Christmas Codes

This activity requires the decoder wheel illustrated below.

Decoder wheel. The outer ring shows the alphabet from A-Z. The inner ring shows each letter of the alphabet in a scrambled order of: A, L, Q, T, F, O, I, W, C, U, P, J, Z, E, S, H, V, N, B, Y, K, D, R, G, M, X.

You will need a split-pin, inserted through the centre dots, to hold the two parts together.

How do I use a decoder wheel?

To encode (use it to produce a coded message) you need to find the letter you're changing on the outside ring and replace it with the one on the inside. You will need to remember how the wheels were lined up to decode it.

To decode (change the coded message back) you will first need to know how the wheels align and then find the letter on the inner ring and replace it with the one on the outer.

For Example:

Line up the wheels so letter A on the outside lines up with the letter A on the inside.

Now encode the message 'Merry Christmas'.

You should get 'ZFNNM QWNCBYZAB'.

Now change the wheels so G = A (this means that the G on the outside is lined up with the A on the inside).

Using this, decode the message 'LKUUB LCOQGKBZ'.

You should get 'Happy Holidays'.

Activity

Use the decoder ring as instructed to identify the below Christmas song titles.

Using Q = G

TSHAJ USMHXAYWX

Using H = B

KYMNRH ZHRRT

Using O = Z

THZVNR NOQ VJZKPMJ

Using N = U

CREK'S GPK MTFWX

Using D = D

PATROJ OAMXJ

Using Z = S

T AGCCAY CTJQ TK VYCRAYRYL

Using J = E

FAFQ ZN F VFNPCD

Using Y = X

BDFHZVC KCO BOF SHYOF BOUSFOOB

Using W = V

EVMOHM GKBZ CX RLJQZEIKZ

Using J = M

CRY RTAAE HQB CRY GPE