Prefix and Suffix Word Ladders

Grades 3 to 5, 32 printable morphology ladders per grade

These word ladders climb by word parts instead of letters. At each step, students add, remove, or swap one prefix or suffix, and a clue tells them which word to make: view becomes preview, then review, then reviewer. Every step is a real word, and every ladder ends with a sentence to finish.

What's in each grade pack

32 word ladders, one on every page, each with a sentence to finish
Four levels of eight ladders, from two missing words to five
A meaning clue for every step, and a tag that says add, remove, or swap
The word parts each ladder uses, printed on its page
Standard and Assisted versions; the Assisted tags name the exact prefix or suffix
A Prefix and Suffix Helper page, a worked example, and word part bookmarks
An answer key that solves every ladder, with its word sums and Use It answer
Black and white pages that photocopy cleanly

See the bundle on TpT Choose a grade

Page 14 of 4th Grade Prefix and Suffix Word Ladders, a Level 2 page with one ladder from reuse to usefully, the word parts re-, -ful, -ness, and -ly, a clue and a tag under each step, and a Use It sentence — A Level 2 page from the 4th grade pack

Choose a grade

Each grade is its own pack, with its own word parts and words. Choose the grade you teach, or all three in the bundle. Each row opens the product and its preview on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Try one from each grade

Here's the Level 2 ladder each pack shows in its Teachers Pay Teachers preview, ready to solve right here. Read the clue, check the word parts, and change one part at each step. The top and bottom words are given.

Grade 3: from kindly to unkindly

Word partsun--ly-ness

kindlyStart here.
a word to writeNice, gentle, and caring.(remove a suffix)
a word to writeWhat you show when you are kind.(add a suffix)
a word to writeNot being kind to others.(add a prefix)
unkindlyIn a way that is not kind.(swap a suffix)

Use itThank you for your blank when I felt sick at school.

Show the answers

kindly, kind, kindness, unkindness, unkindly

Use It: kindness

kind + ly = kindly · kind + ness = kindness · un + kind + ness = unkindness · un + kind + ly = unkindly

Grade 4: from reuse to usefully

Word partsre--ful-ness-ly

reuseStart here.
a word to writeTo do a job with a tool, like a pencil.(remove a prefix)
a word to writeFull of use, handy to have.(add a suffix)
a word to writeHow handy or helpful a thing is.(add a suffix)
usefullyIn a handy way that gets things done.(swap a suffix)

Use itWhen the lights go out, a flashlight is blank.

Show the answers

reuse, use, useful, usefulness, usefully

Use It: useful

re + use = reuse · use + ful = useful · use + ful + ness = usefulness · use + ful + ly = usefully

Grade 5: from react to act

Word partsre--ion-ive

reactStart here.
a word to writeWhat you do or say in response.(add a suffix)
a word to writeSomething that you do.(remove a prefix)
a word to writeBusy moving and doing things.(swap a suffix)
actTo do something, or take a step.(remove a suffix)

Use itSoccer practice keeps my body strong and blank.

Show the answers

react, reaction, action, active, act

Use It: active

re + act = react · re + act + ion = reaction · act + ion = action · act + ive = active

Word parts in each grade

Every pack opens with a Prefix and Suffix Helper page that gives each part its meaning and an example, and cut-apart bookmarks repeat the list.

Grade	Prefixes	Suffixes
Grade 3	un-, re-	-ful, -less, -ly, -ness, -er, -y
Grade 4	un-, re-, mis-, over-	-ful, -less, -ly, -ness, -able, -ment, -er, -y
Grade 5	un-, re-, dis-, over-, in-, im-	-ful, -ly, -ness, -able, -ment, -er, -ion, -ous, -ive

All three grades also use the endings -ed and -ing, and three spelling changes: drop the final e, change y to i, and double the last consonant.

How each pack climbs

All three grades climb the same way. Each level brings in a new kind of step, and the last level mixes them all. What changes from grade to grade is the word parts and the words.

Level	Pages	Students write	New at this level
Level 1	Pages 6 to 13	2 words	Add or remove a part
Level 2	Pages 14 to 21	3 words	Swapping a part
Level 3	Pages 22 to 29	4 words, top word only	A spelling change
Level 4	Pages 30 to 37	5 words, top word only	Every kind of step

On Levels 1 and 2, the top and bottom words are printed. From Level 3 on, only the top word is, so students solve more of the ladder. The answer key at the back (pages 38 to 41) solves every ladder in full, with its word sums.

Standard or Assisted?

Both versions have the same 32 ladders. In the Standard version, the tag under each clue names the kind of change, like (add a prefix). In the Assisted version, it names the exact part, like (add un-). For students new to word parts, the pack suggests starting with Assisted. Here's the same 3rd grade page in both.

Page 14 of 3rd Grade Prefix and Suffix Word Ladders in the Standard version, a ladder from kindly to unkindly where each tag names the kind of change, such as add a prefix — Standard: the tag names the kind of change

The same 3rd grade page in the Assisted version, where each tag names the exact part to change, such as add un- — Assisted: the tag names the exact part

For word ladders that change one letter at a time, see the 3rd grade, 4th grade, or 5th grade page. Every set, including the free sampler, is on the word ladders page.