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Teaching with Cryptograms
Hello everyone,
I first discovered this site a few months back when I was student teaching. My 11th graders were reading "The Gold Bug" by Edgar Allan Poe. To help them solve the cypher in the story, I brought in one of these cryptograms. The class was spellbound. For the first time ever I had the class glued to their seats when the bell rang - a few even lingered trying to finish the puzzle. They loved it so much they asked for more and I even put one on their unit exam as extra credit.
I am now substitute teaching until the end of the semester and I always bring several cryptos with me. I hand these out when lessons run a bit short or when the regular teacher leaves instructions like "the students have independent work - they know what to do." (That means the students are going to socialize all period) Well that doesn't cut it with me! I pull out these cryptos, do a little "Wheel of Fortune" connection with the kids and off they go!
I love how students of all levels can solve these. It is a great exercise in higher order thinking.
I first discovered this site a few months back when I was student teaching. My 11th graders were reading "The Gold Bug" by Edgar Allan Poe. To help them solve the cypher in the story, I brought in one of these cryptograms. The class was spellbound. For the first time ever I had the class glued to their seats when the bell rang - a few even lingered trying to finish the puzzle. They loved it so much they asked for more and I even put one on their unit exam as extra credit.
I am now substitute teaching until the end of the semester and I always bring several cryptos with me. I hand these out when lessons run a bit short or when the regular teacher leaves instructions like "the students have independent work - they know what to do." (That means the students are going to socialize all period) Well that doesn't cut it with me! I pull out these cryptos, do a little "Wheel of Fortune" connection with the kids and off they go!
I love how students of all levels can solve these. It is a great exercise in higher order thinking.
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