Word Ladder

Change one letter at a time to turn one word into another — how many steps does it take?

Write a start word and an end word on the board — for example CAT and DOG.

Explain the rule — you can only change one letter at a time and every step must be a real word.

Show an example on the board: CAT → COT → COG → DOG.

Give pairs or teams a new word ladder challenge and set a timer for two minutes.

The pair that completes it in the fewest steps wins the round.

Work through the answer together on the board so all children see the solution.

Stick to three-letter CVC words for ages 5–6 — cat, dog, hen, pig, bin, bag, bed.

Do the first ladder together as a class on the board before pairs try independently.

Accept any valid route — there is often more than one correct path between two words.

Have a bank of five or six ladders ready so fast finishers can move straight to the next.

Race version — two teams on the board at the same time, each building their own ladder.

Open ladder — give only the start word and let children choose their own destination.

Longest ladder — challenge pairs to make the longest possible ladder from a single start word.

Draw it — children draw a picture for each word in their ladder to reinforce meaning.