by Penny Warner
Cody and the rest of the students pulled out pencil, paper, and their hieroglyphic decoder cards, and wrote down the translation, using the same pattern that was on the paper. The message formed three rows of seven letters. Cody tried to make sense of the letters, but she didn’t recognize any words. They were just nonsense.
When the students were done, Dr. Jordan asked, “Do any of you see the message yet?”
The kids shook their heads no.
“All right, here’s another hint. The hieroglyphic script is very flexible. It can be read from left to right, right to left, or up and down.”
M.E. raised her hand. “How do we know which direction to read it?”
Dr. Jordan smiled mysteriously. “Good question! To figure out how to read the text, you need to notice which way the animals or people glyphs are facing. They always look toward the beginning of the text.”
A collective “ooh” came from the students. Pencils busily moved into action as the kids took another stab at the translation. Cody studied the symbols carefully, and finally noticed the trick. She began reading the translation, first moving down the column, then up, and so on. Moments later, she had cracked the coded message!
“Seriously?” Cody squealed as soon as she knew the answer. Ms. Stad winked at her. She had known what the message said all along! Moments later, Cody heard the rest of the students gasping, giggling, and slapping high fives.
“It sounds like you’ve figured out the message,” Ms. Stad said. “It’s true—we’re going on a trip to Washington, DC, to visit the Smithsonian museums, experience the Cherry Blossom Festival, and check out the International Spy Museum.”
The students yelled “Yippee!” “Awesome!” “Cool!” and “Sweet!”
Cody raised her hand. “Ms. Stadelhofer, did you draw that message?”
Ms. Stad nodded. “Ah, you figured that out. Well, I have another surprise for you.” She turned to their guest. “Dr. Jordan?”
He glanced around at the students, then finally he began, “I was trying to think of a way to say thanks to the kids who helped catch the thief. I’m happy to say, the Egyptian Museum is paying for your tickets to DC.”
More whoops, hollers, and high fives. The students were ecstatic. Cody couldn’t believe it. A free trip to the nation’s capital! And who knew? Maybe they’d even discover some secret codes while they were there—especially at the Spy Museum. She couldn’t wait for the trip to begin!
CODE BUSTER’S
Key Book
&
Solutions
Morse Code:
A .-
B -…
C -.-.
D -..
E .
F ..-.
G –.
H ....
I ..
J .---
K -.-
L .-..
M --
N -.
O ---
P .--.
Q --.-
R .-.
S ...
T -
U ..-
V ...-
W .--
X -..-
Y -.--
Z --..
Phonetic Alphabet:
A = Alphabet
B = Bravo
C = Charlie
D = Delta
E = Echo
F = Foxtrot
G = Golf
H = Hotel
I = India
J = Juliet
K = Kilo
L = Lima
M = Mike
N = November
O = Oscar
P = Papa
Q = Quebec
R = Romeo
S = Sierra
T = Tango
U = Uniform
V = Victor
W = Whiskey
X = X-ray
Y = Yankee
Z = Zulu
Semaphore Code:
Finger Spelling:
Egyptian Hieroglyphics:
Code Busters’ Glyph Code:
Chapter 1
Finger spelling: Hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphics: Steganography
Finger spelling: Yarn code. Cool.
Drawings code: Hidden
Photo code: Code
Chapter 2
Hidden word puzzle: Can you read me
Maze puzzle: You can hide a whole sentence as long as you follow the words
Hidden letter code: spy
Hidden Morse code: Code Busters
Semaphore code: busters
Chapter 3
Morse code: DJ, ME
Backward code: Monday
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
I want to see the mummies!
I love Egyptian jewelery!
Maybe they have a Rosetta Stone.
I’m hungry! Are we there yet?
Egyptian hieroglyphics: Sphinx
Chapter 4
Anagrams:
1. Isis
2. Amun
3. Anubis
4. Bastet
5. Horus
6. Maat
7. Osiris
8. Sekhmet
9. Sobek
10. Thoth
Egyptian hieroglyphics: Eye of Horus
Chapter 5
Egyptian hieroglyphics: An Eye for an I
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
1. What is a mummy’s favorite type of music? Rap music.
2. What do you call a skeleton that lies in its grave? Lazy bones.
3. What do you get when you put a bow on a mummy? A wrapped present.
4. Why couldn’t the mummy cross the road? He didn’t have any guts.
5. Why was the little ghoul crying? Because he lost his mummy.
6. What do you call a mummy eating crackers in bed? A crummy mummy.
7. Why don’t mummies play music in church? They have no organs.
8. Where do you go when a mummy is chasing you? To the living room.
9. Why don’t mummies take vacations? They don’t like to unwind.
Chapter 6
Morse code: Meet me in workroom. CodeRed.
Finger spelling:
We can’t leave. We have to search the museum!
Tell the others!
What? Why?
Semaphore code: Run
Chapter 7
Phonetic alphabet code: Cassatt!
Chapter 8
Morse code: She tricked you
Morse code: Necklace
Egyptian hieroglyphics: Thoth
Chapter 9
Finger spelling: Let’s go help find her!
Egyptian hieroglyphics: The Curse of the Pharaohs will be cast upon anyone who disturbs the mummy.
Morse code: No sign of Cassat
Pig Latin: Quinn, you distract her with strobe light app. Run!
Chapter 10
Morse code: Tell Luke and Quinn to meet in bathroom
Finger spelling: Go!
Chapter 11
Finger spelling: Code Busters rule!
Chapter 12
Code Busters’ glyph code:
I want a fake Eye of Horus
I liked being a mummy
Let’s build a pyramid
Punkin is an Egyptian cat
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
We’re going to Washington, DC!
Finger Spelling:
Chapter Title Translations
Chapter 1 Eye Spy
Chapter 2 A Puzzle within a Puzzle
Chapter 3 Thirteen Secrets
Chapter 4 Fakes and Forgeries
Chapter 5 An Eye for an I
Chapter 6 Thirteen
Chapter 7 Time Is Running Out!
Chapter 8 The Stolen Eye
Chapter 9 The Thief Disappears!
Chapter 10 A Voice from Beyond
Chapter 11 The Mummy’s Curse
Chapter 12 One Last Code
Suggestions for How Teachers Can Use the Code Busters Club Series in the Classroom
&n
bsp; Kids love codes. They will want to “solve” the codes in this novel before looking up the solutions. This means they will be practicing skills that are necessary to their class work in several courses, but in a non-pressured way.
The codes in this book vary in level of difficulty, so there is something for students of every ability. The codes move from a simple substitution of words for letters—a phonetic alphabet code—to more widely accepted “code” languages such as Morse code and semaphore.
In a mathematics classroom, the codes in this book can easily be used as motivational devices to teach problem solving and reasoning skills. Both of these have become important elements in the curriculum at all grade levels. The emphasis throughout the book on regarding codes as patterns gives students a great deal of practice in one of the primary strategies of problem solving. The strategy of “Looking for a Pattern” is basic to much of mathematics. The resolving of codes demonstrates how important patterns are. These codes can lead to discussions of the logic behind why they “work” (problem solving). The teacher can then have the students create their own codes (problem formulation) and try sending secret messages to one another, while other students try to “break the code.” Developing and resolving these new codes will require a great deal of careful reasoning on the part of the students. The class might also wish to do some practical research in statistics, to determine which letters occur most frequently in the English language. (E, T, A, O, and N are the five most widely used letters, and should appear most often in coded messages.)
This book may also be used in other classroom areas of study, such as social studies, with its references to Ancient Egypt and codes employed during wartime. This book raises questions such as “Why would semaphore be important today? Where is it still used?”
In the English classroom, spelling is approached as a “deciphering code.” The teacher may also suggest the students do some outside reading. They might read a biography of Samuel Morse or Louis Braille, or even the Sherlock Holmes mystery “The Adventure of the Dancing Men.”
This book also refers to modern texting on cell phones and computers as a form of code. Students could explain what the various “code” abbreviations they use mean today and why they are used.
—Dr. Stephen Krulik
Dr. Stephen Krulik has a distinguished career as a professor of mathematics education. Professor emeritus at Temple University, he received the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Regina Griffin, Alison Weiss, Margaret Coffee, Michelle Bayuk, Katie Halata, Stefanie Von Borstal, Sara Sciuto, and Lily Ghahremani for all their expertise and assistance.
Thanks to Colleen Casey, Janet Finsilver, Staci McLaughlin, Ann Parker, and Carole Price for their insight and support.
And thanks to all the Code Busters Club members and fans for cracking all the codes!
