I'm excited to combine my love for all things puzzling and mysterious with my fascination for the world of spies and espionage in a class created for young mystery/spy enthusiasts! Part history and literature, part critical thinking and deductive reasoning, part social skills and teamwork...and ALL fun! 

This class has eight weeks of material. Each class can stand alone so that students can join at any point. 

SUMMER 2024 
Day 1
Codes in History: Overview of the History of Secret Codes (Making a scytale)
Codes: Simple Word Group Codes (Reverse Trail)

Day 2
Codes in History: Ancient Egypt and Hieroglyphics
Codes: More Group Variations (Twisted Path, Rail Fence)

Day 3
Codes in History: Trojan Horse Story
Codes: Substitution Ciphers (Pigpen, Grid)

Day 4
Spies from History: George Washington's Culper Ring
Codes: Substitution Ciphers continued

Day 5
Spies From History: Limping Lady of WW2
Codes: Shift Ciphers

Day 6
Spies from History: Spy with 29 Names of WW2
Codes: Using Invisible Ink

Day 7
Detectives of Literature
Codes: Bonus: Unusual Codes

Day 8
History Spotlight: Fingerprinting
Codes: Review and Sharing


Each week, I will introduce students to an important spy, detective, author, or event from the history of whodunits or espionage. These history spotlights will examine real people and true events from history, with an occasional nod to famous detectives or authors from classic mystery literature. We'll look at spies and events ranging from ancient Egypt to the American Revolution to the Cold War, with a special focus on fascinating, inspiring, and heroic stories from WWII. 

Students will also learn and practice the craft of cryptography (secret messaging). Each week we will learn a particular type of secret code or cipher, and students will have the opportunity to create and crack these codes.

Finally, we will harness our powers of deductive reasoning and logic to solve puzzles and mysteries together. 


Each Class will include:
*History Spotlight: 
     Examine the time period and importance of a person or event from the history of 
     mystery or espionage (some literary, some real)
*Stealthy Secrets: 
     Learn to create and crack a particular type of code, cipher, or other type of secret 
     messaging
*Teamwork Time: 
      Use deductive reasoning to create or solve a logic puzzle or mystery together