“This was the best money I have ever spent on a teaching tool.” ~ a teacher in Wisconsin

Arizona ELA Standard: 2.RF.3

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding one-syllable or two-syllable words.

Valentine’s Day Codes

Valentine’s Day Codes

Teach your students about basic cryptography and code making.

Word Ladder: Fly to Bee (6-steps)

Word Ladder: Fly to Bee (6-steps)

COLD to COOL. BAND to SING. Change one letter at a time — can you find the path?

Psycholunaphase (Greek and Latin)

Psycholunaphase (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Psycholunaphase? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent the creature, device, or spell it describes.

Path Cipher (Codes Part 4)

Path Cipher (Codes Part 4)

Now let’s try the Path Cipher – a cipher that mixes things up even more than Zig Zag did.

Zig Zag Cipher (Codes Part 3)

Zig Zag Cipher (Codes Part 3)

Let’s try a cipher that doesn’t substitute new letters or shapes. We just mix things up.

Pig Pen Cipher (Codes Part 2)

Pig Pen Cipher (Codes Part 2)

Let’s encode some secret messages with a cipher that was actually used during the American Civil War!

Shift Cipher (Codes Part 1)

Shift Cipher (Codes Part 1)

Let’s encode and decode secret messages like Julius Caesar!

Words Within Words: Intro (SOLDIER)

Words Within Words: Intro (SOLDIER)

How many words can you find within SOLDIER? 20? 35? 50? Even more!?

Words Within Words: AIRPLANE

Words Within Words: AIRPLANE

How many words can you find within airplane?

Word Pyramid: P to PLAINS

Word Pyramid: P to PLAINS

Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect the starting point and ending point?

Word Pyramid: O to Stones

Word Pyramid: O to Stones

Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect the starting point and ending point?

Word Ladder: Two to Six (6-steps)

Word Ladder: Two to Six (6-steps)

COLD to COOL. BAND to SING. Change one letter at a time — can you find the path?

Word Ladder: Fast to Race (4 step)

Word Ladder: Fast to Race (4 step)

COLD to COOL. BAND to SING. Change one letter at a time — can you find the path?

Word Ladder: Sky to Red (5-steps)

Word Ladder: Sky to Red (5-steps)

COLD to COOL. BAND to SING. Change one letter at a time — can you find the path?

Word Ladder: Band to Sing (4 Steps)

Word Ladder: Band to Sing (4 Steps)

COLD to COOL. BAND to SING. Change one letter at a time — can you find the path?

Jotto

Jotto

Who can guess the codeword first?

Bulls and Cows

Bulls and Cows

How quickly can you break the numeric code?

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost is a word-building game for two players. The first person to create an actual word loses.