LumiraWhat is a word family?
Word families group words that share the same ending sound and spelling. Because only the first letter changes, they are one of the fastest ways for a beginning reader to go from decoding single sounds to reading whole words with confidence.
The -an word family — word list
Every word below appears in the decodable book on this page, so a reader who practises the list will meet the same words again in context.
- and
- can
- fan
- man
- pan
- ran
- tan
- van
Free decodable book: Decodable Short A: at, am, an
This is an original Lumira decodable reader, written so that a child can sound out nearly every word using patterns they have already been taught. The full text is below — read it here, or open it in the app to read it together with the words highlighting as you speak.
Dan can fan a pan. Nan can fan a pan. Dan and Nan can fan.
A man ran past Sam. Pam can tap a pan. The man ran fast.
Sam had a pan. Pam had a pan. Dan had a pan and Nan had a pan.
A van ran past Dan. Nan ran past Pam. The van ran fast.
Dan can tan a pan. Nan can tan a pan. Sam can tap a pan.
The man and Dan and Nan ran. Pam and Sam ran too. A fan and a pan.
Pan man fan van ran tan Dan Nan can. Sam sat on a mat. Pam sat too.
Sam sat on a mat with ham. Pam sat on a mat with jam. Dan ran past.
The cat sat on a mat. Dan had ham and a pan. Nan ran with Pam and Sam.
How to teach it
- Say the sound on its own first, several times, before showing any letters.
- Show the spelling and name it explicitly — tell the reader what it says rather than asking them to work it out.
- Blend two or three words from the list together, out loud, slowly.
- Read the decodable book above, where the pattern repeats in real sentences.
- Come back to it two or three days later. Cumulative review is what makes it stick.
Lessons that practise this pattern
Build words: -an family
Blend CVC words in the -an family
Word sort: -at family vs -an family
Sort CVC words by their shared rime pattern