Secret Writing Devices

In this activity about encryption, learners cut out a secret decoder badge from a handout and use it to encode messages to each other. They can also create their own codes that are different from the given ones on the handout, so that no one else in the group can read their messages. The activity includes an extension activity where strips of paper are wrapped around pencils and other round objects to recreate the scytale (pronounced side-uh-lee), a Roman encryption device. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]