Double Letters Puzzles
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These double letter puzzles from Serhiy Grabarchuk look simple, but they can be surprisingly tricky to solve!
Usually, my classroom puzzle table features mathematical puzzles. But every once in a while, I like to change things up and feature a word/letter-based puzzle.
Don’t worry, though. There’s still a bit of hidden mathematical reasoning in this puzzle.
Puzzle Instructions
You are given nine cards. Each card features a different set of double letters. Your goal is to arrange the nine cards in a line so that a 10-letter word is formed.
(NOTE: some versions of this puzzle feature a different number of cards that produce a different length of resulting word.)
Cards can (and must) overlap each other. But, you cannot fully cover, rotate, or flip any of the cards.
Here’s a visual that Serhiy Grabarchuk created to illustrate how the letter cards can be arranged. Keep in mind, the word you will be creating is MUCH longer!
Puzzle Source
I first ran across a double letters puzzle in Puzzle Box, Volume 2. You can also find double letters puzzles in Puzzle Box, Volume 1 and Puzzle Box, Volume 3.
I cannot recommend this series of puzzle books enough for classroom teachers. Every time I flip through one of these books, I end up bookmarking ten more things I want to create for my students!
These puzzles were created by Serhiy Grabarchuk. I found out while doing some research as I wrote this post that these puzzles are actually known as “DoubLetters” puzzles.
Serhiy published another one of his DoubLetters puzzles on Puzzles.com in February of 2012.
Using These Puzzles in the Classroom
I have used these puzzles both flat on my puzzle table and with magnets on the back thanks to the inspiration of Lisa Richardson. I placed adhesive disc magnets on the back of each piece.
I’m super excited with the results of magnetizing these puzzles. I’ve had WAY more students attempt them than I ever had last year with the puzzles laying horizontally on the puzzle table. I will definitely be keeping these puzzles vertical going forward!
Free Download of Double Letters Puzzles
These double letter puzzles are available to download both as a PDF file and as an editable Publisher file. In order to edit the file, you will need to make sure you have Microsoft Publisher installed on your computer.
Double Letters Puzzle – ACEHIMNPZ
Double Letters 2.201 ACEHIMNPZ (PDF) (753 downloads )
Double Letters 2.201 ACEHIMNPZ (Editable Publisher File ZIP) (704 downloads )
Double Letters Puzzle – ABCDEHORS
Double Letters 2.266 ABCDEHORS (PDF) (1093 downloads )
Double Letters 2.266 ABCDEHORS (Editable Publisher File ZIP) (721 downloads )
Double Letters Puzzle – DEGIOPR
Double Letters 1.247 DEGIOPR (PDF) (876 downloads )
Double Letters 1.247 DEGIOPR (Editable Publisher File ZIP) (725 downloads )
Double Letters Puzzle – ACLMORS
Double Letters 2.107 ACLMORS (PDF) (916 downloads )
Double Letters Puzzle – EILQRSU
Double Letters 2.43 EILQRSU (PDF) (802 downloads )
Double Letters Puzzle – ACEIMRSTY
Double Letters 3.37 ACEIMRSTY (PDF) (1547 downloads )
Double Letters 3.37 ACEIMRSTY (Editable Publisher File ZIP) (853 downloads )
Want more puzzles? Check out my puzzles page!
More Double Letter Puzzles from Lisa Richardson
Lisa Richardson was inspired by my blog post to create her own set of Double Letters puzzles. I was super inspired by her use of magnets on the back of the letter cards.
Puzzle Solutions
I intentionally do not make answers to the printable math puzzles I share on my blog available online because I strive to provide learning experiences for my students that are non-google-able. I would like other teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms as well without the solutions being easily found on the Internet.
However, I do recognize that us teachers are busy people and sometimes need to quickly reference an answer key to see if a student has solved a puzzle correctly or to see if they have interpreted the instructions properly.
If you are a teacher who is using these puzzles in your classroom, please send me an email at sarah@mathequalslove.net with information about what you teach and where you teach. I will be happy to forward an answer key to you.
Not a teacher? Go ahead and send me an email as well. Just let me know what you are using the puzzles for. I am continually in awe of how many people are using these puzzles with scouting groups, with senior adults battling dementia, as fun activities in their workplace, or as a birthday party escape room.