-ot Word Family: Word List & Practice
-ot 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 13 kindergarten-level words plus 4 decodable sentences. Practice them out loud — the most common error is attempting to pronounce the silent k in 'knot'.
- dot
- got
- hot
- jot
- lot
- not
- pot
- rot
- tot
- shot
- spot
- trot
- knot
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 hot pot has a spot.
- Got a lot? Jot it down.
- The tot will trot, not rot.
- Shot a dot, tied a knot.
How to Teach -ot Word Family Words
The -ot family includes 'not' and 'got,' two extremely common words your child will see on nearly every page of an early reader, so build in extra repetition here even after the family feels 'done.' 'Hot' and 'pot' are similarly frequent and concrete, giving an easy, motivating starting point.
'Knot' is worth calling out directly: the k is silent before n at the beginning of a word, a spelling pattern that also shows up in 'know' and 'knee.' Rather than having your child try to sound out the k, simply tell them it is silent here — this is one of a small handful of silent-letter rules worth teaching explicitly rather than discovering through trial and error.
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Attempting to pronounce the silent k in 'knot'
- Confusing short o and short u sounds
- Dropping a consonant in blends like 'spot' or 'trot'