-it Word Family: Word List & Practice
-it 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 10 kindergarten-level words plus 4 decodable sentences. Practice them out loud — the most common error is reading 'qu' as just a /k/ sound instead of /kw/.
- bit
- fit
- hit
- kit
- pit
- sit
- wit
- quit
- spit
- slit
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.
- Sit in the pit and hit the ball.
- Fit the kit in the bit.
- Do not quit or spit.
- The slit is a bit small.
How to Teach -it Word Family Words
The -it family is another workhorse short-i family full of common, everyday words — 'sit,' 'hit,' 'fit,' 'bit' — that appear constantly in early readers and classroom instructions. Because these words are so frequent, this is a good family to practice for automatic, instant recognition rather than slow, effortful sounding-out, since your child will need instant recall of these words very soon in their reading development.
'Quit' is worth a specific mention: the 'qu' combination always makes a /kw/ sound together, never just /k/, so remind your child that q is essentially never seen without u right after it in English. This is a good early introduction to the qu spelling convention that will reappear in many future words.
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Reading 'qu' as just a /k/ sound instead of /kw/
- Confusing short i with short e in this family
- Dropping the beginning consonant in 'spit' or 'slit'