Reading · Ages 5–6 · 12 minutes

Short U CVC Build-and-Change Ladder

A connected word ladder shows how changing one sound creates a new short-u word while the other sounds stay fixed.

Student name

BrightPath

Name:
Date:

Today I am practising: manipulating one phoneme in short-u CVC words

Build sun with three letter tiles or written letters.

Change /s/ to /f/. Write the new word fun.

Change the last sound in fun to /n/. Explain why the word stays fun.

Start with bug. Change /b/ to /m/ and write mug.

Change the last sound in mug to /d/ and write mud.

Choose sun or mud and draw a clue that proves you can read it.

Grown-up note: Ask your learner to explain one answer in their own words.

For the grown-up

How to teach this page

Step 1Use scrap-paper letter tiles if movable letters are available.
Step 2Require the child to point to the position that changes before moving a letter.
Step 3Read the whole ladder from bottom to top at the end.