Students can make up their own codes by giving each letter in the alphabet a number. The numbers do not need to be sequential as long as there is a key that identifies which numbers and letters correspond. Offer students suggestions for the topic of their coded messages, for instance Presidents Day or Halloween. Once the students have created their code puzzles, ask them to exchange puzzles and try to crack the code.
Create a puzzle where the sum equals a letter to reinforce the correct answer to a math problem. Create a sheet of math problems that has blanks for the answers; write the answers on the bottom of the page. Assign a letter to each answer; for example, "four" would be the answer for "What is two plus two?" The number four would be assigned a letter. The students look at the bottom of the page and see that the number four is represented by the letter "A." They then fill in the answer to the problems with the letter "A" every time the answer to the question is four. The letters in the answer blanks will reveal a message.
The game "Bingo" can be used to reinforce both math and reading skills with a few modifications. Instead of a letter and a number, the card that is read by the caller will have a math or vocabulary question. You can design your own bingo card with letters or words and numbers that are the answers to the questions. The website DLTK offers custom printed bingo cards (see Resources). For example, the caller reads a card on which is written, "What is two times two?" The students then have to look on their cards for the number four.
Have students gather into teams of two or more and tell them they are to find the missing treasure by figuring out the magic word. To find the magic word, the teams must go around the room, or outside if possible, and find the clues. The clues are math problems that are written on pieces of paper and hidden. Once they find the clue, they have to solve the math problem. Once they solve the math problem, they have to go to a "treasure box." The box contains a chart that indicates which letter the answer represents. For example, tell your students they are to find six clues. They must then answer six math problems, which will give them six letters of the alphabet. Using the six letters they have, they create a word, as in the game "Scrabble." In this example, the word "pencil" is the answer. So the first clue could be, "What is six times six?" The answer is 36; according to the chart, the number 36 represents the letter "E." This continues until they have the letters "E L P N C I." The letters unscrambled spell the word "pencil." The first team to put the word together wins a prize.