4th Grade Word Ladders
Five-letter words, 100 printable ladders
Fourth grade word ladders step up to five-letter words, with far more blends and digraphs than the four-letter grades: plant becomes plane, then place, then peace. In the last two levels only the top word is printed, so students lean on every clue all the way down.
What's in the 4th grade pack
- 100 word ladders on 50 student pages, two to a page
- A clue under every step
- Four levels that ask students to write 2, 3, 4, then 5 words
- Standard and Assisted versions; the Assisted arrows point to the letter box that changes
- Teacher directions with a worked example
- An answer key for all 100 ladders
- Black and white pages that photocopy cleanly
Try a 4th grade word ladder
This is ladder 35 from the 4th grade pack. Read each clue, change one letter, and climb from teach to punch. It prints free just below, and the free sampler has a page from every grade.
- teachStart here.
- a 5-letter wordSandy land at the edge of the sea.
- a 5-letter wordA long seat in the park.
- a 5-letter wordA group of grapes on one stem.
- punchA fruity party drink.
Show the answers
teach, beach, bench, bunch, punch
Free printable
Free 4th grade word ladders to print
Here's a real page from the 4th grade pack to print free: the ladder above plus one more, stock to small, in Standard and Assisted versions with the answer key. No sign-up, no account.
Prefer to keep it in your TpT library? Get it free on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Terms of use: Free to print and use with your own students. Please share a link to this page rather than the PDF files. Not for resale.
How the 4th grade pack climbs
Every ladder in the pack uses five-letter words. What grows is the number of words students write.
| Level | Pages | Students write |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Pages 3 to 14 | 2 words |
| Level 2 | Pages 15 to 28 | 3 words |
| Level 3 | Pages 29 to 42 | 4 words, top word only |
| Level 4 | Pages 43 to 52 | 5 words, top word only |
From Level 3 on, the bottom word is left blank too, so students can't work backward from it. They read every clue all the way down.
4th grade Halloween word ladders
The Halloween and fall pack keeps the same routine with a seasonal theme: 50 ladders on 25 pages, the same four levels, Standard and Assisted versions, and an answer key. Its worked example climbs swoop, scoop, scoot, scout. To try one first, the free Halloween sampler has a page from this grade.
4th grade winter word ladders
For December through February, the winter pack keeps the same routine with a winter theme rather than a holiday one: 50 ladders on 25 pages, the same four levels, Standard and Assisted versions, and an answer key. Its worked example climbs books, boots, booth, broth, with boots kicked off after sledding. More in Winter Word Ladders for Grades 1 to 5.
4th grade prefix and suffix word ladders
For word-part practice, the prefix and suffix pack climbs by morphology instead of letters: at each step, students add, remove, or swap one prefix or suffix. It works with four prefixes and eight suffixes across 32 ladders on four levels, with Standard and Assisted versions and an answer key. Its worked example climbs view, preview, review, reviewer. All three grades are on the prefix and suffix word ladders page.
Teaching more than one grade, or want room to move up or down a level? The Grades 1 to 5 bundle has all five packs, 500 ladders in all, for less than the price of four. Want the seasonal sets too? The Word Ladders MEGA Bundle has all 19 word ladder packs, 1,100+ ladders in all.
Other grades: 1st grade · 2nd grade · 3rd grade · 5th grade. Every set, including Halloween and winter, is on the word ladders page.