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 which crack a lock combination. The groups are then presented with a final riddle to help them rearrange a numeric code in the right order to succeed. These activities encourage students to think about concepts that involve numeracy, geography, comprehension and vocabulary.

Put the ‘Buzz!’ back in your class by using 2 three-digit combination locks and a lockable box to hide a reward or message for students who crack the code.

Run this activity as a timed rotation system for six groups working on six activities, or establish 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 urge them to communicate and cooperate to succeed.

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 Riddle
• Holiday Tree Wheel
• Rudolph’s Present Predicament
• Trifle Tower
• Cryptic Chatterbox
• Holiday Treasure Hunt
• Party Light Chaos
• Final Holiday Hooray Riddle.