Fun 'op' Word Family Worksheet: Trace, Read, and Identify!
This worksheet builds phonics fluency by focusing on the 'op' word family, mop, cop, pop, top, and hop, helping children recognize that changing just the first letter of a word creates a whole new word with a shared ending sound. For ages 3-5, word family practice is one of the most effective early reading strategies, since it teaches children to decode groups of similar words rather than sounding out each one from scratch.
Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Read the first 'op' word aloud together, emphasizing the shared 'op' ending sound, then have your child trace the word along the dotted letters. Ask your child to look at the pictures provided and find the one that matches the word they just traced and read. Have your child circle the matching picture, confirming the connection between the written word and its meaning. Continue through each remaining 'op' family word the same way, tracing, reading, and matching to a picture.
Materials needed
- Pencil
- Crayons
Extension activities
- •Brainstorm any other 'op' family words your child can think of, even nonsense ones, to explore the pattern playfully.
- •Have your child write one or two 'op' words independently without tracing, to check retention.
- •Use each 'op' word in a simple spoken sentence, like 'The cop wears a badge.'
- •Create a matching game with word cards and picture cards for all five 'op' words.
- •Draw a picture of a favorite 'op' word, like a mop or a pop, to reinforce meaning alongside spelling.
Tips for parents and teachers
Point out explicitly that only the first letter changes between these words while the 'op' ending stays the same, since recognizing that pattern is the entire point of word family instruction. If your child sounds out each word from scratch every time rather than recognizing the repeated 'op' chunk, gently remind them to look for the familiar ending they've already read. Repetition across the five words in one sitting reinforces the pattern much more effectively than practicing them on separate days.
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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