Dolch primer · Kindergarten

The Sight Word "ate"

Hear it, read it in a sentence, then play it.

Play "ate"
ate

The goat ate my hat.

How to teach "ate"

  1. Say it. Read the sentence together, then say ate on its own.
  2. Good to know. The silent e makes the first vowel say its name.
  3. Spell it. It has 3 letters. Say them aloud while tracing them on the table with a finger.
  4. Find it. Hunt for ate in a book you're reading. Then play a round of the game below.

Words it gets mixed up with

Early readers often confuse ate with words that look like it: eat, are, at, and. The game uses these on purpose, so children learn to look at every letter.

Sounds the same, spelled differently

ate sounds the same as eight. Use a sentence to show which one you mean.

Play "ate"

"ate" shows up in every question

Free to play · no signup · works on phones, tablets and computers

Open the game full screen

Quick quiz: which word do you hear?

Print and practice

PrintFlash cards with "ate"This word and its look-alikes. PrintRead, trace, writeTrace it, then write it from memory.

More words

←atAll primer words→be

Questions

Is "ate" a sight word?

Yes. It's on the Dolch primer list, usually taught around Kindergarten.

What's a good sentence for "ate"?

Try this one: The goat ate my hat.