Shodor Education Foundation
Caesar Cipher
Caesar ciphers hide secret missives. A simple interactive lets users encode and decode hidden messages. The cipher method here is the Caesar shift.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Public Keys, One Way Functions and Hard Problems
Use paint to teach about cryptography. Scholars explore public key cryptography by attempting to mix a secret color using paint. After the activity, they investigate the Diffie-Hellman method using prime numbers, exponents, and modular...
Code.org
Keys and Passwords
Scholars explore the relationship between cipher keys and passwords and as they learn more about the Vigenere cipher and continue to read from the book Blown to Bits in the seventh lesson plan of the series. They conduct an activity...
Code.org
Public Key Cryptography
Investigate how public key cryptography works. Scholars continue their study of one-way functions and asymmetric keys and apply this information to public key cryptography. They use an app to explore public key cryptography and its...
Code.org
Asymmetric Keys – Cups and Beans
Beans are for more than just counting! Introduce public key cryptography with cups and beans and ask scholars to use the beans to send secret numbers. Participants learn how this activity relates to public key cryptography and asymmetric...
Code.org
The Need for Encryption
Scholars investigate the need for encryption as they read a portion of the book Blown to Bits and discuss encryption techniques. They finish by attempting to decode a message written using a Caesar cipher.
Code.org
Cracking the Code
Scholars learn how to crack secret codes as they continue reading from the Blown to Bits and try to crack the random substitution cipher. They also begin learning about the Vigenere cipher.
Bowland
German or English?
Sprechen sie Deutsch? Future cryptographers must decide whether an unknown text is written in English or in German. They use provided pie charts about the frequency of words in the English and German languages to help make their decisions.
Curated OER
Basic Crypto Systems II
Ninth graders discuss the Enigma machine used during World War II. They explore the substitution cipher and variations of it. Students examine the advantages and disadvantages of this cipher. Students write a message using the code...