Morse Code: History and Use 9-12

Students will use Nearpod for slides and activities. The class will start by introducing the history of the invention of Morse Code and some of its uses. Students will then be introduced to the Morse Code itself and work on learning basic phrases used by Amateur Radio operators. These will include CQ (calling anybody), DE (this is), SOS (emergency call), and their own names. They will put together a basic conversation using morse code to try with each other. They will then listen to Morse code at different speeds and see if they can pick out anything from them. Students will learn about how it has been used to save lives on ships, it's use today and in tv/movies, and hear a reproduction of the message from the Titanic. Students will also learn about other forms of the International Morse Code Alphabet, such as SKATS (Korean).

This class will introduce a fun code-based language that is simple to start learning and connects to history and STEM skills. Morse Code even counts for merit badges in Scouts BSA.