Symbol cipher
Every letter is a little picture. A treasure-hunt note that even new readers want to crack.
When to use it
The first clue of a playground treasure hunt, for a class that is just starting to read. A code to crack at a birthday party or a scout evening. A phonics lesson where decoding the note is the reading practice.
What makes it this
Built on the Cryptogram generator with these changed. Everything else is the default.
- Only show letters that occur
The key leaves out letters the sentence never uses.
In the builder: How it plays › Letters & numbers
- Letters given for free
Characters left unencrypted, as a way in.
In the builder: How it plays › Solving aids
Preview
View only — copy it to play.Treasure hunt: the picture code
A treasure-hunt clue written in pictures: every letter of the note has been swapped for a drawing, and working out which drawing is which letter tells you where to go next. The vowels are filled in already, to give you a way in.
Why the example is built this way
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A short note built from few letters.
Every different letter needs its own picture. Two short instructions that reuse the same ten letters mean ten drawings, so reword before you add an eleventh.
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Pictures that differ in outline and colour.
Symbols are drawn small on the board. A compass, a ship's wheel and a life ring would all read as circles, so pick shapes that can't be confused.
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The vowels are given as the way in.
Young readers start from words whose shape they can already sound out. Only show letters that occur then leaves one letter chip for each picture still to name.
Build it yourself
- 1 Open the Cryptogram builder and fill in the Sentence & cipher tab.
- 2 Change the settings under What makes it this. Each one says where it is in the builder.
- 3 Share the link with your players, or embed the activity in your own site.
Or skip the building: copy this example and swap in your own content.