Phonics Coloring Worksheets for Word Families! (Freebies!)

Phonics Coloring Worksheets for Word Families give kids practice finding and reading words with standard phonics spelling rules and a chance to color creatively, too! They also give children practice reading and contrasting words from two different word families, which is great practice in sounding out words.

As children find and color the pictures according to the words written inside them, they get valuable practice thinking of reading words in terms of word families and phonics spelling patterns. The coloring makes it fun, too! I think that these worksheets are the PERFECT addition for “morning work” in phonics if I do say so myself! And we have a couple of freebies for you to try out yourself if you like! Scroll all the way down the bottom to find them! Otherwise, click here to purchase them for just $5 per volume! Here’s a link to Set 1, and here’s a link to Set 2.

All of the words in these two phonics worksheet sets are the same words that are presented in the Phonics Songs Video Collection. I LOVE that these two resources compliment each other so well! They are also the same words are also presented in the Phonics Worksheets & Flashcards, Sets One and Two. (See the word list below.)

Here is the word list for the Set 1 of the Phonics worksheets!

(But there is just ONE video collection in our HeidiSongs.tv Video Streaming Site!)

Here is the word list for Set 2 of worksheets—but again, there is just ONE Phonics video collection on our HeidiSongs.tv Video Streaming Site!

The sound spelling or phonics rule can be taught by letting the children watch or listen to the videos! Of course, these may also be taught traditionally instead!

For those of you who didn’t know, words are shown in the upper left-hand corner of the Phonics video as it plays. My class enjoyed singing a phonics song once through and then watching it again with the sound muted, reading the words together as they appeared on the screen. (See below.)

The Phonics Songs collection has word family words in the left-hand corner for kids to read as the song plays! These are the same words that appear on the worksheets and also in the Phonics Worksheets & Flashcards Sets.

To introduce the phonics worksheet, all you really need to do is review the Phonics songs that the worksheet focuses on. Then, have them watch again with the sound turned down while they practice reading the words on the upper left-hand side.

These are the workbooks that contain the same words as the Phonics Coloring Worksheets for Word Families sets.

Suggested Instructions for the Worksheets

1. Introduce the phonics spelling pattern or rule to the children. Practice reading the words on the worksheet together. I use the Phonics Songs Videos for this, but you could use any method! There is a clip below for those of you who are not familiar. Have the children read the words on the upper left-hand side after singing and dancing along with the video.

2. Read the instructions on the worksheet aloud to the children. Demonstrate what to do with one or two examples.

3. Have the children find and underline the words they should color FIRST, and then release them to relax and color. Before I passed out the worksheets, I first modeled how they should find the spelling patterns in each word and then underlined that word with the color indicated on the worksheet. Then, of course, I removed my worksheet so that they could not simply copy mine!

If you are working in small groups, have the kids first find and underline the target words with the given color. Then let them relax and color at their leisure while you listen to them each try to read the words individually.

4. Pass out the worksheets, reminding the children to start by finding and underlining the target words with the correct color before coloring. Children can put a colored dot or underline with a different color the words that don’t fit the target spelling pattern. Watch for and correct any mistakes in the underlining before they begin coloring when it is easiest and less frustrating for the children to correct!

5. After they have found each target word and underlined it with the correct color, they may begin to color those words according to the instructions. You may wish to have them double-check the words with you first before they start coloring.

6. When the target words are colored, the children may color the rest of the words “any other color” or follow the instructions as stated on the worksheet. This works well because some children will want to make rainbows out of some of the objects or color them very carefully, and that should be done after the rest of the “work” has been completed.

7. You may want to let children who struggle simply underline the words with the designated color, not require any coloring, etc. They could even place markers on the correct words instead of using a pencil or crayon. The thought process is the same, so it’s up to you!

These worksheets are meant to be somewhat open-ended in terms of how much work needs to be completed.

Some children who enjoy coloring may want to color in all the objects and have fun with them! Others may only want to find words in the targeted spelling pattern and cross out the rest, etc. Feel free to differentiate for your students as you see fit!

I usually ask my students to keep working on it until time is up and then turn it in. If they don’t finish coloring in all of the “any other color” words, it’s not a problem! They can always finish coloring in during recess if they want, or at home.

I hope you enjoy this resource and that it is helpful to you! Only $5!! Here’s a link to Set 1, and here’s a link to Set 2. You can try out a couple of freebies by clicking below!