Word Family Center: Word Building Mats

Help your students strengthen their phonics and reading fluency with this engaging Word Family Center: Word Building Mats! Perfect for Kindergarten and early Grade 1, these hands-on mats make learning to build and read CVC and CCVC words fun, visual, and effective. Each mat provides picture clues and differentiated versions, supporting confident readers at every level.

🧩 What’s Included

• 32 Word Family Word Building Mats featuring 6 picture-supported words each
  • Exceptions: -eg (5 words), -ix (3 words), -ox (3 words)
  • 2 versions per mat — with and without beginning letters
• Printable letter tiles
• Recording page for writing and spelling practice
• Ideal for use with magnetic letters, Scrabble tiles, or dry-erase markers

✏️ How to Use

• Print and laminate the mats for durability.
• Have students build each word using the included letter tiles or magnetic letters.
• Encourage them to say each sound aloud and blend for fluency.
• Use the recording page for handwriting and assessment.

These mats are perfect for literacy centers, small-group phonics lessons, morning tubs, or independent word-building practice.

🎯 Educational Benefits

• Develops phonemic awareness and spelling accuracy
• Builds CVC and CCVC decoding skills
• Improves word family recognition
• Promotes reading fluency and confidence
• Encourages fine motor development through letter manipulation

🖍️ Word Families Included

• ab: cab, dab, jab, lab, tab, crab
• ad: bad, dad, lad, mad, pad, sad
• ag: bag, lag, rag, sag, tag, wag
• am: bam, dam, ham, jam, ram, yam
• an: can, fan, man, pan, tan, van
• ap: cap, gap, map, nap, sap, tap
• at: bat, cat, hat, mat, pat, rat
• ax: fax, Max, sax, tax, wax, flax
• ed: bed, fed, led, red, wed, sled
• eg: beg, keg, leg, Meg, peg
• en: den, hen, men, pen, ten, yen
• et: jet, net, pet, set, vet, wet
• ib: bib, fib, jib, nib, rib, crib
• id: bid, hid, kid, lid, rid, skid
• ig: big, dig, fig, pig, rig, wig
• im: dim, him, rim, skim, swim, trim
• in: bin, fin, kin, pin, tin, win
• ip: dip, lip, rip, sip, tip, zip
• it: bit, hit, fit, kit, lit, sit
• ix: fix, mix, six
• ob: bob, cob, fob, job, rob, sob
• od: cod, nod, pod, rod, sod, trod
• og: cog, dog, fog, hog, jog, log
• op: bop, cop, hop, mop, pop, top
• ot: cot, dot, hot, pot, rot, tot
• ox: box, fox, pox
• ub: cub, hub, nub, rub, sub, tub
• ud: bud, dud, mud, sud, spud, stud
• ug: bug, hug, jug, mug, rug, tug
• um: gum, hum, mum, sum, yum, drum (two mats included for two “mum” images)
• un: bun, fun, nun, run, sun, sun
• ut: cut, gut, hut, nut, rut, shut

This Word Family Center: Word Building Mats is an excellent tool for blending, spelling, and reading practice — a must-have addition to your phonics and literacy centers.

Happy Teaching! 😊