Verbal Reasoning · Word Ladders
Cold to Warm
Climb from COLD to WARM. Change exactly one letter each rung, and every rung must be a real word.
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Why this works
A word ladder has two rules working against each other: every rung must be a real word, and only one letter may change at a time. Beginners break the second rule or make nonsense; the way through is to work backwards from the target. Write COLD above WARM and ask which letters the target has that you are missing: W, A, R and M. Now spend the rungs collecting them. COLD to CORD collects the R, CORD to WORD collects the W, WORD to WARD collects the A, and the final change collects the M. WORM works instead of WARD for the same reason, because it collects the M first and leaves the A for last. The test for any move is that it must be true twice over: a real word, and one letter closer to the target. A move that passes only one of those is a dead end.
Helping a child through Cold to Warm
Hints, least revealing first
- Line COLD up under WARM. They share no letters at all, so all four positions have to change before you get there.
- Tap a position in the live word first, then pick a letter from the bank. Only one letter may move on each rung.
- Start with the third position: swap the L in COLD for an R and you get the word for a length of rope or electrical flex.
When they finish it: “Ladder climbed!”
11+ skill this exercise practises
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Cold to Warm practises one skill. Verbal Reasoning has 26 of them
A free diagnostic covers every verbal reasoning skill and the other three subjects, and comes back with a shortlist rather than a list.