75 Word Chaining
Catherine Moen
Strategy Overview
- Word Chaining is a way for students to start with one word and then change a letter to have a new word. This works best with teacher guidance so that students can hear the letter that needs to be changed based on the sound they hear.
- This is important because students can practice connecting letters and letter sounds which is essential to their understanding of phonics.
- “When students word chain, they have tocath think about both the sound and the print. The important thing to remember is that when students practice word chaining, they are only changing one sound at a time” (Burkholder, 2023).
Strategy in Action
The teacher will begin by giving the students a soundboard or having a word chaining chart presented for the students to see. The teacher will begin by having a word to start with. Starting small with a 3-letter word for young learners is a good way to start. The teacher with read the word to the students. Once the word is read the teacher will tell the students to change one of the letter sounds to a new one to create a new word. For example, “we have the word cat, change the word to “bat”. The teacher may also want to break down the word by letter sound, so the students know what letter they need to change to create the new word. This process can be repeated for as long as necessary by switching any three of the letters. Encourage students to create and name their own words for chaining.
Student Example
The students have a sound board in front of them with the word “cat” at the top.
Teacher: “We have to word “cat” let’s change it it “bat”. C-a-t to b-a-t.
Students will then look at the letters they have and notice that the first letter sound needs to be changed to create the new word.
Student: “We need to change the “c” to a “b”.
The student was able to identify the letter that needed to be changed by hearing the letter sound.
