Word Chain

by Danielle B

Price: 40 points or $0.4 USD

Subjects: ela,speech,specialed

Grades: 15

Description: Word chains help build phonemic awareness and sound-spelling knowledge! They are especially useful for students who find the added task of handwriting overwhelming. First you make a word, read it aloud, and then ask your learner to change it into a different word (e.g. "Change 'sad' to 'bad'." Students must consider the identity, order and number of sounds in the words, work out how and where the words differ, and make the appropriate spelling change. Having ready-made sequences allows you to present this activity at a fast pace, get through a lot of words in a short time, and not inadvertently confuse anyone with too many patterns at once. Recognizing first, middle and final sounds in a word is a skill students need to build a strong foundation of phonemic awareness.