A Mini-Book Just for Word Chains!

What’s the quickest and easiest way to present content to your students in a way that will make them excited and engaged about the topic? Why, give them a little book, of course!

Let’s face it… little learners LOVE little books! We’ve capitalized on this fact by creating this word chains mini-book to engage and excite your youngest students. As students work through the activities, they will practice decoding CVC words and creating word chains by manipulating one phoneme at a time – a critical skill that aids phonemic awareness. 

This word chains mini-book contains the following activities:

• Pages 1-2 (Word Chains): Start with the word at the top. Continue the word chain by changing one letter at a time to match each picture. 
• Pages 3-4 (Missing Letters): Start with the word at the top. Add in the missing letters for each word until the word chain is finished. 
• Pages 5-6 (Changing Phonemes): Start with the word at the top. Read which sound to change in each word to make a new word. 
• Pages 7-8 (Word Chain Ladder): Write the missing words in the word chain ladder by changing one letter at a time.

How to Create This Word Chains Mini-Book

This resource contains five pages. Once cut in half, this creates ten mini-book pages. Follow the instructions below to create word chain mini-books that your students will love!

1. Print out the resource. Cut each page along the dotted line.
2. Staple the pages along the left-side margin to create a booklet. 
3. Distribute to the students.

NOTE: An answer key is included at the end of the download. We recommend printing one copy of the resource, removing the answer key, then printing the number of booklet pages required for your students.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

If you have a mixture of above- and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts:

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Help students who need support by completing this mini-book in a 1-on-1 setting or with a small group. Additionally, invite students to reference previous lessons, assignments, or posters to help them complete their mini-book.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

Allow students who need more of a challenge to complete the mini-book independently. Have them choose a word chain from the mini-book for extra extension, then continue this word chain by adding extra words. See how far they can go with it!

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

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

Assemble the mini-book pages and secure them with staples on the left-hand side of the book.

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