Easter Egg Hunt--4-21-14

 Happy Easter!!! This week Mrs. Blust and I created an Easter Egg Hunt in Churchill Jr. High!!  The students started off with a code in an egg and some materials needed throughout the hunt.  The code then gave them a clue as to where to find the next bucket of eggs!  The students had a great time deciphering the clues in order to know where to find the next egg.

They reviewed solving most of the code types that we have worked with thus far in the Secret Communications unit.  Some of the codes proved to be more difficult than anticipated!  All of the teams worked extremely hard and each team had acquired all of their eggs.  There were two teams whom had only on code left to decipher.  We did have one team who completed the hunt and got the prize of a chocolate bar!!!

CONGRATS TO ALL PARTICIPANTS!!
YOU ALL DID A GREAT JOB!

April 14,2014-- Seeing Is Believing

Seeing is Believing-- The codes this week were invisible to the naked eye.  The students had to use clues given in the form of previously learned codes to figure our what to do and where to look.  It was great to see them critically thinking and working together in teams to solve the clues!!!  We used an invisible ink code that needed a decoder ink to be used on it so that it was revealed and one that required UV light to be viewed.  We also made our own invisible ink.  Next week we are going to do an Easter Egg Hunt using all of the codes that we have used up to this point in the unit.  See you next week!

March 24th and April 7th

 On March 24th, we played a game called Mafia.  This was introduced last year by Mr. Bates.  The kids loved it and have been asking us to play.  Since we have been working hard this semester to crack codes we decided this would be a great break from the code cracking grind!                                               The students had a blast and it was a fun group activity.

April 7th, the students went back to the code cracking.  During this week we decoded what is termed a Pig Pen Cipher.  We simulated this with toothpicks and beads.  The students developed yet another way to code and decode messages.  I apologize for the lack of pictures for this activity but I was not in attendance due to my nephew being born!  

See you all on the 14th for more code cracking!

**The cellphone issue has been much better and again we appreciate your support in that matter!  

Imsa on March 10th and 17th

On March 10th IMSA was learning to read a code based on a base-2 system, binary system.  First we worked with magnets to show the students that they are polarized on one side and not on the other.  This set up the "on" or "off" situation.  We then incorporated that on/off system into a binary system in order to code numbers.  We then developed our own coded numbers and had the other groups try to decode them using what was taught during the lesson.

This unit is a little paper driven since it deals with codes.  Due to this we chose to do the "Locking onto an Idea Considering the Possibilities" lesson.  We first had them do an activity where they worked with probability and dice.  In this activity order mattered when considering the possibilities.  Activity 2 involved them all following the same set of walking directions in different orders and how that produced very different outcomes for each group.  On March 24th we will wrap up this activity.

 

*****We have noticed a large increase in the use of cell phones during IMSA.  Due to this growing distraction we are going to ask the IMSA students to leave them in their lockers or turn them off during IMSA.  If they continue use of the cellphones we will ask them to leave.  We hope everyone understands and supports our enforcement of this rule*****

Finding the Right Route 3-3-14

This week we worked on Route Transposition Template Ciphers to both encrypt and decode messages.  Although it was difficult at first we think the majority of the students really caught on as they continued to work on them and develop their own message.

We started with a message similar to this.

 

The students then used all of their previous knowledge of ciphers to try and solve it.  When that did not work we helped out with a hint.  We talked about arrays and used an example.  This really got them headed in the right direction.  However, there was still a lot of trial and error that occurred before they were able to figure it out.  Some of that trial and error is shown in the pictures below.

  The students slowly but surely caught on and developed their own messages for each other to decipher.  We encourage conversations at home about each type of ciphers we work on during IMSA.  It may even turn out to help you at the end of the year parent night!!!  See you all next week!

2-24-14 Meeting

Caesar's Cipher

The previous meeting allowed the students to understand how an alpha-numeric cipher works and how to use the wheel to help them figure out the ciphers.  We continued working with the alpha-numeric ciphers but this time we played an online game with it.  We used a website where the students were given several ciphers.  These ciphers were their clues to the next cipher.  Eventually they freed the djinni. 

 Here are a couple of pictures of the website and examples of the ciphers the students were solving.  As you can see below the students were very engaged with this activity!  It was great to see and experience the competiveness within them to be the first group to rescue the djinni.

February 3rd and 10th Meetings

So sorry for the lack of posts as of late.  Things here at Churchill have been very crazy and busy with all of the snow days that have been used. 

At the last two IMSA meetings we have finished up the Engineering Unit with an activity called Fusion Express.  In this activity the students had to design and create a vessel for a Pringle chip to be shipped in.  We also had them create QR codes to attach to their vessel.  The QR code has a message for the recipient to scan, read and enjoy.  When finished we boxed all of the chip vessels and shipped them off to the Lombard IMSA Fusion Group.  We should in return be receiving their vessels within the next week.  Now as we all know when things get shipped they sometimes have a "rough ride."  So what we will be looking for is how well both schools groups built their vessels and if the chip survived the shipment!  Below are some photos of our teams at work building the vessel and the box that all of them were shipped in. 

 Here are several of our chip vessesls!  Sure hope they are packaged safely!!

 

Inside this box are all of the groups Chip vessels.  This will be shipped to Lombard and they will open up the vessels to see if the chip "survived" the trip!

 

 

Once we finished up the Fusion Express we started working on our first Code Breaking activity.  We started the Cesar's Cipher activity.  Cesar's Cipher is a alpha-numeric code and below is a picture of the wheel used to help us break the codes. 

With next week being President's Day on Monday we will not be meeting. We look forward to seeing everyone back in room 60 for more Code Breaking on February 24, 2014!!