During their recent Social Studies rotation in the library, students worked together to become spies to obtain a special prize. Students worked together using a pig-pen cipher, cipher wheel, and an abbreviated Navajo code dictionary to decode a secret word. Once they had figured out the word for their group, they had to combine it with the other groups to decipher a secret code that led them to a special prize for the whole class. Once they figured out what they were looking for, they were off to find it. The correct code was, “The Blue folder is under the Big Chair”. When they found the folder, inside was a message that awarded each student in the entire class with a free bag of popcorn. Students used critical thinking skills and team work to make this happen and got to have a bit of fun while they were at it!
Heather McGuire
Rockcastle County Middle School
Grades 6-8
