Interactive
Shodor Education Foundation

Caesar Cipher

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Caesar ciphers hide secret missives. A simple interactive lets users encode and decode hidden messages. The cipher method here is the Caesar shift.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scatter Brain

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Examine a coordinated geometry grid to decode the hidden message. Pupils write a coded message to their parents using letter coordinates from the grid.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shh... It's a Secret!

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine a series of rules for deciphering a code. They create their own secret message using a code after watching video. They access a web site to practice their decoding skills.
Lesson Plan
Shodor Education Foundation

Spy Game

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Turn students into detectives as they decipher encrypted messages.  Introduce your class to modular arithmetic and have a little fun encrypting and decoding secret messages. The activity does not hit many content standards, but...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

All Systems Go!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Secret codes are so much fun, and a great way to practice nearly any math skill. Let your class become code breakers as they investigate inverse matrices. They use TI-Nspire technology to solve systems of equations which help them crack...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Matrices: A Secret Weapon

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students perform operations with matrices. In this algebra lesson, students use cryptography and cryptanalysis to solve problems. They add, subtract, and multiply matrices.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cryptography Implementation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Pupils explore cryptology. They write a research paper on cryptography. Using linear equations, students invent a code and write a secret message. Pupils complete cryptography puzzles.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Decoding Machine

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students are introduced to the concept of variables and their uses. In groups, they are given a code in which they must find the value of the missing words. To end the lesson, they find the value of words over ten letters long and their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

SHHH It's a Secret

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Learners rewrite word problems using expressions and equations. In this algebra lesson, students use the correct variable to solve and write equations. They use the TI to graph their solution.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Detective Digis and the Computer Caper

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Mathematicians participate in an hands-on activity to investigate the binary number system and write messages in binary code and have classmates decipher the messages. A said video on the topic does not seem to be available, but the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

U Boat Hunt

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students recognize patterns and sequences in numbers. For this geometry lesson, students create rules to define the sequences and patterns they obsere. They translate coded messages as they dicuss navigational terms.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clock Arithmetic and Cryptography

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Learners perform basic operations in modular (clock) arithmetic. Students encode and decode messages using shift and affine ciphers. Learners apply their multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction skills.
Worksheet
Curated OER

You Know the Answer

For Students 4th Standards
In this problem solving worksheet, 4th graders are given an answer to a question and must solve the mathematical problems to discover the secret question. Students solve for 18 problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Basic Crypto Systems

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars try to solve codes mathematically. The use of a code needs a key. Students try to decipher a code with a mathematical key. This requires focus and higher order thinking skills like analysis.