Activity Description

Preparation:

1. Prepare a sequence of 8 words
a. Each word in the sequence should differ from the word before by one letter-sound
For example: cat-rat-bat-bad-dad-mad-mud-sud
2. Prepare a list of short, simple clues to describe each word
a. For example, the clue for the word rat could be: a rodent that has a long tail and whiskers
3. Make copies of the Word Ladder worksheet for each student

Implementation:

1. Provide each student with a worksheet and explain the concept of a word ladder
a. A word ladder is a special sequence of words where each word differs from the one before by only one
letter-sound
b. You need to correctly guess each new word on the ladder to be able to discover the secret word at the
end
2. Tell students the first word and ask them to write it down on the top rung of the ladder
3. Tell students that they are to change one letter-sound in the first word to discover the second word
4. Read students your first clue
5. Allow students time to think about the new word and have them write it down on their page
6. Continue reading your clues and giving students time to write their answers
7. Finish with your last clue and tell students that this final word is the secret word of the day
8. Have students write the secret word in big letters on the back of their page and hold up their answers for the rest of the class to see
9. Review the intermediate words (and clues) that were manipulated to reach the secret word
a. Define and expand on any new or interesting vocabulary
b. Call attention to the ways that the sounds of words changed and how that affected the spelling
For example, To change bat to cat, we only had to change the first sound we heard. The rest of the
word, the part that said at, stayed the same. Or: To change mad to "mud we had to hear that the
short vowel in the middle was different, but the beginning and ending sounds were the same. In mad
we heard the /a/ sound and in mud, the /u/ sound.

Adaptations For

English Language Learners/ESL:

- Use pictures of the different words instead of, or in addition to, verbal clues
- Enunciate the sounds of the phonemes that will be changed and what they will be changed to

LD/Reading & Writing Difficulties:

- Repeat the clues several times
- Allow additional time between clues for students to think about the new words

Cultural Appropriateness & Diversity:

- Use words from around the world
- Use words that relate to a current class topic on diversity

Differentiated Instruction:

- Allow students to work in partners
- Give students the chance to enact the activity independently on in small groups

Related References

Source:
Padak, N. & Rasinski, T. (2008). The games children play. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 363-365.

Evidence:
Armbruster, B.B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2003). Phonics instruction. In Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read kindergarten through grade 3. Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy.