The -at Hat: Word Family Game

What is a word family?

It’s a group of words that have a common sound (i.e. a group of rhyming words) like “at” or “in”.

Knowing how to see this pattern and decode it is one of the many skills your child will have to work on when learning to read.

Today, we’re going to break it down and start with the -at family with this fun word family game.

Practice your -at words with this fun word family game, The -AT Hat

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Grab your -at hat!

Um, -at hat, you say… what is that?

Well, it’s a hat full of words from the -at word family.

Practice your -at words with this fun word family game, The -AT Hat

Let’s start with the -at word family. What are some words that fit in?

Just start rhyming: at, bat, cat, sat, that, hat. Can you think of more?

Think of your own, or you can download and print this set of -at Word Family Cards.

Practice your -at words with this fun word family game, The -AT Hat

How to set up your word family game

Print out your word list, cut them out, then grab a hat. Why a hat? It rhymes, of course!

Fold up all the words and then put them into your hat.

You’re ready to play and there are so many fun variations of this game.

Practice your -at words with this fun word family game, The -AT Hat

Ways to play with your -at hat

The simplest way to play is to just add all your folded up words to your hat. Have your child a word out of the hat one at a time. Have them say the word and move on to another word.

Do they need to practice writing? Have them pick a word and then write it down on a sheet of paper.

Print out two copies of the -at word family. Leave one of the copies whole. Have your child draw a word, say it, and then match it to the uncut list.

Practice identifying -at family words. Print out cards for one or more additional word families. You can find other examples at this page of Reading and Writing Printable Resources. Mix all the cards together. Your child will need to pull one word at a time. Is the word part of the -at family? Add it to the hat. If it’s not, add it to a discard pile.

Add your own words to the hat. Provide scraps of paper or sticky notes. Have your child brainstorm and write down words from the -at word family to add to the hat.

How would you use the -at hat?

Practice your -at words with this fun word family game, The -AT Hat

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Practice your -at words with this fun word family game, The -AT Hat

Terri Thompson

Terri is a writer and mom of two elementary-aged girls. She has a passion for learning and is always looking for ways to make learning fun. You can find her here writing about fun learning activities, art, craft, and family fun ideas.