Begin the holiday festivities with a bang in your classroom with the Holiday Code Cracker! Students use the knowledge and communication skills they have acquired this year to work together on six tasks that reveal six numbers that crack a lock combination. The groups are then presented with a final riddle that helps them rearrange the numerals to crack the code and succeed in their mission. These activities urge students to think about concepts that involve numeracy, geography, comprehension and vocabulary.

Put the ‘Buzz!’ into your classroom by filling a lockable box with a reward or message that students will want to win by cracking two 3-digit combination locks.

Run this activity as a timed rotation system for six groups on six activities or create it as a race to the finish. As previously seen with Teach Starter’s Marvin Measurement’s Treasure Box,  Christmas Code Cracker and the Let’s Cooperate Code Cracker resources, students love working together on small group tasks that encourage them to communicate and cooperate.

This teaching resource has a PDF that includes teacher instructions, activity answers, activity templates, task cards and resources needed for this activity.

Activities include:

• Season’s Greetings Introductory Poem
• Holiday Tree Wheel
• Rudolph’s Present Predicament
• Trifle Tower
• Cryptic Chatterbox
• Holiday Treasure Hunt
• Party Light Chaos
• Holiday Hooray! Final Riddle