AM Word Family Sorting Activities

Three sorts for the AM family: students separate AM words and pictures from other CVC words and pictures, then decide which AM-pattern words are real, like ham and jam, and which are nonsense, like zam and vam.
Year levels
Pre-school, Year 1
Pages
6
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Sep 26, 2026

Subject
Phonics, Language Development, English
Topic
CVC Words, Real and Nonsense Words
Resource types
Activities
Preparation
Print ready

From the author

About this resource

This AM Word Family Sorting Activity is a great resource for your students to practise recognising AM words and pictures in isolation. This sorting activity includes three different sorts for students to categorise AM family words in an engaging literacy centre.

Sorts Included in this Literacy Resource

  • Sort words that are included in the AM family from words that are not included in the AM family.

  • Sort pictures that represent words in the AM family from pictures that represent words not in the AM family.

  • Sort between real and nonsense AM words.

The teacher can easily differentiate these sorting activities for students who need more or less support to be successful in completing these sorts.

How to Use:

  • The teacher can create a file folder sorting activity

  • The teacher can add magnets to the picture pieces and create a baking tray sorting activity

  • The teacher can place the cards and mats in a box for a simple sorting activity

To assemble file folder activities, position the two sorting mats on each side of a file folder. Use the word and image cards for sorting onto the mats. Adding hook and loop fasteners to both the cards and mats ensures the cards remain positioned once sorted. For the baking tray sorting, attach magnets to each card's back. Lay the mats next to each other on the tray, and the magnets will secure the cards to the mats. These methods provide an interactive literacy station that will captivate your Foundation and Year 1 students as they learn and practise AM family words.

Ways to Use:

  • Early Finishers

  • Independent Work

  • Small Group Activity

  • Literacy Centre

  • Morning Work

These sorting activities require minimal preparation. the teacher needs to just print each of the pages on card stock, cut the picture sorting cards, and then laminate them if so desired to create a reusable literacy activity.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Distinguish AM family words from other CVC words

  • Decide whether an AM-pattern word is real or nonsense

Skills covered

  • Decoding — reading AM-pattern words to judge real versus nonsense

  • Categorising — sorting word cards by word family

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