Word Ladders: Building Words Step by Step

Did you ever want to climb a ladder as a kid and someone told you not to? We all have, and kids love to climb ladders of any size. Listening to sounds in words and then working with them to change the sounds is an important skill for all students. Using Word Ladders for sound chaining makes a perfect multi-sensory way to help children hear sounds in words.

When many of us think of word ladders, we may think of the old books students could work through. I found these to be a great challenge for some of the students I work with. For my word ladders, I simply call out some words, changing one sound as I go. This is sometimes called sound chaining since each word builds on the others.

Here are some examples of how I use word ladders for building words in my reading interventions.

With these word ladders, the students use magnetic letters to complete the sound chaining.

Dry erase markers are perfect for word building on these word ladders. Sometimes I even use nonsense words to get from one word to another.

My kindergarten and first grade students look forward to using word ladders for word building throughout the week. I like to use them as we review words and spellings from previous days. 

This word ladder freebie will help you and your students practice sound chaining. I have included a few sample lists of CVC words to get you started. Click here or on the picture below to get your copy!

Here is the digital version you can use in Google Slides.

I hope your students enjoy using word ladders as much as mine do! Have fun!