Compound Words Teaching Resources
If you’re digging into compound words with your elementary students, dig into printables, worksheets, and more to bring the study of these fun words to life! This teaching resource collection was created by teachers to save your lesson planning time so you can spend more time doing what you love — actually teaching!
Haven’t taught this part of the ELA curriculum before or in a few years? Our teacher team has put together a quick refresher to get you started! Feel free to skip ahead to the resources if you have all this covered, and you’re just looking to save time on your lesson plans!
What Is a Compound Word?
A compound word merges two or more root words into a new and different word. There are three kinds of compound words:
- Open compound words — These have a space between the words, such as school bus or living room.
- Closed compound words — These have no spaces between them, such as classroom or homework.
- Hyphenated compound words — These have — you guessed it — hyphens between the words, such as dry-erase or forty-four.
Compound Words for Kids
Compound words are a pretty simple concept to teach, but it’s all too common for teachers to skip over the types of compound words. Take it from our ELA teachers: Break down each type for your students!
Open, closed, and hyphenated compound words all have different features, and we’ve put together a collection to help you teach them all!
Take a walk through our compound word collection, and you’ll find a host of resources for teaching open and closed compound words, along with other types.
Compound Words for 2nd Grade and Up
Our collection is home to hundreds of compound word worksheets, open and closed compound word PDF files, instructional slides for compound words, and more. Here are a few of our favorites!
- Compound words anchor chart
- Compound words list
- Combining Words Cut and Paste Activity
- Compound Words Game
- and more!
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Compound Word Coloring Worksheets
Color the compound words and boost your students' vocabulary with a pack of printable compound word coloring worksheets.
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Compound Words Game Show Interactive
Turn your compound word lessons into a fun game with an interactive Compound Word Game Show activity!
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Compound Words Roll and Read Game
Roll and read compound words with a pair of printable Compound Words Roll and Read Partner Games!
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Compound Words Vocabulary Foldable
Create a fun Compound Word foldable with a printable template for your students’ interactive notebooks.
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Compound Words Teaching Slides
Teach your students to identify, combine, and read compound words with an interactive Compound Words teaching presentation.
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Compound Word Search and Find Worksheets
Search, find, and spell compound words with a pack of printable compound word worksheets for 2nd graders!
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Spelling Compound Words Worksheets
See and spell compound words with a pack of printable compound word spelling worksheets.
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Gumball Compound Words Worksheet
Help your students learn to read and identify compound nouns with a compound word color-by-code worksheet.
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Compound Words with Pictures - Combining Word Cards
Combine words to make compound words and boost vocabulary skills with a printable combining words word wall.
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Compound Words Go Fish Game
Practice building compound words with an engaging game of Compound Word Go Fish!
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Compound Words Bump Game
Help your students discover new compound words with a printable Compound Word BUMP! Game.
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Daily Vocabulary Dive - Compound Word Practice Sheet
Give your students a daily dose of compound word review with a spiral review worksheet.
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Compound Words Read and Draw Worksheets
Blend vocabulary and art with an engaging set of Read and Draw Compound Words Worksheets!
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Compound Words Tarsia Puzzle
Match the compound words with their matching word parts to solve this Compound Word Tarsia Puzzle.
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Compound Words - Word Search Pack
Search, find, and spell compound words with a fun set of Compound Word Word Search Puzzles!
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Writing with Compound Words Worksheet Pack
Practice using compound words in context with a pack of printable Writing With Compound Words Worksheets.
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Combining Words - Compound Word Worksheets for Kids
Combine word parts to build compound nouns with a printable compound word worksheet.
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Compound Words Interactive Clip Cards
Build compound words and engage your students with a drag-and-drop digital learning activity.
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Compound Word Quiz
Assess your students’ abilities to read, spell, and use compound words with a Compound Word Quiz.
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Compound Words I Have, Who Has? Game
Play a whole-class game to review common compound words and their meanings.
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Write the Room - Compound Word Literacy Center
Read, write, spell, and use compound words with a printable Compound Word - Write the Room Literacy Center.
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Compound Words Fortune Teller
Make a compound word fortune teller to engage your students and have fun learning how to combine two words into one!
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Compound Words Seek and Find Interactive
Seek and find examples of compound words with an engaging Google Slides Interactive activity.
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Compound Words Self-Checking Digital Game
Make putting words together to form compound words into a game with a self-checking Google Interactive activity.
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Compound Words Digital Learning Activity
Use a digital learning activity to help your students practice identifying, reading, and creating compound words.
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Compound Words Four in a Row Game
Practice identifying and reading compound words with a printable Four-in-a-Row game for small-group reading instruction.
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Compound Word Worksheets for Big Kids
Boost your students' vocabulary knowledge with printable Compound Word Worksheets for upper grades.
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Building Compound Words - Puzzles
Practice building compound words with this set of 20 puzzles, each with three pieces—two smaller words and the compound word they form.
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Combining Words Task Cards - Compounds
Give your students some practice putting words together to form compound words with a pack of printable Compound Word Task Cards.
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Compound Word Dominoes
Practice making new words with this compound word-matching game that includes 28 picture/word dominoes.
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Mash Up Words - Compound Word Clip Cards
Identify examples of compound words and engage your students with a set of printable Compound Word Clip Cards.
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Compound Words Folding Task Cards
Build vocabulary skills and help your students practice forming compound words with a pack of compound word shutter-fold task cards.