A Stairway of Words

[10 Minutes]

Enjoy playing this game together. It is especially fun to play on a rainy day. The object of this game is to form a “stairway” of words increasing in length from a letter chosen at the start of the game. Playing this game will help improve vocabulary skills.

You'll need:

• pencil and paper

What to do:

1. If possible, print out these directions. Read them through together before you begin.
2. Together, gather everything you’ll need.

How to play:

1. Explain to your child that you will select a letter from which to form the “stairway.”
2. He should try to form words by adding one letter at a time to the original letter within a given period of time such as five minutes or ten minutes.
3. Show him this example.

   If the letter is “D,” a stairway may look like this:

   D
   Do
   Day
   Deny
   Digit
   Dazzle
   Deceive
   December
   Determine
   Deposition

   After your child has made his stairway, he will chose a letter for you to use to build a stairway.

   The builder of the longest stairway wins the game.

   Challenge each other by choosing more difficult letters such as “Q.”

Useful information:

My gram loves to do crossword puzzles. She says it keeps her mind sharp. She loves to play this word game with me. But she gives me really hard letters. (Jack, age 12)