Kindergarten Phonics: Word Family Bootcamp

How can we make our kindergarten phonics instruction more effective, easier, and more engaging? Word Family Bootcamp is a science of reading-aligned curriculum that allows us to apply the sounds and letters we learned in ABC Bootcamp™ following similar routines that we used in ABC Bootcamp™. Students use the sounds we mastered in ABC Bootcamp™ to segment, decode, read, spell, and write CVC words. After we finish our ABC Bootcamp™, we move on to word families and CVC words using TKS Bootcamp’s Word Family Bootcamp!  That’s part of the beauty of our TKS Bootcamp Curriculum. Each Bootcamp builds on the previous skill, and you’re also integrating multiple skills and strategies for learning to read, write, and decode words.  The TKS Bootcamp Curriculum also means you’re learning the skills in context and not in isolation!

Kindergarten Phonics: Word Family Bootcamp And The Science Of Reading

Explicit:  students are explicitly taught how to decode, segment, spell, map, and write CVC words

Speech to print:  follows the sounds-first approach where we move from hearing the sounds (segmenting) to reading and writing the words

Phonics: students have ample opportunity to decode words, spell words, sort words

We follow a 2-day lesson when learning new word families (Monday – Thursday). We do two word families a week. Friday would be for completing word sorts and additional practice.

If you want to see the order in which I do them, simply go to the Resource Center and click on The Big Picture for any year. It’s not necessary to do every single word family because the focus is on decoding and writing the CVC words. Focus on all three sounds, and once students have mastered this skill, you can move on. We spend about 6-8 weeks on Word Family Bootcamp before moving on to Blends (and digraphs) Bootcamp™, then CVC-E words.

Kindergarten Phonics: Explicit Instruction

Day 1 of Word Family Bootcamp™ is the circle chart.  Students come up with words for the word family, which is important because it makes a personal connection. Here’s how it works:

The student shares a word.

Segment the sounds together. Students segment the sounds.

I draw the picture on the circle chart.

Students segment the sounds. As they segment each sound, they tell me how to spell the sound. As they spell the sound, I write the letter.

Decode the word together. Then, students decode the word without my assistance. Finally, volunteers decode the word on their own.

After we has added all of the words, we go back and decode each word again and read the word.

The repeated practice is research-based and a key to the success of Word Family Bootcamp™ because students need to decode a word 1-8 times in order to orthographically map the words into their long-term memory.

Word Family Bootcamp™ also includes an additional circle chart set containing just the vowels. These are used after we have worked through word families.

Kindergarten Phonics: Spelling Words

Day 2 is spelling words and word writing or encoding.  We use our Word Family Bootcamp™ cards to spell the word and blend the sounds to read the word. I say the word, we segment the sounds, and then the students spell the word. As they spell, I place the cards on the document camera or pocket chart.  We blend the word as a whole group, and students take turns independently blending the words. We also do word chaining, where we change the letters in each word and read the new words to build fluency!  Word chaining is a vital piece of the practice because it allows the students to understand how sounds work in words and provides great practice in decoding words.

We also use our glitter letters cards and our disco ball letter cards! We created these using these clipart resources:

After we have spelled and blended the words, we write and spell them! I use this word writing as an informal assessment. As they finish, I check each student’s work and work one-on-one with any student who needs some extra help! We focus on saying a sound and writing a sound. This approach has really helped my kids with their writing!

Kindergarten Phonics: Independent Practice

For assessment, the students complete a word-matching activity.  Based on observations, I pull students who I know will need support into small groups, and we do the matching activity as a small group so I can provide targeted support.  The remaining students complete the match or sort on their own.

Kindergarten Phonics: Small Groups

A key piece of our TKS Bootcamp™ Curriculum is the decodable readers and small group tools. We use the decodable readers in small groups for the students to practice and support with decoding in the context of print.  The decodable readers provide more practice with the phonics skill in context.  After reading the book Reading Above The Fray and learning that students need to decode a word 1-8 times, we make sure we’re reading the books multiple times to encourage orthographic mapping.

Word Family Bootcamp™ also includes activities for small groups, including sorts, look-alike word activities, decodable sentences, and more!  TKS Bootcamp is an all-inclusive, science-of-reading-aligned resource that has always been rooted in research and best practices!

Word Family Bootcamp In Action

Additional Activities/Centers Included in Word Family Bootcamp

(No Theme Version is Shown In These Pics)

Kindergarten Phonics: Assessment

At the end of the week,  we assess the words and practice reading words from both word families for that week using ESGI!  All of our TKS Bootcamp™ Curriculum assessments are available on ESGI!  SIGN UP WITH THE CODE SMORGIE for a 60-day free trial and save $60 off your subscription!

How Well Does Word Family Bootcamp Work?

Here is our ESGI data from word families and CVC words.  The data is CLEAR!  Word family Bootcamp™ WORKS. It is highly effective….just look at this data below:

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Can I Use It With My Required Curriculum

I is an all-inclusive resource but also easily integrates into your required curriculum. You can go in any order you wish. You can do as few or as many of the included activities. Keep in mind that it is aligned to the science of reading body of research.

You can choose from 4 different themes or no theme.

Click the image above and select the theme that best fits your classroom.

Also Part of TKS Bootcamp Bundle

We highly recommend purchasing the Bundle, which includes all 9 components of TKS Bootcamp: ABC, Word Family, Blends/Digraphs, Vowels, Vowel Teams, Numbers, Shapes, Addition & Subtraction. The Bundle is discounted by 25% off the regular price.

For additional phonics materials, check out these resources:

For more ideas and resources, check out these posts: