For Kinder & 1st Grade Educators

How to teach kids to sound out words

How to teach kids to sound out words

Learn my top strategies for teaching kids to "sound it out"

How to teach sight words

How to teach sight words

Get strategies and tools for teaching sight words to young learners!

Tips for teaching phonics

Tips for teaching phonics

Sign up for our free 5-day email series to learn what phonics skills to teach and how to structure your phonics lessons!

For 2nd & 3rd Grade Educators

How to build reading fluency

How to build reading fluency

Learn smart strategies for helping your learners become fluent readers with this free 5-day series!

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

Learn the most important writing skills to teach to 2nd & 3rd graders in this free 5-day series!

How to build reading comprehension

How to build reading comprehension

Discover the essential reading comprehension strategies for 2nd & 3rd grade and how to teach them!

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:33

Copyright © 2022 The Measured Mom •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy & Disclosure Statement  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs