Math Facts Secret Codes

When it comes to those basic math facts, there’s nothing like practice, practice, practice.  But making them interesting is quite another matter.  Here’s an irresistible activity you can use with your second grader to send messages in “secret code.”  Next time you pack a school lunch, for example, try putting in a special note with your love and good wishes…in a code that your child and her friends can joyfully decipher over their meal.

What You Need:

• Paper
• Pen
• Math Fact "Decoder" Key

What to Do:

1. Download math fact code sheet, or make your own, based on the level of the math facts your child is working on at the moment.
2. As you can see from the template, the math facts run down the left side of the page.  You’ll write your message along the right, by making a small line for each letter of the alphabet that you’ll write. 
3. Write out your message lines, and then let your child take a whack at the math facts to decode your words. The sum of each pair of numbers appears under each line of the message, and matches up with a letter.  For a child who is making good progress on math facts, this is a fairly fast activity…but it will bring good feeling that lasts all day and beyond!

Math Fact Decoder Key and Sample Message:

A = 2+2                              _______    _______   ________  ________                       

B = 2+3                                   9                4                 7               12