Short U Word Families Worksheets

Short u rounds out the vowel set. First graders sort -ug, -ump, and -uck words, handle a two-consonant ending as a single chunk, and see the ck rule one more time, which by now feels like an old friend.

By grade

What students need to know

Words in the same family share their ending: bug and rug are -ug words; jump and bump are -ump words.

This skill runs from kindergarten through 1st grade. Pick a grade above for level-matched sentences, teaching notes, and worksheets.

Short U Word Families across the grades

Kindergarten

The short-u families on this sheet are -ug (bug, rug), -ump (jump, bump), and -uck (duck, truck). Kindergartners sort by the rhyming ending; the -ump column gently introduces endings with two consonants.

1st Grade

Short u rounds out the vowel set. First graders sort -ug, -ump, and -uck words, handle a two-consonant ending as a single chunk, and see the ck rule one more time, which by now feels like an old friend.