An word family story

Fun with the -at Word Family

15 FREE Resources Exploring the “-at Word Family”

The cat is fat. Matt is a bat. Teaching short /a/ specifically the -at family, is a logical beginning point when students are learning phonics. The letter /a/ is after all the first letter in the alphabet. This blog post contains some pretty good free resources that your children might enjoy as you plan your -at word family lessons.

“Phonics is the relationship between sounds and the spelling of the words.” You can read more in the simple article from Scholastic.

The resources include mostly CVC (consonant vowel consonant – as in C-A-T) pertaining to short /a/ sound and the -at word family. These FREE resources are suggestions you might want to add to your lesson plans. Included in this post are online books, videos and free printables. Enjoy!

Online Books

Outside of phonics readers, it can be challenging to find books that are specific for the -at word family. For older students, you can add books like “The Gingerbread Man” or “Green Eggs and Ham” and have students look for the short /a/ words as you read. The following online books I chose because they are introductory to the learning process and the -at word family.

The Fat Cat Sat on a Mat

“The fat cat sat on the mat. “Get off!” said the rat. But the fat cat just sat. Will the rat get the fat cat off the mat? This funny, phonetic Level One I Can Read is perfect for kids learning to sound out words and sentences.” – Excerpt Amazon

Pat the Cat

This book was published in 1995 and is out of print. However, the link here will suggest used copies should you decided to bring it into your classroom or home library. It truly is a wonderful resource for introducing -at word family to students.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat

This is a fun book to read to children around Halloween.

There Was an Old Lady Who Had a Fat Cat

Online Videos

There are thousands of short /a/ learning videos on YouTube. Here are some of my top picks for sharing with young learners. And these resources are related to the -at word family.

Cat on the Mat

This first video is an interactive video where the story is told three times, and the last time young learners do their best to read the words. This would be good for repetition.

The Cat Sat on the Mat – Alphablocks

This is “Alphablocks” created by the BBC for children. It is a cute catchy song and excellent learning video for teaching the -at family. The video for “The Cat Sat on the Mat” ends at about five minutes, yet the video is longer and explores other word families.

Word Family -at Phonics Song – Jack Hartmann

“Learn about the at word family. Word families are groups of words that have a common pattern. Word families, sometimes called phonograms or chunks, can help emergent readers by providing predictable patterns within words. Sing along with this at word family song.The first time through we give the beginning sound and the at word family ending sound. The second time through we give a chance for independent practice of the at word family.” – Excerpt Jack Hartmann

Learn How to Read -at Rhyming Words – SandZ Academy

“Learn how to read Bat, Cat, Fat, Hat, Mat, Pat, Rat, Sat, Vat with this fun song!! Great for 2-5 year olds!” – Excerpt SandZ Academy

Word Families 1 “The Cat Sat” – Little Fox Stories and Songs for English Learners

“Word Families 1: The Cat Sat Learn some words that end with “-at”! Word Families help kids to learn ʺfamiliesʺ of words that appear frequently in English. It introduces a new word family, with a simple, easy-to-read story!” – Excerpt Little Fox Stories

Starfall -at Word Family (sample) – PFamily Channel

Finally, there are many wonderful learning applications for young learners. Starfall is one of the tried and true when incomes to safe and expedient learning. Kids love it as it’s fun for them to play as they learn. This video is a small sample of one of the exercises pertaining to the -at family. Some of the app is free, however to access the entire application Starfall does charge a monthly fee.

Printable Resources

The last few resources are from some of my peers at Teacher Pay Teacher. Even if you are not a traditional classroom teacher, any caregiver can download free and/or purchase these teachers created resources from the TpT website.

CVC Puzzle Center Featuring Short /a/ – STEMHAX

Check out this FREE sample from the “Rhyme & Couplet” packet from STEMHAX. This download includes seven rhyme pair puzzle cards and a recording sheet. Included in this freebie are some pairs from the -at family. Simply, download, print, laminate and cutout for an easy center, also great for the early finishers, too.

Source: STEMHAX

Short a CVC Board Game – Games 4 Learning

“This Short a CVC Board Game from Games 4 Learning can be a game for 2 players or can be used for teacher directed activities. It includes the game board and 4 activity cards that suggest different games and activities for the game board. The board provides practice at blending onset and rime in short a CVC words. It is ideal for reading intervention or phonics intervention. This phonics game can be printed on card stock or it can be projected onto your smart board.” – Excerpt Games 4 Learning

Source: Games 4 Learning

Short a CVC Clip Cards – The Chocolate Teacher

“These clip cards offer a perfect opportunity for your students to practice reading short a CVC words. There are a total of 24 cards with short a words. All the cards have a picture and 3 words underneath it. The words for each card start with the same initial & medial sounds- only the final sound is different. This will encourage your students to read through a word to determine which one is correct.” -Excerpt The Chocolate Teacher

Source: The Chocolate Teacher

cvc Writing of the Week – From the Pond

“This resource will help you sequence a whole week of reading and writing for your WORD FAMILY lessons! Print the pages and make each of your students their own mini writing book for the week. This book has a focus on the “at” word family. The ‘at’ words are all in cvc formation.” – Excerpt From the Pond

Source: From the Pond

Word Family Sliders – Make Take Teach

The last resource us from Make Take and Teach. “You’ll receive 18 colorful word family sliders when you print this activity! Ideal for small group instruction when teaching your students identify “chunks” in words.” – Excerpt Make Take Teach

Source: Make Take Teach

If you like these free resources please consider following these teacher creators. They are always developing new and cool things, for you and I, to share with young learners.

If you enjoyed these resources please consider following us on social media. We are @STEMHAX and on Teacher Pay Teacher, too. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. All that means is if you decide to make a purchase, I might earn a small commission at ZERO cost to you. Thank you, see you soon!!

Word Families — Hubbard's Cupboard

These Word Family Resources feature the following short vowel word families.

Word Family Index
-am
-ap
-at
-an
-in
-it
-ip
-ig
-op
-ot
-en
-et
-ug
-ub

Description of Word Family Resources

Word Family Printables

Description of Word Family Resources

Word Family Booklet

The Word Family Booklets are written in repetitive sentence format and incorporate sight words. The Stage 1 Booklets are designed to be slightly easier for students to read and use simple initial consonants and maybe an initial blend. The Stage 2 Booklets are designed to be a little more difficult and use mostly initial blends. Each booklet also contains a Word Family Companion worksheet that further enhances the word family study.

Teacher Version

The Teacher Versions are designed to have each picture and corresponding text printed on an 8 1/2 by 11 horizontal sheet of paper.

One Sheet

The One Sheet Versions contain the same word family stories that are in the booklet format. These were created to save paper. Printable Cover

audio MP3 and Quicktime

A few Word Family Booklets also contain an audio MP3 and/or a Quicktime movie. These multimedia versions were created by Waleska Batista.

Word Maker and Sight Word Find

-TOP: Use letter tiles or magnetic letters to form new word family words.

-BOTTOM: Say a word and then have your child find it in the sight word table. Let them place a pom pom, button, or another small object on each word as they find it. Then, have them remove the objects one at a time and say the words again.

Practice Sheet and List Words

Practice Sheet:
Either let your child write the letters needed to make a word to match the picture or let them cut and glue the correct letters.
Word Family List Words:
How many words can your child read? How fast (and clearly) can they read the list of rhyming words?

Word Family House / Pictures and Words to Sort

Children can sort pictures into one or more word family houses according to sound, may read and sort the words by word family, or may read the words and match them to the corresponding pictures. Choose which word families you wish for your child to practice.

Sound Sort

Word Sort

Word and Picture Sort

Word Family Match

Have your child cut apart the pictures at the bottom. Then, have him/her read one word at the top of the page, find the corresponding picture, and glue it under the matching word.

Word Family Mini Booklet

The Word Family Mini Booklets are one page sheets that have six words from the same word family with corresponding pictures.

Suggested Use: Introduce the word family by reading the title page (bottom right corner). Read the other words with your child. Have your child color and cut out the pages along the dotted lines. Place the house title page on the front and staple. Decide ahead of time if you wish for your child to think of another word family word to draw and write. Then, see if your child can read all the words to you!

All of the resources on this page are free. If you would like a single PDF containing many of these resources (and a couple new ones), please consider purchasing Word Family Word Work at our Joyful Heart Learning shop on Teacher's Pay Teachers...

[Return to Word Family Index]

Word Family Printables

[Return to Word Family Index]

MOPO :: Age of wisdom

MOPO :: News of trade union organizations :: OPPO LLC "LUKOIL-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez"

In the house of Mikhail Alexandrovich Denisov, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, a factory worker with 31 years of experience, listing honorary titles of which would take no less than half a page, warm and cozy, despite the autumn chill outside. The most ordinary tea there seems to be especially tasty, and home-made quince jam is beyond praise. The first thing you notice when visiting the Denisovs is a lot of wonderful photographs, both modern and with a touch of time. Children, granddaughters, great-granddaughters and the only great-grandchild have a special place in this gallery. Mikhail Alexandrovich was fond of photography all his life, he has already changed more than one camera, and he took his rare photographic equipment to the Kstovo Museum of Local Lore - such things are more needed there. Despite the fact that 19September, he turned 90 years old, he understands technical innovations without problems - he already takes pictures on a smartphone, with the Internet on “you”, communicates with his family via Skype. Talking with Mikhail Alexandrovich, you understand that 90 is just a “round” number, a measure of experience and wisdom, and not at all an indicator of old age.

- My real birthday is September 15th or 16th. And the 19th - because I was baptized on this day, and I celebrate, - Mikhail Alexandrovich specified.

He was born at 1926 in Guryev, now it is Atyrau in sovereign Kazakhstan, in a family, both half of which, before its creation, the revolution managed to shake up thoroughly. Suffice it to say that his father, Alexander Mikhailovich Denisov, served in the 1st Cavalry Army of Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny, which established Soviet power in the Kuban and Georgia, visited many places, saw a lot of things. Demobilized only in 1924, he moved from Petrograd to Guryev, where he met his love, Zinaida Nikolaevna. She also had her own interesting family history... What time - such stories, it is not possible to characterize it with any one word: restless, anxious, vague, hungry, new.

- In Guryev, we used to store fish in the entrance hall in winter - you come in from the cold, and there are huge frozen sturgeon, stellate sturgeon and beluga. But there was no bread. My grandfather, a six-year-old, would put me in a bread line, write a number on my palm - this was the only way to get bread, - recalls Mikhail Alexandrovich.

The highest soldier's award - the medal "For Courage" was received by Mikhail Alexandrovich for courage and heroism shown during a skirmish with enemy scouts on the Mius River. April 19On the 45th, when again performing underwater work during the construction of a bridge on the Vistula in the city of Kulm, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree for heroism. He tells about those days to the students of city schools, working as part of a lecture group - despite his advanced age, Mikhail Alexandrovich does not like to sit around doing nothing, he says that it is bad to be without work.

- What questions do they ask me? Various. For example, is there a God? I answer that God is with the one who believes. Or what types of submarines do I know? And here I find what to answer - in the Makhachkala House of Pioneers, in the courses of divers and navigators, we were taught a lot, including pilots and navigation. We sailed along the Caspian Sea - just on the day when the war began, we were on a campaign. I ask the guys, for example, what holiday was celebrated on November 7th? I tell how, after the liberation of Melitopol, a festive dinner was given for us, each received a bowl of stew and two tangerines. But now, few schoolchildren know the answer to this question, - states Mikhail Aleksandrovich.

After the service, which ended for the soldier only in 1950, Denisov returned to Makhachkala, studied at night school, then graduated from the Grozny Oil Institute, without stopping working along the way. Before the institute, he was a foreman of electricians, and while studying at the locksmith workshops of the institute, he taught cold metal processing to first-year technologists at the Department of Petroleum Engineering.

Mikhail Aleksandrovich and his wife Maya Dmitrievna arrived at the Komsomol construction site in Kstovo at 1957th in the direction of the Ministry of Oil Industry.

- We came to the construction of the Novogorkovsky refinery as young specialists, all the property is one suitcase. They took me as a mechanic, but at first there was no place for my wife - she is a doctor. Then, on a call from the director of the plant, Vitaly Semyonovich Edrenkin, they accepted her as a local therapist. She was both a shop doctor and a cardiologist, she has grown to the position of deputy chief physician of the Central District Hospital for the medical part.

Next year the Denisovs will celebrate a diamond wedding. When they got married, they had neither a special celebration, nor rings, nor other attributes of a modern marriage - then life was not rich, but this did not affect the strength of the bonds at all. Next to the stately Mikhail Alexandrovich, the miniature Maya Dmitrievna somehow manages to be on the same level with him. Looking back at 59years ago, Mikhail Alexandrovich recalls: “I noticed a small, beautiful, smart one, and I realized that this was serious.” The recipe for a long and strong marriage of the Denisovs is respect for each other. And also humor, good-natured bantering with each other, the affairs and concerns of a large family - although the children and grandchildren have dispersed to cities and villages, they do not lose ties with the ancestors of the family, and on the anniversary of Mikhail Alexandrovich they gathered at the festive table.

... It is impossible to cover all the events, accomplishments, achievements, what was rich in the life of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Denisov for nine decades in one article - this requires a separate book of the ZhZL series - "The Life of Remarkable People". He did a great job of creating a water supply and sewerage workshop at the plant, rooted with his soul for the first system in the Union for the biological treatment of oily wastewater. On a well-deserved rest, he left the leadership position of deputy chief engineer for treatment facilities and protection of the water basin. In life, it turned out that water was his element, his work, his vocation - both in war and in peacetime.

"Honored Innovator of the Gorky Region", "Honored Chemist of the Russian Federation", "Honorary Citizen of the Kstovsky District", the initiator of the creation and the first chairman of the Council of Veterans of JSC "NORSI", twice awarded the title of "Excellent worker in the oil and petrochemical industry", deputy of the City Council of four convocations - the list goes on - Mikhail Aleksandrovich is truly a man of legend. He still has a strong voice, a clear and sharp mind. And at the age of 90, he has not lost interest in life, he reads a lot, follows political events, takes care of the young shoots of the family tree, worries about grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

- It's so good to live! - says Mikhail Alexandrovich, and you can’t argue with that.

Text, photo by T. Makarova

20.09.2016 12:58

FAMILY HISTORY

- Bronnichans, spouses Alexander and Claudia TOPOROVSKY. Having become friends and closely communicating for many years, we knew each other well, often, almost like a relative, met with children who still work at Bronnitsa enterprises. In the year of the anniversary of the Victory, I would like to talk about how the military hard times affected the older generations of this family, how severe trials influenced the further fate of the then “children of war”, their offspring, their attitude to their country, to work and civic duty . ..

The German attack in 1941 dramatically changed the former peaceful life of every Soviet family. Most of the men of military age went to the front. Among the first to get into the army was Sasha's father - a resident of the village of Urazovo, Belgorod Region, a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, an employee of the shoe artel, Ivan Petrovich Toporovsky. According to his recollections, being a simple infantryman, he survived all the hardships of the first months of that difficult, bloody war: the iron onslaught of the German troops, the bitterness of retreats, heavy losses ... And, which is very important, yesterday's shoemaker took up arms, managed to prove himself skillful and brave warrior. Agree, not every Red Army soldier, having an anti-tank rifle in his hands, managed to emerge victorious from a deadly duel with the “Tiger”. For this courageous act, Toporovsky Sr. was awarded the most honorable soldier's award - the medal "For Courage". But participation in the battles with the Nazis left heavy marks on the body and soul of the warrior. Ivan Petrovich was wounded twice, and this greatly reduced his post-war biography. Returning to his native places due to injury, he, appointed by the district committee to a leading position, unfortunately, passed away early.

His son and my old friend Alexander Ivanovich met the war, and then the fascist occupation of the Belgorod region as a 14-year-old teenager. As far as I remember, he later talked little about that difficult time. But even the boys under the Germans had to sip dashingly. They were often driven under escort to dig trenches and other hard work. But even then, the son of a Red Army soldier, despite the enormous danger, became a liaison of the local Komsomol underground. It happened, delivering information important to the Red Army, and more than once, risking his life, Sasha crossed the front line. And then, when our troops began to advance, he participated in the delivery of ammunition to a partisan detachment operating in the nearby forests. So his boyish medal “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”, presented after the war, is a truly well-deserved award. When in 1943 Urazovo was liberated from the German occupation, the matured Alexander really wanted to go further with the Red Army. But, replacing the family of his front-line father, he could not leave his mother and young sisters without a breadwinner, he began to work.

The family of Alexander Ivanovich's wife and my friend Claudia (before Sakharova's marriage) did not bypass the severe military trials. She grew up in a large and friendly family with five children. The Sakharovs lived in house number 108 on the street. Moscow, which has not survived to this day. The head of the family, Kuzma Ivanovich, and his eldest son, Alexei Kuzmich, were also drafted into the army in the very first months after the German attack on the USSR. For example, Sergeant Alexei Sakharov, according to the recollections of his relatives, led a regimental reconnaissance group, made many raids behind enemy lines, went through the entire war, liberated not only Russian territory from Nazi invaders, but also the cities of Ukraine, Poland, and after - Germany. In one of the battles he was wounded, for courage and courage he received well-deserved military awards. And, having returned after the Victory, he, an authoritative and experienced communist front-line soldier, for many years invariably led the party committee at the Rybolovsky collective farm. Information about him (although far from complete) is available in the Book of Memory "Soldiers of the Victory of the city of Bronnitsa."

Now we are looking through old photographs from family albums together with the son of my old friends and colleagues - Mikhail Alexandrovich Toporovsky. His father and mother, as well as other representatives of the military generation of the family, unfortunately, are no longer in this world. Alexander Ivanovich died after a serious illness in April 2003, and Klavdiya Kuzminichna, having outlived her husband by 8 years, passed away in January 2011. Whenever I communicate with my son, I think about how great it is when children do not forget their departed parents, remember them only from the good side. Mikhail told me in detail about the main stages of the post-war biography of his father, who, having survived the occupation, decided to become a military man. At 19At the age of 17, he entered the special school of the Air Force at the age of 17 and successfully graduated from it a year later. But apparently he was destined to be a military motorist. After completing the driver's course at the district military registration and enlistment office, the guy, who already has awards, is sent as a cadet to the 16th training automobile regiment. The next stage of his service was the 26th auto regiment, and after it was disbanded in 1947, Alexander Toporovsky was sent to Bronnitsy - to the 3rd test company at military unit 51548. At this time, he met his future wife and later on forever stayed in a small town near Moscow.

The command of the unit, noticing the makings of a commander in the young platoon commander, sends him to officer courses. And he returns to his unit already in the rank of junior lieutenant, becomes a platoon commander. So an intelligent guy would grow up in the service, but during this period the thoughtless Khrushchev reduction of the army begins in the country. The young officer, like many of his colleagues, is transferred to the reserve. It was not easy to survive this blow of fate to a person who from childhood dreamed of linking his life with military service. But Alexander, who survived the hard times of the 40s, was not used to giving up. Working as an inspector-toolmaker at 21 Research Institutes, he completes ten years at a school for working youth, and then enters the correspondence department of the All-Union Power Engineering Institute in Moscow, and at 1963 becomes a graduate engineer. Two years later, A. Toporovsky - already Art. Institute Researcher. Despite the fact that the salaries of civilians in military institutions are very small, he did not seek high earnings on the side. On the contrary, Alexander Ivanovich, using his institute specialization, unique for Bronnits, worked fruitfully in his team and was engaged in scientific work.

He took an active part in promising research on the state and trends in the development of computer and measuring technology in foreign countries. In the 70s, mathematical modeling of dynamic systems began to be introduced in the domestic military automotive industry. Initially, at the 21st Research Institute, it was carried out by A. Toporovsky together with one of his colleagues using a computer when developing the parameters of controllability and stability of multi-axle vehicles. Further, Alexander Ivanovich prepared a whole series of developments and published scientific articles in journals on the use of analog computers in the research work of the institute. He also participated in many secret developments, successfully headed a specialized laboratory and regularly gave scientific lectures to students of the Bronnitsa branch of MADI. But perhaps the most important touch in the Toporovsky family history is that the son of Alexander Ivanovich, Mikhail, followed in his father's footsteps. After graduating from MPEI, he came to work at 21 NII and worked effectively in his father's laboratory for almost three years. In a word, a family dynasty of Toporovsky scientists and engineers has developed at the Institute.

One can enumerate the research and specific developments in which father and son participated for a long time, talk about their seriousness and significance for the modernization of the domestic military automotive industry. But, for me, the author of this article, it is much more important to note how outstanding, persistent, intelligent and disinterested people my acquaintances were. Both father and son in life often turned out to be stronger than circumstances, did not become limp and did not scold fate. Senior Research Fellow Mikhail Toporovsky at 1985, unfortunately, I had to resign from 21 research institutes. But he did not remain unclaimed, and to this day he successfully works in the "Architect" as a leading design engineer. At different turns of time, members of the Toporovsky family were able to bring real benefits to society, with honor to survive all the trials that fell to their lot.