CVC 'en' Family Worksheet: Read, Cut, and Reveal!
The 'en' word family (pen, ten, hen) gives children ages 4-5 practice blending a nasal consonant sound at the end of a word, which can be slightly trickier to hear clearly than simpler endings like 'at' or 'ip.' Reading each word before revealing the hidden picture builds independent decoding confidence, since children have to commit to an answer before checking it rather than reading the picture first. This worksheet also reinforces that reading is a two-step process — sound out, then blend — which is foundational for all future word attack skills.
Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Sound out the first 'en' word together, blending the beginning letter into the shared 'en' ending. Ask your child to predict the hidden picture based only on the word before cutting along the dotted line. Have them fold back the flap to check their prediction against the actual picture. Move through the remaining words the same way, letting your child take the lead as their confidence builds.
Materials needed
- Pencil
- Scissors
Extension activities
- •Create your own 'en' word family flashcards for words not on the worksheet, like 'den' or 'men.'
- •Write simple sentences together using the 'en' words, such as 'The hen sat on ten eggs.'
- •Count to ten together and talk about how the number word 'ten' belongs to this same family.
- •Play an oral rhyming game, taking turns saying real or made-up words that rhyme with 'en.'
Tips for parents and teachers
Encourage your child to sound out each letter and blend the sounds together rather than skipping straight to a guess — this is the habit that will carry over into reading unfamiliar words later. If a child mixes up 'en' words with similarly-shaped ones like 'in' words, it can help to say both patterns side by side so they hear the vowel difference. Provide positive reinforcement and make it a fun activity so word family practice stays something your child looks forward to.
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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