What Is Cryptography? Part 1

This is a lesson geared toward junior high and high school classes to introduce students to the idea of cryptography and encryption. This lesson could be simplified for younger students by removing the research portion and adding more hands-on activities with Caesar and pig pen ciphers. The lesson does not get into digital cryptography. Students discuss how they might send a secret message without a digital device. After watching a short video on Caesar ciphers, students brainstorm how other ciphers may work. Group time is used to research and present how a specific cipher is used and can be modified. The lesson ends in a discussion of different types of encryption. Part 2 of this lesson discusses early digital cryptography and involves building an enigma machine replica.