Kids love secret messages!
In this activity, students use color to “fix” the code below and then write a secret Valentine’s Day message using their own code.
This activity is a great complement to this lesson found in the P.E.T.S. (Primary Education Thinking Skills) program. If your students have no prior experience with deciphering, you may want to do some introductory activities.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SLIDE SHOW and PAGES
Present the slide below and ask them, “What’s wrong with this code?”
If students don’t see what’s wrong right away, ask them how they would write the message “Be My Valentine” using the code. Beginning with the word “be,” students will see that the letter B and the letter E both have plain hearts, so how would someone know the difference between the B and the E? Ask whether they have any ideas to “fix” the code. Responses will probably include adding things, but explain that there’s one really easy way- to add color!
Ask, “How would we color the letters A through E?” Elicit the idea that these first five letters need to be five different colors in order for a secret message in this code to work.
Share the slide show, and advance to each successive slide explaining that hearts that look the same need to be colored in different colors.
Ask, “Could the letter A and the letter F both be colored yellow?” The answer is YES because A and F do not look exactly the same. The letter F has a black dot. Discuss that the letter T can be left uncolored or colored in any shade because it’s unique!
Once students understand how to color the code, pass out copies of Slide 2 and have students complete their code. Explain that they do not have to use the same colors shown, nor do they have to color theirs the same as anyone else. They just must be sure to color hearts that look the same in different colors.
The final step is for students to create their secret message (see Slide 3). Students draw their symbols in the white spaces and leave the shaded spaces blank. This way, when they give their message to someone, that person has a place to write in the letters to decipher the message.
Depending on the age of the students and the recipients of the Valentine Cryptograms, you may want to provide each student with a message to encode. The slide deck includes a list of messages you can use (print on cardstock and cut apart). If students create their own, check to be sure they are not too long. If they don’t fit on one sheet, though, you could provide a second sheet for longer messages.
I think it would be fun to have students prepare these for their parents. Glue the code and secret message to a large sheet of red or pink construction paper, fold in half, and have students decorate the front of the giant card.
Find additional Valentine’s Day and other holiday and seasonal ideas HERE.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!