Rhyming Words & Word Families — Answer Key
Part A: Trace the Words
Trace each word carefully by following the dotted lines.
1. cat
2. hat
3. big
4. dig
5. bug
6. hug
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The word 'bat' rhymes with cat.
Cat and bat both belong to the -at word family. Words in a family share the last two or three letters and sound alike at the end, which helps first graders predict new words while reading.
2. A word that rhymes with 'pig' is big.
Pig and big share the -ig rime. When Grade 1 readers spot a rime they know, they can read a new word by swapping only the first letter.
3. The word 'mop' rhymes with top.
Mop and top are both in the -op family. Noticing shared endings helps young readers decode many words quickly instead of sounding out each letter one at a time.
4. A word in the -ug family is bug.
Bug belongs to the -ug word family along with hug, rug, and mug. Grouping words by rime builds phonemic awareness and makes reading feel like a pattern, not a guess.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. 'Cat' and 'hat' rhyme.
True False
Cat and hat both end with the -at sound, so they rhyme. Rhyming words share the same ending sound, which is the key to hearing word families.
2. 'Dog' and 'dig' rhyme.
True False
Dog ends in -og and dig ends in -ig, so the ending sounds are different. Rhymes must match the final sound, not just the first letter.
3. 'Hug' and 'bug' belong to the same word family.
True False
Hug and bug both end in -ug, so they belong to the -ug word family. Word families are groups of words that share the same rime, or ending chunk.