-ut Word Family Worksheets

Give the child the page after a warm-up of reading the words aloud. Six rows take around ten minutes. Cut and nut are easy to demonstrate, and but is a word they will see in nearly every book. Some parents prefer to skip gut and rut or explain them in one line. Check with the answer key, or print 5 versions for a table of students who sit close together.

Practice here is hearing the final t sound clearly and writing it as a crossed stem. The t is quick to say, so children sometimes drop it and write bu. But is also a sight word, so this page gives double use: a word family and a high-frequency word. Short u should come first. After this page, -ug, -un and -ub keep the vowel and give new endings.

If a child writes only the first two letters of a word, say the whole word slowly and ask for the last sound. The six rows are first sound plus -ut, and the t needs a clear stop. But and cut come easily; skip a long talk about gut. Missing vowel follows once endings are steady, and Rhyming adds a matching sheet.

Why does my child leave off the final t?

The t is a quick, quiet stop, so beginners often write only the first two letters. Say each word slowly and have them tap three times, once per sound, before writing. Counting sounds usually fixes it.

Is but a word family word or a sight word?

Both. It fits the -ut pattern and also shows up in almost every sentence a beginner reads. Seeing it as a family word helps spelling, and seeing it in books builds speed.

Should I explain gut and rut?

A short line is enough: the gut is the stomach area, a rut is a groove in a dirt road. Or leave them out and concentrate on but, cut, hut and nut, which children meet far more often.