Description
Climb your way to stronger reading skills with these Word Ladders Phonics Task Cards! This engaging resource helps students build phonemic awareness and master phoneme manipulation as they work through fun and interactive word chains.
Students begin at the bottom of each ladder and change one letter at a time to form new words as they move to the top. It’s the perfect way to practice phoneme substitution and reinforce spelling patterns across a variety of phonics skills.
This Science of Reading aligned activity encourages students to analyze sound-letter relationships and supports both decoding and encoding practice.
What’s Included in the Word Ladders Phonics Task Cards:
- 158 Word Ladder Task Cards
- 6 Phonics Skill Sets:
- CVC Word Ladders (40)
- CVCE Word Ladders (40)
- Blends Word Ladders (29)
- Digraphs Word Ladders (12)
- Long Vowel Word Ladders (26)
- R-Controlled Vowel Word Ladders (11)
- Box labels for task card storage
- Word list reference for all ladders
How to Use:
- Students begin with a start word at the bottom of the ladder
- They change one sound (phoneme) at a time to form a new word
- The process continues until they reach the top word
- Use magnetic letters or dry erase markers for interactive play
- Ideal for:
- Word work centers
- Small group instruction
- Phonics intervention
- Early finishers
Skills Covered:
- Phonemic Awareness
- Phoneme Substitution
- Phoneme Manipulation
- Decoding and Encoding
- Spelling Patterns
- Sound-to-Print Connection
Why Teachers Love the Word Ladders Task Cards:
- Supports Science of Reading instruction
- Promotes higher-level phonics thinking through interactive word play
- Differentiated by phonics skill level
- No-prep and easy to store in task card boxes
- Builds student confidence with engaging, game-like learning
Make Phonics Fun and Powerful!
These Word Ladders Phonics Task Cards are a classroom favorite for turning word work into an exciting challenge. Students will love changing sounds and discovering new words as they climb to the top of each ladder!
