Top Secret!

Ever wondered what those Wingdings fonts are used for? You know... the fonts that are made up of those pretty basic symbols...

Like this AND THIS

Well, me neither, but I've found an interesting use for them in my latest lesson 'app', 'Top Secret'. 

This simple PowerPoint activity can be used for all sorts of things in class. I've used it to introduce everything from lesson objectives to new vocabulary and activity instructions. The child who solves it the quickest is usually rewarded a class point. 

As well as being fun, (who doesn't love to try and decipher a code?) I think it helps the children improve their spelling and pattern recognition. Generally, the ones to solve the code the fastest are those that recognise the words by key letters groups, so they don't have to decipher each and every symbol. Much like the, 'Wheel of Fortune' phrases. 

To setup the activity, move the top secret envelope to the side and then type the phrase you want to use in a readable font. Then it's just a matter of changing the cipher and phrase into one of the Wingdings fonts (or other coded font) and return the cover envelope. When opened as a slide show, click on the top secret envelope to unveil the code, thus signalling the start. 

Get, 'Top Secret' by clicking here to download from my shop on TES.