-ig Word Family Worksheets

Seven words is a comfortable amount for ten minutes. Read them first, then write. Pig, wig and dig lend themselves to acting out: wiggle, dig with a hand, snort. Use the answer key afterward, and press New version for a fresh page. In a class, 5 versions keeps neighbors from copying, and Practice online lets a child write on a touchscreen. Let the child pick which word to write first.

The g here is hard, as in go, not soft as in giant. Big, dig, pig and wig are everyday words, while fig, jig and rig are rarer, so keep their meanings brief. Short i is easy to confuse with short e, so pairing -ig with -it keeps attention on the final letter. Children who read this family smoothly are ready for -in and -ip.

Pig, wig and dig anchor the seven rows, so begin there and leave fig, jig and rig for the end. Each row is first sound plus -ig, written and then read. A whiteboard first helps a child who resists pencils. Missing vowel is the check that short i is not drifting to e, and Rhyming adds a matching round.

Which -ig words might need explaining?

Jig, rig and fig. A jig is a lively dance, a rig is equipment set up for a job, and a fig is a soft, sweet fruit. Big, dig, pig and wig need no help.

How is the g in pig different from giant?

In pig it is hard, like the g in go. All the words on this sheet use that sound. Soft g, as in giant, comes later and is a separate lesson, so skip it for now.

What are the seven -ig words?

Big, dig, fig, jig, pig, wig and rig. Every one is a real word with short i. The -it column beside them gives extra reading practice and a chance to compare pig with pit.