Word Families Flashcards for the Short O Sound

Learning about word families is an important part of phonological awareness. Word families are those that share the same rime. The rime of a word is the vowel and consonants that follow the onset, which is the initial consonant or consonant blend. Learning about word families allows students to rapidly expand their vocabulary, as they can apply their knowledge of one word to others in the same family.

This set of word families flashcards focuses on the short o vowel sound. It contains the following rimes:

• ock
• ong
• old

Two versions of these flashcards are available for download. The first set of cards contains both the word and an accompanying image. This version would be helpful for less confident readers who may benefit from a visual cue. The second set of cards contains the word only.

The flashcards are the perfect addition to your literacy toolkit, offering a variety of ways to reinforce key decoding skills.

Use These Word Families Flashcards in Your Lessons

These word families flashcards can be used in multiple ways in your phonics lessons. Here are some ideas you may wish to consider:

1. Spelling Practice – Choose a flashcard and say the word aloud to the students. Have them write the word on a mini-whiteboard, then turn their boards around to show what they have written. This is a quick and easy method of assessing how well students are grasping the short o sound in one-syllable words.
2. Word Sorts – Place all the cards on a table or on the floor. Have students read the flashcards into their respective word families. As an extension, see if the students can brainstorm additional words to be added to each group.
3. Build a Sentence – Choose a selection of flashcards. Ask a class, construct sentences that contain as many of the selected words as possible.

Download to Explore the Short O Sound

This resource downloads as a full-colour PDF. Use the Download button above to choose the version with pictures or the version without pictures.

We recommend printing this resource on thick card for added durability. Place all the cards into a ziplock bag for safekeeping. 

Looking for More Word Families Resources?

Teach Starter boasts a wide selection of resources to support you in teaching your youngest learners about word families. Click below to start exploring our range!

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Short I Word Families Flashcards

Use these word families flashcards to help familiarise your students with words that contain the short i vowel sound.

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Word Family Sorting Cards

A set of 36 sorting cards to reinforce word families and rhyming with your students.

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Word Family Sorting Activity – Set 3

A sorting activity using word families.