ken beatty ''secret codes

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c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Activity worksheets � of 2

PENGUIN ACTIVE READINGTeacher Support Programme Activity worksheets LEVEL 4

While readingChapters 1–21 Readthismessage.Canyouwritethewords

correctly? PeopleuseEDOCSintheirlives.Weusually

writefullXSTTEbutinInternetmessages,alotofMSYLSBOareused.TheyEEEPRNTRSdifferentmeanings.OurfriendscanIEECDPRHourmessagesquitewell.

Sometimes,SANGGusetheirownEAABTHPLbecausetheydon’twantpeopletounderstandwhattheyaresaying.theyalsowritemessagesusingOWRSandULMONCS.

Chapters 3–42 Arethesesentencestrue(T)orfalse(F)? a Mary’smotherwasfromFrance. c b MarymarriedtheKingofFrance. c c HenryVIIIattackedScotlandalthoughit

waspartofEngland. c d Mary’ssecondhusbanddiedofanillness. c e MarywasaCatholic. c f HenryVIIIwasMary’sfather. c g ManyEnglishpeoplewantedMarytobe

theirqueenbecauseshewasyoungerthanElizabeth. c

h ElizabethhelpedMary. c i WhenMarywasinprison,herlifewas

verydifficult. c j Elizabethwasthefirstqueentousespies. c3 Completethediagramwiththewordsinthe

below.

Mary Elizabeth

gotmarried hadason wasaCatholic wasaProtestant herfatherwasaking developedacipher hadasecretary waskilledattheageof24

Chapters 5–64 Completethesentenceswithonewordfrom

thebox.Careful!Therearetwowordsyoudon’tneed.

bury clue email hobos pattern raisesecret slave trade

a Once,akinghidamessageontheheadofa………….

b I’vesentyouan…………messagewithinformationaboutthecompany.

c Tomcouldn’tdecipherthecode,andheaskedfora………….

d It’snotnecessaryto…………thebook.Icanseeitfromhere.

e Thattableovertherehasalovely…………onit.

f Somethieves…………theirstolenpossessionsforgold.

g Ifyou…………thosegoldcoinsinthegarden,youmaynotfindthemagain.

5 Matchthenameandthecorrectwords. a BadenPowell: c b LeonardDawes: c c Braille: c d TheUndergroundRailroad: c e TheKuKluxKlan: c 1 wasnotbornblind. 2 usedblanketsforcommunicationwith

hobos. 3 spentmanyyearsinIndiaandAfrica. 4 hatedfreedslaves. 5 taughtataschool.

Chapters 7–86 Matchthenameandtherightwords. a ArthurConanDoyle… c b EdgarAllanPoe… c c SomersetMaugham… c d DaltonTrumbo… c e DanBrown… c 1 wasagainstwar. 2 couldspeakthreelanguages. 3 wrotestoriesforthenewspaper. 4 wasadoctor. 5 lovesciphers.

queen


c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Activity worksheets 2 of 2

PENGUIN ACTIVE READINGTeacher Support Programme Activity worksheets LEVEL 4

7 Rewritethesesentenceswiththewordsgiven. a Somebodyhasmurderedthemanwiththe

light. Theman…………………………………. b Somebodyburntaboxfullofpapers. Abox……………………………………... c Somebodywassendingsecretinformationto

Paris. Secretinformation…………………………. d Somebodyhasbuiltseveralstations. Severalstations…………………………….8 Rewritethecharacters’words.Beginwith …said/asked…. a ‘Iwanttohaveinformationimmediately,’said

Clytemnestra. ……………………………………………… b ‘Howcanwemakemoney?’askedClaude

Chappe. ……………………………………………… c ‘Haveyouheardaboutelectricalmagnets?’

askedMorse. ……………………………………………… d ‘Haveyoubrokenthecode?’askedtheBritish

government. ……………………………………………… e ‘WouldyouliketoseeEnigma?’asked

Scherbius. ………………………………………………9 Choosethecorrectname. a Musgrave / Doyle / Trevorwasafriendof

Holmes’. b Poe / Conan Doyle / Maughamwantedhis

readerstosendhimcodedmessages. c Poe / Conan Doyle / Maughamdidspywork

forBritain. d Poe’s / Brown’s / Maugham’sbookwastranslated

into44languages. e Clytemnestra / The Greeks / The Chappe

brothersinventedamechanicalsemaphore. f EnigmawasinventedbyTuring / Morse /

Scherbius.

Chapters 9–1010 Rewritethesetwosentencesasonesentence. a CockneyisaformofEnglish.It’sspokenin

England. b PigLatiniseasytolearn.Itcanbespokenin

twodifferentways. c PhillipJohnsonknewalotaboutNavajo.He

hadanunusualidea. d Bodylanguageisnoteasytounderstand.Itis

asecretlanguage. e TheMasonsarealargeinternationalgroup.

Theyhaveasecrethandshake.

Chapters 11–1211 Arethesesentencestrue(T)orfalse(F)? a Chapter11isaboutlanguageswhich

peoplestilluse. c b Thereareonlyafewsymbolsin

hieroglyphics. c c TheRosettastonewasmadeofclay. c d Cuneiformdidnotlastforaverylong

time. c e Codeshavealwaysbeenbrokenbecause

theyweren’tverydifficulttodecipher. c f TheMayanlanguagewasasoldas

Egyptianhieroglyphics. c g Scientistsarestillinterestedin

communicatingwithpeoplefromanotherworld. c

After reading12 Writeonesentenceabouteachofthestories.13 Makecoverforthebook. Includethetitle,thewriter’snameandthename

ofthepublisher.


c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Progress test � of �

PENGUIN ACTIVE READINGTeacher Support Programme Progress test LEVEL 4

Chapters 1–21 Arethefollowingstatementstrue(T)orfalse(F)?

a Asymbolandacipherarethesame. c

b Codesareonlylettersandnumbers. c

c Redrepresentsthesamemeaningallovertheworld. c

d Ciphersarealwaysverycomplexanddifficult. ce Languageisacode. c

f TheVigenèrecipherwasinventedinthe1500’s. c

g Babbagecreatedacode. c

h TheCrimeanwarwasfoughtintheBlackSeaarea. c

i JuliusCaesar’scipherwasdevelopedbyhissoldiers. c

j Flagswerecompletelyuselesswithoutatelescope. c

k Awrongmessageisamessagethatcannotbedeciphered. c

Chapters 3–42 Whathappenedfirst?Putthesentencesinorder

andnumberthem,1–10.a c KingJamesmarriedaFrenchlady.b c KingJamesdied.c c MarybecameElizabeth’sprisoner.d c MarybecametheQueenoftheScots.e c MarygotmarriedtoFrancis.f c MarygotmarriedtoStewart.g c MarymarriedLordBothwell.h c Marywasborn.i c MarywassenttoFrance.j c Mary’ssecondhusbandwaskilled.

Chapters 5–63 Whichiscorrect?Circle1,2or3.

a Tohidemessages,peoplecanuse… 1 milk. 2 ink. 3 slaves.b Acirclewithadotmeans… 1 BadenPowelisdead. 2 apersonisburiedhere. 3 gonehome.c TheMogols… 1 wereslaves. 2 hidmessagesinfood. 3 didn’teatmooncakes.

d InChina,astampupsidedownonalettermeans…

1 thesenderdidn’thaveenoughtime. 2 there’saloveletterinside. 3 there’sasecretmessageinside.e Manyyearsago,hobosintheUnitedStates…

1 decoratedhouseswithdrawings.2 hadaspecialalphabet.3 useddrawingstocommunicatewithother

hobos.

Chapters 7–84 Arethefollowingstatementstrue(T)orfalse(F)?

a Johnny Got His Gunisaspystory. c

b TherearecluestosolveTheDa Vinci Codeonthecover. c

c KryptosisaspywhoworkedfortheCIA. c

d TheciphertubewasDanBrown’sinvention. c

e Clytemnestrawasaqueen. c

f TheGreeksusedsignalfires. c

g SOSisaMorsecodesignal. c

Chapters 9–105 Matchthetwoparts.

a Cockney… c

b PigLatin… c

c Navajo… c

d Bodylanguage… c

e AmericanSignLanguage… c

1 hasnowrittenform. 2 isonlyunderstoodinAmerica. 3 isaninventedlanguage. 4 iseasytounderstandinchildren. 5 isspokeninEngland.

Chapters 11–126 Choosethecorrectanswer.

a Itwaseasytounderstandold Greek / Demotic / hieroglyphics.

b Ptolemy / Champollion / Ramsesdiscoveredhowtoreadhieroglyphics.

c ThelanguagesontherockinBehistunandtheRosettastonearesimilar / the same / different.

d TheFrenchhelped / killed / likedMataHari.e TheMayanlanguagedidn’thavegods / tools /

numbers.

Secret Codes

c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Answer keys � of 3

PENGUIN ACTIVE READINGTeacher Support Programme Answer keys LEVEL 4

Book key

1.1 Openanswers1.2 Openanswers2.1 secret stop clothes textmessaging flags semaphore prices war cipher soldiers alphabets2.2 Easytodecipher Theshipsailssoon. Welcome2.3 1 areused 2 aremeant 3 havebeenused 4 hadbeenused 5 wasdeveloped 6 couldbedeciphered2.4 Possibleanswers: 1 Mary,QueenofScotsandQueenElizabethIof

England. 2 Theywerebothqueens. 3 Thepictureswerepaintedinthe1500s. 4 Mary’sbiggestproblemwasthatshespentmuch

ofherlifeasElizabeth’sprisoner.ElizabethwasworriedthatherpeoplemightwantMaryastheirqueen.

5 Bothqueensusedsecretcodesandcipherstofindoutinformationabouttheirenemies.Maryusedhersecretcodesandcipherstosendmessagestoherfollowers.)

3.1 9 10 7 6 1 4 5 2 8 3

3.2 1 F 2 T 3 T 4 F 5 T 6 T 7 F3.3 1 bysending 2 byputting 3 bywriting 4 Byreading 5 bydeciphering 6 bysending3.4 Possibleanswers: a aninsect d asemaphoremessage e Braillewriting b asignforamanwithagun c GotoCanada4.1 1 c 2 c 3 a 4 b 5 b 6 c4.2 1 B 2 E 3 D 4 A 5 C4.3 10 3 2 6 9 7 1 4 8 54.4 Openanswers5.1 1 c 2 d 3 g 4 e 5 b 6 f 7 a5.2 Openanswers5.3 1 ConanDoyle,whowrotetheSherlockHolmes

stories,wasadoctor,notadetective;hestartedwritingdetectivestoriesbecausenotenoughsickpeoplecametoseehimandheneededanotherwaytomakemoney.

2 Itisfinallyfoundbutlooksunimportant:abagofoldmetalandstones.

3 Itmeans,‘Comehereatonce.’ 4 Onelightmeansa,twolightsmeanb,threelights

meanc 5 Partofthemessage–orthewholemessage–might

notbeseenintime.5.4 Openanswers6.1 1 Openanswers 2 I’monthephone. 3 Openanswers 4 Openanswers 5 ourmother,sheeppain 6 Nashuisasecretlanguagethatwasusedbywomen

inavillageinChina.

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c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Answer keys 2 of 3


6.2 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 T 5 T 6 F 7 T6.3 1 Cockneys,whospeakaformofEnglish,are

difficulttounderstand. 2 CockneysspeakaformofEnglishthatisalways

changing. 3 DoyouknowanyonewhocanspeakPigLatin? 4 JohnstonspokeNavajo,whichgavehimagood

idea. 5 ThegirlsinPumeiVillage,whocouldnotwrite

Chinese,wroteinasecretlanguage. 6 AmericanSignLanguageisalanguagewhichdeaf

peopleuse.6.4 Openanswers

Talkaboutit Openanswers

Writeaboutit Openanswers

Project Openanswers

Discussion activities key1–36 Openanswers

Activity worksheets key1 codes texts symbols represent decipher gangs alphabet rows columns2 a T b F–Marywashisdaughter. c F–HeattackedScotlandbecauseitwasnotpartof

England. d F–Hewaskilledbyhisenemies. e T f F–HewasElizabeth’sfather.JamesVwasMary’s

father. g F–ManyEnglishpeopledidn’tlikeElizabethso

theydidn’twantherastheirqueen. h F–ElizabethsentMarytoacountryhouseand

keptherthereasaprisoner. i F–Maryevenhadservantstohelpher. j F–Theyhadbeenusingspiessince1324.3 Both:herfatherwasaking Mary:gotmarried,hadason,wasaCatholic,was

killedattheageof24,developedacipher Elizabeth:wasaProtestanthadasecretary

4 a slave b email c clue d raise e pattern f trade g bury5 a 3 b 5 c 1 d 2 e 46 a 4 b 3 c 2 d 1 e 57 a Themanwiththelighthasbeenmurdered. b Aboxfullofpaperswasburnt. c SecretinformationwasbeingsenttoParis. d Severalstationshavebeenbuilt.8 a Clytemnestrasaidshewantedtohaveinformation

immediately. b ClaudeChappeaskedhowtheycouldmakemoney. c Morseaskedpeopleiftheyhadheardabout

electricalmagnets. d TheBritishgovernmentaskedamanifhehad

brokenthecode. e Scherbiusaskedspiesiftheywouldliketosee

Enigma.9 a Musgrave b Poe c Maugham d Brown’s e TheChappebrothers f Scherbius10 a Cockney,whichisaformofEnglish,isspokenin

England./CockneyisaformofEnglishwhichisspokeninEngland.

b PigLatin,whichiseasytolearn,canbespokenintwodifferentways.

c PhillipJohnson,whoknewalotaboutNavajo,hadanunusualidea.

d Bodylanguage,whichisnoteasytounderstand,isasecretlanguage.

e TheMasons,whoarealargeinternationalgroup,haveasecrethandshake.

11 a F–Peopledonotusethemanymore. b F–6,000symbols. c F–Itwasmadeofstone. d F–Itlastedforabout3,000years. e F–They’reoftendecipheredbecauseofpersonal

reasonsandmistakes. f F–Egyptianhieroglyphicsareolder. g T12–13 Openanswers

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c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Answer keys 3 of 3


Progress test key1 a F–Therearesymbolsinacipher. b F–Therecanbesymbolstoo. c F–Itmeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeoplein

differentpartsoftheworld. d F–Sometimesthey’reverysimple. e T f T g F–Hebrokeacode. h T i F–Heinventedittocommunicatewithhissoldiers. j F–No,they’reuselesswithoutatelescopeonlyover

longdistances. k F–It’safalsemessagemeanttodistracttheenemy.2 a 1 b 3 c 10 d 4 e 6 f 7 g 9 h 2 i 5 j 83 a 1 b 3 c 3 d 2 e 34 a F–It’sabookaboutWorldWar1. b F–ThesearecluesforBrown’snextbook. c F–It’sapieceofartexhibitedintheCIAbuilding. d It’salargepubliccipherpuzzle. e F–DaVinciinventedtheciphertube. f T g T h T5 a 5 b 3 c 1 d 4 e 26 a oldGreek b Champollion c different d killed e numbers

Secret Codes

c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Teacher’s notes � of 3

PENGUIN ACTIVE READINGTeacher Support Programme Teacher’s notes LEVEL 4

SummaryThe book deals with the use of codes for communication. They aim at keeping messages secret, only accessible to those who share the code.

Chapter 1: The writer defines some key terms and describes how codes are present throughout our lives.

Chapter 2: The writer provides examples of secret messages at times of war.

Chapter 3: In this chapter we get to learn secret messages written by queens.

Chapter 4: This chapter presents examples of messages that to this day haven’t been deciphered, or were deciphered when it was too late, like the case of the musical cipher. There’s even a case of a killer who wrote his real name in a cipher which the police haven’t been able to decipher.

Chapter 5: There are different ways to hide messages: inside drawings, in food, even on a person’s body. Secret messages are still used nowadays. People can hide information in a photograph and send it in an email. But one problem will always exist: if people hide messages, some others will look for ways to find them.

Chapter 6: There is information in this chapter about how codes have been used for good purposes. The writer mentions the Braille system for the blind, Hobo signs which helped men who went from place to place looking for work and a system developed to help free slaves. He also describes how the Ku Klux Clan was destroyed because its code became known to everybody.

Chapter 7: The writer presents the connection between secret codes and puzzles in the world of novels and stories.

Chapter 8: This chapter explores different ways of sending secret messages by means of such elements as fire and smoke and other mechanical devices.

Chapter 9: The writer here describes different languages which are used to hide messages from others. Only those sharing the code can understand the messages uttered.

Chapter 10: In this chapter we get to know how the body can communicate by means of body language and sign language.

Chapter 11: The author describes old languages which had to be deciphered to be understood.

Chapter 12: Human nature shows human beings want to learn about secrets.

Background and themes

Secrecy: Human beings need to keep secrets from others while, at the same time, they need somebody to share secrets with.

Power: Those who have information that others don’t are more powerful and can exercise control over others.

Reflection: We take many things for granted. If we stopped and reflected about many aspects of life, we might live in a better world.

Betrayal and trust: It is very difficult to be sure who to trust. Why are some people ready to betray others? Is this more frequent with powerful people like governors, presidents, ministers or royals? Is betrayal ever good or positive?

Arrogance: People may look down on others who seem to be doing stupid things when, actually, they are the ones being fooled.

Learning from one’s past: We can learn a lot about who we are by reading about our ancestors’ lives.

Communication: People have always needed to communicate with each other and keep some information secret from others. This is seen not only throughout history but in the world of literature as well.

Cooperation: Cooperation and working as a team can be the key to success since the whole is much more than the sum of its parts.

Ken Beatty

Secret Codes

c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Teacher’s notes 2 of 3


Discussion activities

Chapters 1–2Before reading1 Discuss: Have students discuss their ideas about

codes. Whatcodesdoyouknow?Doweneedcodes?Why?How

longhavetherebeencodes?2 Vocabulary: Divide the class into groups of 3–5

students. Draw the following on the board. Ask groups to complete the web.

Howmanywordsdothegroupshaveincommon?

CODES

While reading3 Discuss: Have students talk about colours and codes. Have students read page 1. Whatdoesthecolourgreenrepresent?Whataboutblack,

andwhite?4 Guess: Ask students to read the section title on page

2: ‘Personal Codes’. Whatistherelationshipbetweenthetitleandthepicture

ofachildinuniform?5 Discuss: Have students talk about clothes. Whatdotheseclothesmeantoyou?:alongblackdress,a

whiteshirtandablacktie,jeansandtennisshoes,abluejacketandablueskirt.

6 Read carefully: Have students read Chapter 2. Whatwordsareconnectedwiththetitleofthechapter?

After reading7 Write: Have students write a message in code. Ask students to number the letters of the alphabet.

They should write a message made up of 6 words using the numbered code. How long do they take to decipher the other students’ messages?

8 Pair work: Have students write more secret messages. Ask them to write messages in which they only

include consonants and no vowels. Can the other student read the message?

9 Research: Have students do some research about letters in their own language.

ThemostcommonletterinEnglishis‘e’.Whichisthemostcommonvowelinyourlanguage?Whichistheleastfrequentlyused?Whichisthemostfrequentlyusedconsonant?Whichistheleastfrequentlyused?WhichlettersoftheEnglishalphabetarenotusedinyourlanguage?WhichletterofyourlanguageisnotusedinEnglish?

Chapters 3–4Before reading10 Guess: Have students read the title and the words in

italics on page 14. Whatcanthischapterbeabout? Whatwasthequeen’smistake?

While reading11 Guess: Ask students to imagine a day in the life of the

prisoner queen. Whattimedidshegetup?Whatdidshehavefor

breakfast?Whatdidshedointhemorning?Whovisitedherintheafternoon?

12 Role play: Have students work in pairs. One of the students is Mary, the other student is a

reporter. Imagine an interview between the two.13 Guess: Ask students to read the title and the words in

italics on page 20. Whatletteristhewritertalkingabout?Whowrotethe

letter?Whoreceivedit?Who’sreadingit?Whereisthefortune?Whendidallthishappen?

After reading14 Write: Ask students to write a note to Mary offering

help.15 Research: Have students find information on spies

and secret codes in history on the Internet or in history books.

Chapters 5–6Before reading16 Guess: Write the titles of Chapters 5–6 on the board

and ask students the following. Whatinformationcanyouget? Whatisthereincommonbetweenthetwochapters?17 Guess: Have students read the words in italics under

the titles on pages 26 and 31. Wouldyoumakeanychangestowhatyouthoughtin

activity16?Why(not)?

While reading18 Write: Have students write secret messages. Tell students they need to send this message: Imust

seeyouinthepark. They must use the code at the bottom of page 26.19 Artwork: Have students make a collage or a drawing

in which they hide a secret message. Can the others find and decode the secret message?

20 Research: Ku Klux Klan Have students get information about the KKK. You

can guide them with these questions. Wheredidtheylive? Whatdidtheydo? Didtheywearspecialclothes?

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c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Secret Codes - Teacher’s notes 3 of 3


After reading21 Write: Imagine you’re a blind person. Write a letter to

Mr Braille thanking him for his invention.22 Artwork: Have students make up codes for the rules

they are familiar with. Write down the classroom rules and decide on

patterns to represent each rule. Make a poster with all the rules.

Chapters 7–8Before reading23 Guess: Have students read the title and the words in

italics on page 38. Who’sHolmes?Whatmessageishetalkingabout?What’s

therealmessage?24 Discuss: Have students talk about famous detectives. Whatfamousdetectivesfromnovels,filmsandTVseries

doyouknow?Wherearetheyfrom?Wheredotheywork? Choose two of the detectives students mention and

have them complete this Venn diagram. What do they have in common?

While reading25 Guess: Ask students to read the title of Chapter 8 and

the words in italics. Whatisthemeaningofthetitle? Whatisgoingto

happen?Whydothescientistswanttobreakthecode?Whatcodeisit?Whycouldn’tthey?

26 Discuss: Smoke and fire signals. Get students to make a list of disadvantages of smoke

and fire signals. Here’s an example: People can’t use smoke signals if it’s raining. People can’t make smoke signals if they can’t light a

fire.

After reading27 Research: Have students talk about Morse code. Look for information about the Morse code. Then

send a message to a friend in Morse code. Can he or she decode the message?

28 Write: Have students think about great discoveries. Imagine you’re Morse or Claude Chappé, and your

invention is working for the first time. Write to your family and tell them about this.

Chapters 9–10Before reading29 Guess: Have students read the titles of the two

chapters. Whatarethesechaptersabout? Whatisthereincommonbetweenthem? Whatdifferencesdoyouthinkyouwillfind?

While reading30 Pair work: Guess my message. Have students write a message with 6 words and then

translate it into Pig Latin. Student A says the message to student B. Can they guess the message?

31 Discuss: Have students talk about body language. Whatdifferentbodylanguageexamplesexistinyourown

culture? Cantheothersunderstandthemeaning?

Chapters 11–12Before reading32 Guess: Have students look at the pictures on pages

63–70. Whatdothesepictureshaveincommon? Whatcanthesetwochaptersbeabout?

After reading33 Discuss: Have students talk about messages into the

future. Whatmessageswouldyouliketosendtopeopleinother

galaxiesandworlds?34 Write: Here we are! Write a short message to people from another galaxy.

After reading35 Pair work: Play a secret message game. Have students think of a secret message. They have to

decide on one of the ciphers presented in the book and encode the message. The others have to decode the message and say what system has been used.

36 Pair work: Have students guess the secret code. Student A describes one of the ciphers or secret

languages and student B has to say the name of the cipher or secret language.

Vocabulary activitiesFor the Word list and vocabulary activities, go to www.penguinreaders.com.

ken beatty ''secret codes

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