1st Grade Keys

First Grade KEYS

(Also known as "word families", "chunks",  or "rimes".)

As children begin read and understand more about the way the sounds in words work together, they will begin to think of words as not only a series of individual letters, but as recognizable segments or chunks.  The following is the order in which those "keys" are presented in 1st grade:

- All short /a/ keys:  ad, an, at, ab, ag, am, ap, ack, and, ath

- All short /i/ keys: ig, in, ick, ish, id, ill, ink, ip, it

- All short /u/ keys: ug, ut, uck, ub, um, un, ump

- All short /o/ keys: ot, op, ock, ob, od, og

- All short /e/ keys: en, et, ed, ell, est, ent, ess

- Long /a/ keys with magic E: ame, ade, ake, ate

- Long /i/ keys with magic E: ite, ide, ile, ice, ine, ive, ime

- Long /o/ keys with magic E: ole, ome, ope, ose, oke, one

- Long /u/ with magic E: ute, ule, ube, une

- Long /a/: ay, ail, ain, ait

- Long /e/: eep, eet

- Long /o/: oat, oad, old, ow

- Bossy /r/: ar, ark, art

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