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.

Practice creating and using variables by creating variables for the bunny's eyes and teeth in this JavaScript task. Use the slider above the number to see the power of using variables in your code. 

How do we determine how much information to include and what can be left out? By playing a game of 20 questions, the class generates the best strategies for finding a number. They then move on to guessing the next letter in a short...

Slaves laboring in the cotton fields of the old South singing joyously may have convinced overseers that their workforce was happy and content, but in truth, these spirituals contained secret codes. After viewing a short video about...

Students explore different codes and ciphers including Morse Code, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, and the Alphabet. They discuss how and why codes are used. Students create their own code and message to exchange with classmates.

Students investigate the Navajo Code Talkers and their role in World War II. They complete a Webquest, explore various websites, encode a short message, analyze maps, answer discussion questions, and read newspaper articles about secure...

For this word puzzle worksheet, learners read 30 clues and place the answers in a puzzle grid. A secret message will be revealed when students have finished. There is a trick-or-treating graphic on the page.

In this secret code worksheet, students decipher the answer to Squigly's secret code by printing the letter on the line given that goes with each symbol.

Seventh graders study water bodies that were escape routes to Canada for slaves seeking freedom. They examine and create a coded spiritual that describes a personal experience with secrecy and fear.

Hear from deep space. Pupils learn how satellites transfer information back to Earth. They learn about three different ways to modulate radio waves and how a satellite sends information with only 0s and 1s. Using sound, class members...

Calculators aren't all that useful if they don't return the correct results. In this JavaScript programming exercise, beginning JavaScript coders are guided to fix the results returned by the functions so they return correct values....

I'm not scared of lions & tigers & bears; in fact, they are on my favorites list! Have your young coders practice creating arrays and using loops. First they define the array as a list of favorite animals, then print them out...

Let your young programmers' creativity and programming knowledge shine with this culminating activity. Coders put together everything they know about using text commands, drawing, and animation to create a unique ad. This activity could...

Create a small but useful little program that allows you move a dot with your mouse and see the coordinates change as the mouse moves.  Starting with a dot that moves with the mouse, add to this program the text of the points...

The JavaScript program you create will answer a simple question about a number. Is it positive, negative, or zero? Create a Boolean expression and use conditional if statements to test the value and then print the...

Now, challenge your knowledge of Boolean operators even further with this JavaScript program to create a button that changes color after being pressed. This activity is the second in a series and would made a good follow up to the first...

Practice using conditional if statements, Boolean expressions, and Boolean operators by programming a user-selected button. This activity guides by using a small program that needs some modifications to work correctly. 

Your student programmers will enjoy creating their own Magic 8-ball in this JavaScript activity. This a great opportunity to practice using if and else statements based on randomly generated numbers. What will you ask the 8-ball? 

Start your own virtual library with this JavaScript programming project. Create arrays of book objects, and fill the shelves with different books, different colors, titles, authors, etc. Let coders create their own unique display. 

Most pupils don't know what a telegraph is, much less how one works. A secret simulation has scholars pick the size of the primary and secondary loops, the battery voltage, and which letters in the Morse Code they want to transmit. They...

Approach ethical online behavior with a series of activities geared toward teaching pupils about digital citizenship. After a brief discussion about ethics, small groups inspect a fictional social networking profile with ethics in mind....

In this language arts and science worksheet, students discover that Morse Code is a way to send messages. Students examine a chart with the Morse Code alphabet and translate 3 messages. Students then write a message in Morse Code to a...

In this secret code worksheet, students analyze and interpret a noughts and crosses code in order to decipher the code and figure out what the message is.

In this secret code instructional activity, students will print the letter that corresponds with the symbol to decipher a secret message from Squigly.