It has taken until November to finally start spelling. Normally, I try to start spelling at the end of September, but that definitely wasn’t going to happen! If you have been teaching for a while, are you finding the academic level of students dropping? So, with the start of spelling, comes word ladders. I really like word ladders; been using them about 4-5 years now.
Why Word Ladders?
In the age of “Science of Reading” type materials, word ladders are great for a few reasons. They:
- develop vocabulary
- teach children to solve word problems
- strengthen and reinforce letter sounds
- teach children that playing with sounds is fun
- help reinforce the spelling of words
I created these for our class to supplement each week’s spelling lists. Initially we complete word ladders together (until students get the gist) and then they go into our literacy rotations and “early finishers” choice board (more than half the class love to do them).
Word Ladders Are Easy To Use
If you haven’t tried them, I highly encourage you to start.
As you can see by the picture, they have the image of a ladder. You start at the bottom and work your way up. With each rung/step of the ladder, students change one letter to create a new word. Word ladders come with images and without images. If your students are new to using them, start with visuals. Before handing them out, go through each image to make sure YOU know what students need to change. I made the mistake of handing out a set (purchased from another teacher) and we struggled with an image!
Developing Students’ Reading Fluency
When it comes to teaching students to read and build their fluency, word play is important. Do your students know how to manipulate words? This helps in both reading and writing. I like that I can quickly assess if students are able to change vowel sounds readily. For example, bag to bug or big or beg, or bog (do you know what a bog is?). Sometimes the errors can come from not understanding what the picture represents, but then you can determine their vocabulary level. For example:
Ask your students what they see in the image. Yes, they see a dog but do they see an arrow? What is the arrow pointing at? Tail, okay, we’re getting closer. This is where I might help them by reminding them that this particular word ladder is using words with a short vowel a. Does tail have a short vowel sound or long vowel sound of a?
Another clue I may give is to get students to look ahead to the image above. Do they recognize that it is a bag? If you have English Language Learners in your class, you will need to spend a couple minutes going over the images on the paper. One feature in this product is a glossary to help your students and you! (See below)
If you are looking for different ways to reinforce letter sounds for your students, I highly recommend using word ladders. They are low prep for you. My students think they are a game. It’s a win-win!
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Happy Teaching!
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