The January Crack the Code is a high engagement activity that will warm up your classroom in the cold of winter! This 6 challenge activity has students working together to read passages, complete math problems, solve stem tasks, and work closely through collaboration. This resource has options for grades 1st all the way through 5th, so you can find a just right clue card for every student in your class. Read along with me as we take a closer look at all the January Crack the Code has to offer with over 100 pages included!
Students will begin the January Crack the Code by receiving the beginning clue card from the teacher. Students will read through the beginning clue card to understand how the game will be played. For each challenge completed, students will be receiving a small card with a winter word on it (example snowman). These cards will be needed for the final challenge at the end! I give each team a zip-lock bag to keep their small cards together throughout the activity without loosing any. Remember, every part of a crack the code challenge is intended to help foster student independence. Students “keeping track of their cards without loosing them” is something you will have to teach them, and giving them a zip-lock bag to keep them together is a great strategy for them to use. Like all Crack the Code challenges, you can differentiate between groups by using different clue cards for different groups. Since this is a winter themed Crack the Code I like to use different hues of blue paper for my clue cards! This will ensure all students are working at their just right level! For Clue #1 students will be solving math problems that involve fractions (as well as addition) that involve hot cocoa marshmallows with a certain amount also containing sprinkles. You can see in the sneak peek that there are multiple options for this clue card so you can differentiate as there are 9 OPTIONS INCLUDED!
For Clue #2 students will be reading passages that explain the process of how snowflakes are formed. This nonfiction passage comes in multiple reading levels so that students from 1st through 5th feel successful and can understand what they’re reading. There are comprehension questions that go with the passage which if solved correctly reveal the secret number needed to get to the next clue!
Clue #3 will have students creating paper snowflakes! This challenges gives students a chance to shine with their creativity! Just as they read in the previous clue how every snowflake is unique, their designs will also be unique! There are directions included (along with visual representations) to assist students creating their snowflake. I would recommend having an adult helping out at this challenge as some students may have difficulty and need extra support with multi-step directions or fine motor skills.
For Clue #4 students will be using a secret decoder, and this one is quite a challenge! For the most part, students have not seen a decoder similar to this before. Their uncertainty of what to do can easily turn into frustration and discouragement. Remind students throughout this challenge that they are problem solvers, and that the right answer is not always so easily discovered. I also like to remind students that I would never give them a challenge I didn’t think they were capable of doing. These words of encouragement mean so much to the students, and remind them that they can do hard things! Because a secret decoder can be a difficult challenge for some, this clue has another alternative involving rhyming winter words. As always, you are free to use any level clue card from any of the grades to best fit the needs of your students, and not all groups need to use the same level clue cards!
The STEM challenge is next! Clue #5 challenges students to create a snowflake using q-tips! This hands on activity is always a student favorite! You can determine how much q-tips are required of students to use and whether or not they glue the “snowflake” to a piece of paper to keep! Take a look at the clue cards below!
For the final challenge students will need to use their collected “winter words” in order to create a snow globe scene that contains drawings of all the words they collected. Once students have completed this task they will have officially Cracked the January Code! For finishing as a team, the students will earn their January Crack the Code printable badge!
Here are some wonderful student examples of what the completed snow globe challenge looks like! These make for beautiful artwork displays in the classroom/hallways!
I hope your students have a wonderful time solving this January Crack the Code! Remember you can save BIG by grabbing the Crack the Code GROWING BUNDLE which has a Crack the Code for every month (grades 1-5) plus more!!! Here are some amazing reviews from other teachers who have completed this fun activity with their students!
