Breaking the Code

 Kindergarten students have been learning holiday poems learned a poems. As a way to practice writing some of the words from the poem, students had to crack the secret word codes.

Working with a partner, students took turns determining what letters from the Alphabet Code chart to use to figure out their word. Each pair was given 1 pencil, 1 code packet and 1 alphabet chart.  When Partner A tried to match the symbol with the corresponding letter, Partner B helped them find the letter if they got stuck by offering hints (i.e., the beginning sound of the symbol). Once they broke the code, partners switched roles. 

Later, students created their own word walls to get more practice reading and writing the words. They were encouraged to include a picture that would help them remember the word, should they get stuck trying to read it. 

As you can see, much cooperation and teamwork was required to complete this task. They had a lot of fun figuring out the words and practicing writing.