Year 1 English: Forming letters in their letter families
Part of the Year 1 English letters, sounds and the alphabet chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Forming letters in their letter families
When we write a letter, we start in the right place and follow the same shape. Letters that are made in a similar way are put into letter families. The families help us learn how to write them.
The curly caterpillar family starts with a curl. The long ladder family goes down a long line. The one-armed robot family starts with a line down. The zig-zag family is made of zig-zag lines. Start at the green dot and follow the arrow.
Key ideas
- Curly caterpillar: c, a, d, g, o, q.
- Long ladder: l, i, t, u, j, y.
- One-armed robot: r, b, n, h, m, k, p.
- Zig-zag: z, v, w, x.
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find a in the list of letter families.
- Look for a in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.a is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.a is in the curly caterpillar family
- Write the answer. curly caterpillar
Check. The curly caterpillar family has: c, a, d, g, o, q. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find r in the list of letter families.
- Look for r in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.r is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.r is in the one-armed robot family
- Write the answer. one-armed robot
Check. The one-armed robot family has: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Method. Pick any letter from the zig-zag family list.
- Look at the zig-zag family. The family list has the letters that are made in a similar way.z, v, w, x
- Choose one letter from the list. Any one of them is right.z is in the family
- Write the answer. Check it is on the list.z, v, w or x
Check. The letter you chose is one of: z, v, w, x. ✓
Watch out. Each letter belongs to only one family.
Watch out
Watch out: letter families are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound. The letters c and k make the same sound, but they are in different families.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Draw the shape in the air with your child first, then on paper. Start at the green dot. Practise on paper: write one row of each family in big letters, for example c a d g o q. Do not worry if the letters are wobbly. The start and the shape matter most.
Exercise 1E Letter families
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find a in the list of letter families.
- Look for a in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.a is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.a is in the curly caterpillar family
- Write the answer. curly caterpillar
Check. The curly caterpillar family has: c, a, d, g, o, q. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find r in the list of letter families.
- Look for r in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.r is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.r is in the one-armed robot family
- Write the answer. one-armed robot
Check. The one-armed robot family has: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find j in the list of letter families.
- Look for j in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.j is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.j is in the long ladder family
- Write the answer. long ladder
Check. The long ladder family has: l, i, t, u, j, y. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find z in the list of letter families.
- Look for z in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.z is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.z is in the zig-zag family
- Write the answer. zig-zag
Check. The zig-zag family has: z, v, w, x. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find n in the list of letter families.
- Look for n in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.n is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.n is in the one-armed robot family
- Write the answer. one-armed robot
Check. The one-armed robot family has: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Method. Pick any letter from the one-armed robot family list.
- Look at the one-armed robot family. The family list has the letters that are made in a similar way.r, b, n, h, m, k, p
- Choose one letter from the list. Any one of them is right.r is in the family
- Write the answer. Check it is on the list.r, b, n, h, m, k or p
Check. The letter you chose is one of: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. ✓
Watch out. Each letter belongs to only one family.
Method. Look at the curly caterpillar family list. Find the letter that is not in it.
- Read the letters you can choose from. Each one needs a check.c, a, d, l
- Check each letter against the curly caterpillar family list. Only one letter gives the right answer.c in the list, a in the list, d in the list, l not in the list
- Write the answer. l
Check. The curly caterpillar family has: c, a, d, g, o, q. ✓
Watch out. Check the family list, not the sound of the letter.
Method. Count the letters in the long ladder family.
- Write down the letters in the long ladder family. Write each letter once.l, i, t, u, j, y
- Count them one at a time. Touch each letter once.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Write the answer. 6
Check. Count again from the other end. You still get 6. ✓
Watch out. Do not count a letter from another family.
Method. Count the letters in the one-armed robot family.
- Write down the letters in the one-armed robot family. Write each letter once.r, b, n, h, m, k, p
- Count them one at a time. Touch each letter once.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
- Write the answer. 7
Check. Count again from the other end. You still get 7. ✓
Watch out. Do not count a letter from another family.
Method. Look at the zig-zag family list. Find the letter that is in it.
- Read the letters you can choose from. Each one needs a check.x, t, g
- Check each letter against the zig-zag family list. Only one letter gives the right answer.x in the list, t not in the list, g not in the list
- Write the answer. x
Check. The zig-zag family has: z, v, w, x. ✓
Watch out. Check the family list, not the sound of the letter.
Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.
Method. Find l in the list of letter families.
- Look for l in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.l is in the list
- Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.l is in the long ladder family
- Write the answer. long ladder
Check. The long ladder family has: l, i, t, u, j, y. ✓
Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.
Method. Find the family for each letter, then check the claim.
- Look up the letters in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.h, n
- Find the family of each letter. Check each letter against the list.h is in one-armed robot, n is in one-armed robot
- Compare with the claim. The claim is that they are in the curly caterpillar family.curly caterpillar ≠ one-armed robot
- Write the answer. No. h and n are in the one-armed robot family.
Check. The one-armed robot family has: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. ✓
Watch out. Check the list of families. Do not guess from the shape of the letters.
Method. Think about how the letters are made, then say why they are grouped.
- Look at a family. Letters in one family start in a similar way.curly caterpillar: c, a, d, g, o, q
- Think about how they are made. Similar letters are easier to learn together.they start with a similar stroke
- Write the answer. Letters in one family are made in a similar way, so they are easier to learn.
Check. Two letters from one family are made in a similar way. ✓
Watch out. The family does not change the sound of a letter.