Next, we move on to word families with the dictation sequence. Word families are three-letter short vowel words that sound the same at the end, for example, words in the “at” family, like mat, cat, sat, rat, hat, and bat.
Word families can also include other words in the /a/ family, like words that end in “an” like pan, ran, fan, or “ap” like lap, cap, and nap.
There are different variations in the sequence, and you can mix up the different word families with the same vowel or mix up some words with the /a/ and /o/ vowels in the same lesson, depending on where your child is at—for instance, she could write: mop, man, hot, bag, tap, rod.
This lesson is sometimes called the dictation sequence because the adult dictates the words in the word families, as the child writes the words with the moveable alphabet.
To learn more about word families, check out the blog post:
Fascinating Word Families: 6 Essential Phases For Reading
Such a cute idea. I love the hands on nature of the Montessori method for young kids.
These are great ideas. We usually do word families and she pretty much enjoys it. I would love to have her try the inventive spelling. Thank you for sharing these tips. Very helpful.
We love doing games like this at home!
This would be the perfect activity for a little one. They have fun and also learn how to spell and read!
This looks like a very awesome way to learn and be creative. I’m sharing this with my friends who are mothers!
I’ll share this with my friend who is struggling with her toddler.
As always, love your detailed posts about various activities for learning.. These movable letters are so useful and serve so many purposes…
I love these ideas. I really find this post helpful. As a new parent, I’m not sure how to teach the alphabet and writing.
What a great idea.
I’m forwarding this to my kids tutor, because he has a little this would be perfect for! Thank you for sharing!
This is such a great post! Your description and how-to are fabulous. And the pictures are really great! Looks like one happy girl to be learning!
Hi Debbie,
Thank you so much for your kind words, and I’m happy that you found the writing and reading activities helpful!
Both of our boys were raised in Montessori Pre-schools. It made all the difference in their educational tract! They were set up for success!
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for sharing your experience with Montessori!
What a wonderful way to make learning fun!
Your thoughts on writing before reading makes so much sense. I always believed reading is more important.
This is interesting, I love your posts they have great ideas for kids. Reading and writing like this is nice for kids. Thank you for sharing!
My son is 2.5 and knows the alphabet, shapes, and numbers. This will be great when he’s ready.
Hi Areil,
I’m so glad that you found the writing and reading games helpful! If you’d like to get started with activities for your 2.5-year-old son, check out my oral language lessons, and then move on to the letter and sound lessons!
Very informative! You gave a lot of great information about the moveable alphabet. I really liked your inclusion of the writing games also they seem really helpful. Thank you!
I haven’t got to this stage with my kids yet but I will be remembering writing before reading. And I’ll know where to come when that day comes.
Hi Emily,
I’m glad that you found the writing and reading activities helpful. For 2.5 year olds and up, If you’d like to get started with activities check out my oral language lessons, and then move on to the letter and sound lessons!
I think this is definitely more appealing to kids than the usual writing and reading. Very interesting post!
That sounds like a great way to introduce writing and reading with your daughter. Such a creative way for children to explore letter combination and find different words. I also think it’s great that you are incorporating handwriting activities simultaneously with the moveable alphabet, as this will help develop their fine motor skills for writing as well. Great job on introducing these activities with your daughter!
Hi Julie,
Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful words. I am thrilled that you found the writing and reading activities interesting and helpful!
You are doing amazing with your girl. Both my kids are in Montessori growing up and both loves writing & reading until today. It does help a lot to the kids when it is self-directed activity!!!
Love the practicality of the mat and playing physically with letters while practicing to express thoughts I think makes the learning process more fun. Love that you offer a variety of activities to help! Thank you for sharing these.
Thanks for setting this out so well! I can’t wait to do this with my little boy.
I love this set, will be buying one for my youngest.
Love this post! Great use of imagery and clear descriptions, thanks for sharing!
Your daughter is so fortunate to have a mom so invested in her reading journey! These games look like they are great!