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Why are secret codes necessary?
"I use a secret code to log on to my e-mail at the library. It keeps other people from getting into my account."  Passwords are types of secret codes, but secret codes existed long before the internet, e-mail, and atms, or automated teller machines. Egyptian hieroglyphs may look like complicated codes to us, but in fact, that's the way that ancient egyptians used to write, using pictures. Today, archaeologists must unlock their meanings just as codes must be unlocked. Morse code relies on sounds to convey meaning. Before the telephone, morse code was used to broadcast precise messages over long distances by telegraph lines. In World War II many countries used secret code words and scrambled words to transmit messages to their forces to outwit the enemy. Code breakers try to interpret these codes to prevent an attack. Today codes help us exchange private communications over computer networks. Governments, corporations, and individuals rely on codes to conceal personal information, or keep it safe.

This week, you will learn that secret codes have existed since ancient times, don't need to be complicated but can be be, can be made up of pictures, objects, letters, or words, and need to convey precise messages.​

SEQUENCE

Sequencing is the order in which ideas happen in a text. It can also mean the steps people follow to do something.

Identifying the sequence of events in a story helps a reader better understand the order of events. You can identify explicit (obvious) sequence relationships because of clue words such as first, then, next, after, and last. If the sequence is implicit (hidden), there may not be any clues words and you will have to figure it out on your own. Words such as while, meanwhile, and during can show when events happen at the same time. This skill also helps readers recognize patterns to better determine cause and effect.