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$220

for 10 classes
Class

Codebreaker: How to Solve and Create Cryptograms

Completed by 14 learners
Ages 10-15
Live Group Course
This course, which meets twice weekly over four weeks, will teach you how to solve cryptograms and other word puzzles that involve solving codes and also how to create your own puzzles.
Average rating:
4.5
Number of reviews:
(158 reviews)

Live video meetings
2x per week, 5 weeks
3-18 learners per class
60 min

What's included

10 live meetings
10 in-class hours
Homework
2-4 hours per week. Homework assignments will be assigned during the first meeting of each week. They will be due the following class that same week. Assigned homework will involve creating puzzles in addition to solving them.

Class Experience

US Grade 5 - 8
We will meet twice a week for four weeks. Here is a breakdown of each week and what we will cover, and how class time will be spent:

Week 1: Introduction & Brief History; Types of Cryptogram Puzzles; And Strategies for Solving such Puzzles
          Class A- Brief History; Five Types of Cryptograms; Solving Strategies 
          Class B-In class Review of Homework (class A); Group Work Solving Puzzles
Week 2: Advanced Strategies for Solving Puzzles; Challenging Puzzles
         Class C-Guided Solving of Crypto-Nursery Rhymes, and Crypto-Limericks 
         Class D-In class Review of Homework (class C); Group Work Solving Puzzles
Week 3: Strategies for Creating Cryptograms; Solving Advanced Puzzles
         Class E-Guided Solving of Crypto-Quotes, and Crypto-Lyrics; Strategies for creating cryptograms followed by Homework
         Class F-In class Review of Homework (class E); Group Work Solving Puzzles; 
Week 4" Advanced Strategies for Cryptograms; Solving AdvancedPuzzles
         Class G-Guided Solving of Crypto-Poems; Crypto-Passages; Advanced Strategies  creating cryptograms followed by Homework
         Class H-In class Review of Homework (class G); Group Work Solving Puzzles

Syllabus

10 Lessons
over 5 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Class A
 Brief History; Five Types of Cryptograms; Solving Strategies 
60 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Class B
 In class Review of Homework (class A); Group Work Solving Puzzles 
60 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Class C
 Guided Solving of Crypto-Nursery Rhymes, and Crypto-Limericks 
60 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Class D
 In class Review of Homework (class C); Group Work Solving Puzzles 
60 mins online live lesson

Other Details

Supply List
Plenty of the following: pencils, erasers, scrap paper, notebooks, and index cards. All puzzles and cheatsheets will be provided by the instructor. Each student will receive a pdf Handbook for Code Breaking. The handbook will summarize the main learning points and will be useful to have as you continue to solve puzzles throughout your life.
 1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Meet the teacher

Joined October, 2019
4.5
158reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Bachelor's Degree from Ithaca College
I am a friendly, articulate, professional, college-educated teacher, and artist versed in a variety of disciplines, a "Renaissance Man" at heart. As Ben Franklin was quoted: "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest". I'm very patient and dedicated to finding innovative and creative ways to educate those I am teaching.  I have both practical experience and theoretical training in the education of individuals with both Learning Disabilities & Developmental Disabilities. 

I am an experienced educator with a bachelor's of science from Ithaca College. I'm currently working towards my Master's Degree in Education with over three years of study so far and my dissertation remaining. In addition to that work, as a graduate student, I consistently seek out workshops and webinars that provide additional certifications for educators. 

My experience as an educator includes teaching at both public and private schools as well as tutoring students in STEAM subjects including SAT/GRE/ACT/ & AP prep, I have experience and training in teaching individuals with both Learning Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities. I have also volunteered my time in my local community library by organizing workshops on STEAM topics for children.  

As an educator, it's my goal to stimulate my student's curiosity and to encourage persistence and determination in achieving their goals.  I would like for my students to experience the empowerment of conquering ignorance and the joy in discovery and epiphany. In short, I want to open, stimulate, and expand young minds. 

I teach comparative and interdisciplinary courses focused on literature, art, myth folklore, ecology, nature, science, philosophy, and history.  These exciting courses will illustrate how these different areas of learning connect, inform, and influence each other.  Additionally, I  offer "hands-on" workshops in writing (academic/creative), photography, and cinema. This type of class environment consists of group work and active critique of their own work and the work of their peers. And as someone who is fluent in Conversational French (reading, speaking, and writing) I plan to create some simple yet immersive classes in the French Language. If there is sufficient interest I am willing and able to run weekly RPG clubs (not limited to D&D) focusing on learning life skills through roleplaying. Drama and the theater were, and still, are, a large part of both my public and collegiate career. 

Outside the classroom, I am a single father of an eleven-year-old girl and our mini-menagerie which consists of "Rosie" the lab/Pitt, "Bill Murray" the Mini-Schnauzer, "Mary Shelly" an African Sideneck Turtle, "Shane Longfellow" the ball python, and "Fry" the dumbo rat. A pack of misfits much like the "Goonies"; odd, yet adventurous and loyal to the end! 

Reviews

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