Word Chain Mazes for Phomeme Manipulation

One key aspect of phonemic awareness is adding, deleting, and substituting sounds in words to generate new ones. Take the word “pin” as an example. You change the “i” to an “e”, and voila! You have the word “pen”!

This set of worksheets allows students to practice identifying when the phonemes in a particular word have been manipulated or changed. Students start at the “Start Here” box. They color the path through the word chain maze by looking for one letter that changes from the previous word to the next.

The download includes:

• 3 x word chain mazes
• An answer key

Tips for Scaffolding and Extension

• Support students who may need additional scaffolding. Have them use a dry-erase board to write down the word options as they consider which path to travel through the maze. Support them in identifying the one letter that has changed from the word they are on.
• Challenge more-capable students by asking them to continue each word chain by changing one phoneme at a time.

Easily Download & Print

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. 

As this resource contains an answer sheet, we recommend you print one copy, then photocopy the desired number of worksheets for your class.

You might also like to print a few copies on cardstock, then slip them into dry-erase sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse. 

Alternatively, project the worksheet onto your interactive whiteboard for a paperless lesson!

This resource was created by Lisamarie Del Valle, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.