This document provides instructions for using a dictionary code to encrypt and decrypt messages. It explains that a dictionary code uses a 3-part number system to indicate the page, column and word position in the dictionary. It gives an example code of 191106, meaning page 191, column 1, word position 06. The instructions emphasize that numbers less than 10 need a leading 0 to make the code 3 digits. Students are directed to practice decoding a sample message and encoding the answer using the dictionary code.

2. STEP ONE – YOUR MATERIALS
1. YOU AND YOUR PARTNER WILL EACH NEED TO HAVE
THE EXACT SAME DICTIONARY! (IF NOT, YOUR
“LANGUAGE” WILL BE TOTALLY RUINED!)

3. STEP TWO – UNDERSTANDING THE CODE
A DICTIONARY CODE IS BROKEN DOWN INTO 3 SETS OF
NUMBERS –
 THE FIRST NUMBERS (USUALLY 3 DIGITS) ARE THE PAGE
NUMBERS) IF YOUR PAGE NUMBER IS ONLY ONE DIGIT OR
TWO THEN YOU WILL NEED TO ADD A ZERO IN FRONT OF IT
TO MAKE IT A 3 DIGIT NUMBER.
 THE NEXT NUMBER IS FOR WHICH COLUMN THE WORD
APPEARS IN – EITHER COLUMN ONE OR COLUMN TWO – SO
THAT NUMBER IS EITHER 1 OR 2 SINCE MOST DICTIONARIES
HAVE TWO COLUMNS
 THE LAST NUMBER IS THE NUMERIC POSITION OF THE WORD
IN THE COLUMN – FOR EXAMPLE THE WORD MIGHT BE THE
SEVENTH ONE IN THE COLUMN SO THE LAST NUMBER
WOULD BE O7. THIS NUMBER NEEDS TO BE A 2 DIGIT
NUMBER SO AGAIN, IF IT IS NOT, THEN YOU WILL NEED TO
ADD A 0 IN FRONT OF THE NUMBER TO MAKE IT A 2 DIGIT
NUMBER.

4. FOR EXAMPLE
MY CODE NUMBER IS: 191106
SO –
1. 191 IS THE PAGE NUMBER

5. THE NEXT NUMBER
IS THE COLUMN NUMBER THE WORD IS IN – IN THIS CASE THE NUMBER
IS 191106 SO THAT MEANS MY WORD IS IN COLUMN ONE THE FIRST
COLUMN

6. AND FINALLY . . .
THE LAST NUMBERS TELL THE NUMERICAL POSITION OF THE WORD IN
THE COLUMN – IN THIS CASE THE LAST NUMBER IN MY CODE 191106
IS THE NUMBER 6 – SO I WOULD COUNT DOWN 6 WORDS IN THE
FIRST COLUMN. (THE 0 IS IN FRONT OF THE 6 TO MAKE IT A 2 DIGIT
NUMBER.)

7. AND THE WORD IS . . .

8. LET’S REVIEW
FIRST NUMBERS - PAGE NUMBER
SECOND NUMBER – COLUMN NUMBER
THIRD NUMBER – NUMERICAL POSITION OF WORD IN
COLUMN

9. NOW LET’S PRACTICE
YOU AND YOUR PARTNER WILL WORK TOGETHER TO
DECODE THE SIMPLE MESSAGE ON THE PRACTICE
SHEET.
ONCE YOU HAVE DECODED THAT MESSAGE, YOU WILL
ANSWER THE QUESTION IN THE MESSAGE BY USING
YOUR DICTIONARY CODE SKILLS TO ENCIPHER THE
ANSWER IN DICTIONARY CODE
RAISE YOUR HAND WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE
PRACTICE, SO IT CAN BE CHECKED FOR ACCURACY
AND THEN ON TO THE ACTUAL CLUE FOR THE DAY!