Word Families (Early Reading)
Word families, which are groups of words that are formed from a common base or root, along with their various prefixes or suffixes are added to the word and their meaning is altered. For youngsters who are reading early, it is important to comprehend the concept of word families. This will assist them to identify language patterns, increase their vocabulary, and reading fluency.
The common word families have been illustrated using 'cat', 'cats', 'catty', and 'catlike', all of which are derived from the root word 'cat'. The second instance can be a family of the word 'run' which contains 'running', 'ran', 'runner', and 'runs'. These instances point out that word families can serve as a tool for children to recognize related words as well as their meanings.
The family of words is the main support for children learning to read because it helps them understand the relationship between different words. For example, when students learn a root word, they get to know what affixes it is possible to use and to decode paths to new words, thus, they facilitate their reading comprehension, and vocabulary improvement.
Word family formation of children can be facilitated by activities like sorting words into families, using flashcards, and making word family trees. Besides that, games like rhyming and word bingo, during which kids recognize and correlate words from the same family, could turn the process of learning into a fun and efficient experience.
Kids generally begin to study word families in preschool to early primary section, typically aged 4 to 7 years. At this stage, the introduction of word families aids in building a strong framework for phonemic awareness and vocabulary development which are the two main basis for reading efficiently.