New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) Early Childhood Practice Test

Which term refers to word families in phonics?

1. Digraphs

2. Phonograms

3. Diphthongs

4. CVC patterns

The correct answer is: Phonograms

The term that refers to word families in phonics is phonograms. Phonograms are groups of letters that represent a common phonetic sound pattern, and they can be used to identify and create multiple words that share the same sounds and spellings at the end of the word. For example, in the word family "at," phonograms would include words like "cat," "hat," and "mat." Phonograms help young learners recognize patterns in spelling and pronunciation, thereby facilitating reading and writing skills. This concept is essential in phonics instruction as it enables children to decode and encode new words based on their understanding of familiar patterns. While digraphs refer to two letters representing one sound (like "sh" in "shop") and diphthongs refer to complex vowel sounds formed by the combination of two vowels (like "oi" in "boil"), they do not encompass the broader concept of word families. CVC patterns pertain specifically to the consonant-vowel-consonant structure but do not explicitly refer to the idea of word families that phonograms capture.