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Crypto Kids

What it is: Crypto Kids is a website created by the National Security Agency all about creating and breaking codes.  This is a fantastic critical thinking website that also taps into math, linguistics, engineering, and analyzing skills.  I found Crypto Kids while I was hunting for an activity for students to learn more about codes as part of our Treasures reading series.  Crypto Kids turns out to be an excellent site for all elementary classrooms.  Students learn all about cryptology, the National Security Agency, and ciphers.  Students get the chance to meet the characters of Crypto Kids which include: Crypto Cat, Decipher Dog, Rosetta Stone, Slate, Joules, T. Top, and the leader CSS Sam.  Students can play logic games to test out their code breaking skills.  There are three levels of game play beginner, intermediate, and advanced.   As students play games, they will learn Morse Code, complete brainteasers that involve math and logic, create their own cipher machines, crack Yardleygrams and cryptograms, and learn some words in different languages.  Students can then learn more about careers that use cryptograms and code breaking at the National Security Agency. How to integrate Crypto Kids into the classroom: Crypto Kids is packed full of thinking and logic games and activities, many of which involve mathematical problem solving.  Crypto Kids games and activities are a great way to get your students thinking critically before math class.  Put one of the brain teasers up on the projector connected computer or interactive whiteboard for students to solve as a warm up activity.  Crypto Kids games are short enough that they could be used as a math center activity on classroom computers.  Students can visit the center in pairs or small groups and work on solving cryptograms together.  The Yardleygrams are stories that must be solved, these are fun to solve as a whole class. Since I was using this site to build background knowledge about codes with my students, we focused on what secret codes were, how they were used, and cracked some codes for practice.  As an extension activity, I had students read the descriptions of the characters on Crypto Kids and write a short story about the character.  These turned out great!  Students have to use the character qualities that are written and craft a story about the character, paying attention to how they think the character would act and what special skills they could use to solve a problem. Tips: Check out the Teacher/Parent section of the site for some additional resources. Please leave a comment and share how you are using Crypto Kids in your classroom.

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Scholastic’s The First Thanksgiving

Posted by admin | Posted in Fun & Games, History, Interactive Whiteboard, Language Arts, Primary Elementary, Secondary Elementary, Social Studies, Teacher Resources, Websites | Posted on 18-11-2009

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What it is: Scholastic has amazing resources all year long but the interactive on The First Thanksgiving is topnotch!  Students learn about how the Pilgrims reached America, and what daily life was before the First Thanksgiving.  Students can take a tour of the Mayflower, take the virtual journey to America, compare and contrast modern life with when the Pilgrims lived (housing, clothes, food, chores, school, games), and the Thanksgiving feast.  There is a great slideshow and play a webquest feature where kids can learn more about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag and the famous harvest feast.  The site includes audio for every page and activity.  This is great for younger students.


How to integrate Scholastic’s The First Thanksgiving into the classroom: The First Thanksgiving is a collection of great activities for students to learn about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims.  Students can use this site independently as young as first grade because of the audio features on The First Thanksgiving.  The site can be used as a center activity that a few students can explore together, independently in the computer lab setting, or as a whole class with a projector or interactive whiteboard.  The webquest at the end of the activity checks for student understanding with a quiz.  Increase students participation further with some The First Thanksgiving bonus features and extras.  Print out a Thanksgiving Readers theater, door signs, a fact hunt, a vocabulary quiz, and some letters from historical figures.  There are also research and historical fiction journals that students can continue learning with.  These range from a Plymoth Colony research starter to Our America: Colonial period.


Tips: Check out Scholastic’s Teaching resources for The First Thanksgiving as well as the literature connections that are available.

Leave a comment and share how you are using The First Thanksgiving  in your classroom.

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