-ing Word Family: Word List & Practice
-ing Word Family words follow one repeating pattern, so a child who can read one of them has most of what they need to read the rest. This list has 9 grade 1-level words plus 4 decodable sentences. Practice them out loud — the most common error is splitting '-ing' into separate n and g sounds.
- king
- ring
- sing
- wing
- bring
- cling
- sting
- swing
- thing
Practice these words out loud
Have your child read these sentences to Word Wiz AI. It listens and shows exactly which sounds they missed, not just whether the word was right. Free, no sign-up needed to try.
Try these out loudDecodable Sentences
Every word in these sentences uses sounds your child has already learned, so they can be read by decoding rather than guessing.
- The king can sing and swing.
- Bring the ring to the wing.
- Cling to the thing that stings.
- Sing a song on the swing.
How to Teach -ing Word Family Words
The -ing family is one of the most important nasal rime families to teach as a single chunk, since '-ing' also happens to be the most common word ending in the entire English language once children start reading verbs like 'running' and 'jumping.' Teaching your child to instantly recognize '-ing' as one unit here pays enormous dividends across nearly every book they will read from this point forward.
Several -ing words carry beginning blends ('bring,' 'cling,' 'sting,' 'swing'), so use 'king,' 'ring,' 'sing,' and 'wing' as the entry point before tackling those. As with -ang and -ank, resist letting your child sound out the 'n' and 'g' separately — model the whole '-ing' chunk as one smooth sound.
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Splitting '-ing' into separate n and g sounds
- Confusing -ing with -ang or -ong when reading quickly
- Dropping a consonant in beginning blends like 'sting' or 'swing'