Cut and Paste 'At' Family Worksheet: Practice Beginning Sounds!
Working through the 'at' word family — cat, hat, bat, mat, rat — sharpens the specific phonics skill of blending a beginning consonant with a familiar rime to build a real word. For four- and five-year-olds, this rime-based approach is one of the fastest routes into independent reading, since recognizing the 'at' chunk lets them decode dozens of words without sounding out every letter individually.
Part of the pack
Month 4: Learning & Development | Ages 4-5Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Start by cutting out the letter tiles at the bottom of the page together. Point to the first picture and ask your child to name it aloud — for example, 'cat.' Have them find the letter that makes the beginning sound they hear, then glue it into the blank space in front of '-at' to complete the word. Repeat picture by picture, checking each finished word by reading it back together before moving to the next.
Materials needed
- Scissors
- Glue
- Pencil
Extension activities
- •Set out small objects or toy figures (a cat, a bat, a hat) and ask your child to sort them by whether their name belongs in the 'at' family.
- •Make a set of letter cards (b, c, f, h, m, p, r, s) and take turns sliding each one in front of '-at' to see which make real words.
- •Write 'at' family words on sticky notes and hide them around the room for a phonics scavenger hunt.
- •Read a simple rhyming book built around 'at' words, like a story about a cat in a hat, and pause to point out the family pattern.
- •Have your child draw a picture for one 'at' word and label it themselves using the letters they just learned.
Tips for parents and teachers
Watch whether your child is truly listening for the beginning sound or just guessing from the picture — ask them to say the word slowly before choosing a letter. Mixing up visually similar letters like b and d is common at this age and isn't a sign of trouble; just have them trace the letter shape with a finger while naming it. Celebrate each completed word before moving on so the activity stays rewarding rather than repetitive.
Written by
Hemsweta Jain · Teacher Cheena
MBA and Early Childhood Educator, teaching since 2014 · Founder of RaisoActive, Mumbai
Every RaisoActive worksheet is designed and checked by the founder before publishing.
Published · Last reviewed
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Phase 2 Phonics at Home: Sound Order, Blending Games, Worksheets
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A teacher's plain-English guide to the Reception Year: the seven areas of learning, Early Learning Goals, Phase 2/3 phonics, the RBA and home routines.
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