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-ap word family list

The -ap word family is every word that ends in ap, such as cap, gap, lap. Many -ap words are actions (clap, tap, snap, flap), so your child can act each one out after reading it.

This list has 19 -ap words in 3 groups. The first group is the easiest; the later groups add a blend, a digraph or a second syllable, so your child can keep going as the pattern gets easy.

Starter words

  • cap
  • gap
  • lap
  • map
  • nap
  • rap
  • sap
  • tap
  • yap

Words with blends and digraphs

  • chap
  • clap
  • flap
  • scrap
  • snap
  • strap
  • trap

Longer words

  • catnap
  • mishap
  • recap

How to use this list

  1. Read a word, then do it: clap after clap, tap the table after tap, flap your arms after flap.
  2. Read this silly sentence together: "Clap, snap and tap, then take a nap on my lap."
  3. Keep sessions short: a few minutes a day beats one long session a week.
  4. Ask your child to say each sound and then blend them into the word. If they guess from the first letter, cover the word and go sound by sound again.
  5. Print the flashcards, mix them up, and read them out of order once the list feels easy, so your child is reading the word and not remembering the list.

Frequently asked questions

What is the -ap word family?

A group of words that all end in the same letters and sound, -ap. Children read the ending as one chunk, so they only have to work out the sound at the start.

Is "scrap" too hard for a beginner?

It starts with three consonants, s-c-r, so save it for after the starter words. Once cap and trap are easy, scrap is the same -ap chunk with three sounds in front of it.

Should my child memorise these words?

No. The aim is to read the ending as a chunk and blend it with the first sound. If your child can read a word from the list they have never seen before, the pattern has clicked.

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