Interactive word ladder worksheet where students modify words by changing sounds to find the hidden answer, starting from "sun."

Let’s solve this word ladder step by step.

We start at the bottom with the word:
sun

Now we go up the ladder, following each clue to change one sound (letter) at a time to make a new 3-letter word.

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Step 1: Bottom rung → next rung up
Clue: *Change the beginning sound. Faster than a walk.*
“Sun” starts with “s”. What word is faster than a walk and sounds like “sun” but with a different first letter?
→ Think: “run” is faster than a walk! And it’s just changing “s” to “r”.
✔ New word: run

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Step 2: Next rung up
Clue: *Change the middle sound. It happened in the past.*
Current word: “run”
Middle letter is “u”. Change it to make a past tense verb.
→ “ran” is the past tense of “run”. That fits!
✔ New word: ran

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Step 3: Next rung up
Clue: *Change the beginning sound. Yes I __.*
Current word: “ran”
Beginning letter is “r”. Change it to complete the phrase “Yes I ___.”
→ Common phrase: “Yes I can!” But that’s not 3 letters starting with something else… Wait — maybe “Yes I am”? No, doesn’t fit.
Wait — think again: “Yes I ___” — what 3-letter word rhymes with “ran” and makes sense?
Ah! “Yes I can” — but “can” doesn’t rhyme with “ran” exactly? Actually, in some accents it does, but let’s check another option.
What about “Yes I did”? Doesn’t rhyme.
Wait — perhaps “Yes I am”? No.
Hold on — maybe it’s “Yes I see”? No.
Let’s rethink: The clue says “Change the beginning sound.” So from “ran”, change the “r” to something else to get a word that completes “Yes I ___.”
The most common phrase is “Yes I can” — but “can” has a short “a” like “ran”? In many dialects, yes — they’re close enough for a word ladder.
But let’s try another path: What if it’s “Yes I do”? Not 3 letters.
Wait — here’s a better idea: “Yes I will”? Too long.
Actually — think of “Yes I have”? No.
Maybe it’s “Yes I know”? No.
Wait — perhaps it’s “Yes I see”? Still no.
Let’s look ahead — maybe we’ll find a better fit later. Let’s hold off and come back.

Wait — actually, there’s a classic word ladder trick here. From “ran”, change the beginning to get “fan”? “Yes I fan”? Doesn’t make sense.
“Pan”? “Yes I pan”? No.
“Man”? “Yes I man”? No.
“Tan”? “Yes I tan”? Maybe — as in sunbathing? But not really “yes I tan” as a phrase.
Hmm.

Wait — let’s skip and do the next clue, then come back.

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Step 4: Next rung up
Clue: *Change the end sound. Not a dog.*
Current word: ??? We don’t have it yet because Step 3 was stuck.
Wait — let’s reorganize.

Actually, let’s list the clues in order from bottom to top:

Rung 1 (bottom): sun
Rung 2: Change beginning → faster than walk → run ✔
Rung 3: Change middle → happened in past → ran ✔
Rung 4: Change beginning → Yes I ___ → ?
Rung 5: Change end → not a dog → ?
Rung 6: Change beginning → sleeps during day → ?
Top: Who hides from the sun?

Also, there’s a sun wearing sunglasses — so the answer is probably something that avoids sunlight.

Let’s try Rung 4 again: “Yes I ___”

What 3-letter word rhymes with “ran” and fits “Yes I ___”?

How about “Yes I can”? Even though pronunciation varies, in word ladders, “ran” → “can” is acceptable (change r to c).

So let’s try:
From “ran” → change beginning “r” to “c” → can

✔ New word: can

Phrase: “Yes I can!” — perfect!

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Step 5: Next rung up
Clue: *Change the end sound. Not a dog.*
Current word: “can”
End letter is “n”. Change it to make a word that is NOT a dog.
What words are like “can” but end differently?
“Cat” — ends with “t”, and a cat is not a dog! Perfect.
✔ New word: cat

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Step 6: Top rung
Clue: *Change the beginning sound. It sleeps during the day.*
Current word: “cat”
Beginning letter is “c”. Change it to make a word for an animal that sleeps during the day.
Animals that sleep during the day: bats, owls, etc.
“Bat” — change “c” to “b” → bat
Bats sleep during the day! Yes!
✔ New word: bat

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Now, the question at the top:
Who Hides from the Sun?

Our final word is bat — and bats hide from the sun (they’re nocturnal). Also, the picture shows a sun with sunglasses — hinting at something that avoids bright light.

Perfect match!

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Final Answer:
bat