compound words for kids

When two or more words come together to form a single new word the meaning of which is different from either of the individual words, it is a compound word. Example: cheesecake, watchman, sunflower, sandbox, pitfall, etc. To read about compound words in detail, check this post. You can also download the free anchor chart from that post.

 

 

 

Compound words introduce children to longer words. In this post, I will be covering the compound word family. We use simple base words and create multiple words using them.

 

 

 

 

In the above worksheet, the base or root word is ‘sun.’ Inside the picture of the sun are words that can be combined with ‘sun’ to form new words with a new meaning. Practicing engaging activities early on with children helps build a strong vocabulary. You can find 8 words with ‘sun’ as the base word.

 

 

The next worksheet has ball as the base word. Ask children about the various words with ‘ball’ in them. Then try this exercise with them. Please note that the base word can come at first or towards the end.

 

 

 

 

The above worksheet uses ‘heart’ as the common word to form multiple words. These words like sweetheart, heartache, braveheart, heartfelt, heartburn, heartbeat, heartland, heartbreak, etc. will enrich your kid’s vocabulary.

 

 

 

A lot of long words or compound words can be formed using ‘hand’ as the base word. In the above worksheet, kids can form words like handover, backhand, handbag, handcuffs, handsome, handshake, handstand, handmade, etc.

 

 

 

Using the word ‘house,’ kids can form a lot of compound words like outhouse, houseboat, housewife, farmhouse, household, treehouse, dollhouse, doghouse, etc. The interesting thing is that the word house can be used before or after to form the compound word.

 

 

 

With ‘man’ as the base word, we can form words like watchman, doorman, manhandle, manhunt, manhole, fisherman, spiderman, superman, etc. Do try my compound words puzzle game with your kids.

 

The last worksheet has ‘berry’ as the base word. Children can form words like blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, sugarberry, gooseberry, elderberry, silverberry, etc.

I am sharing a compound words list with pictures that can also be used as a wall display. Click on the chart below to download its PDF file.

 

 

I like how these worksheets help children come up with new words and teach them how to break longer words and understand the concept of reading longer words. This leads to reading fluency.

I hope you find this resource useful.