In the last lesson you learnt about the REVERSE CODE.

In this lesson you're going to learn about STEP CODES.

But before we go any further, tell me what you'd like me to call you. Use the keypad to enter your name and press the 'Submit' button.

For this lesson you are going to need:

A PENCIL
A RUBBER
A PENCIL SHARPENER
A RULER
A NOTEBOOK OR SOME PAPER
A DICTIONARY

Have you got all these?

Yes, I've got everything.
No, I'll go and get them now.
No, I can't be bothered.
STEP CODES are codes in which we encode each letter by stepping forwards or backwards along the alphabet.

So, in a ONE STEP FORWARD CODE, A becomes B, B becomes C and so on.

What happens when you reach Z? Good question. Z becomes A.

In a TWO STEP FORWARD CODE, A becomes C, B becomes D, ... and Z becomes B.

And in a ONE STEP BACKWARD CODE, A becomes Z, B becomes A, ... and Z becomes Y.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D

Before you do anything else, take your pencil and paper and write this down for yourself.

This is a FOUR STEP FORWARD CODE. To encode a word, we take each letter in turn and turn it into the letter below it in the chart above.

So the word CODE becomes GSHI.

If we want to DECODE a word written in this code we have to do the OPPOSITE. We look for the letter in the bottom row of the chart and replace it with the letter in the top row.

So when you decode WXIT it becomes STEP.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

To solve a STEP CODE question you need a clue. This might be something like this:

If the code for COW is AMU what is the code for PIG?

The next bit needs a bit of thought.

Take your pencil and paper and write out the alphabet at the top of the page.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


C O W

A M U


Now write the word COW and, underneath that, the code for COW: AMU.

We now have to work out how you get from C to A, from O to M and from W to U.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


C O W

A M U


Starting with the first letter, you'll notice that C is after A in the alphabet. So we count backwards like this B is 1, A is 2. To get from C to A we move BACK 2. Now write '-2' above the C on your paper to remind you.

Now look at the second letter. Again we have to count BACK 2 to get from O to M. With the third letter again we count BACK 2 to get from W to U.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


-2-2-2
C O W

A M U


You should now have something like this written down.

This shows you that we have a 2 STEP BACKWARDS CODE.

So now we have to use the same code on the word PIG.

Taking each letter in turn and moving back two places we get NGE, which is the answer to the question.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

This is quite difficult, isn't it? You really have to concentrate hard to understand it. We'll try another example.

If the code for RAT is VEX, what does JSB mean?

Well, what do you think? Try to work it out for yourself before moving on. Don't be afraid to use pencil and paper to make notes.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Look at each letter in turn and you'll see that we're moving forward 4 places. We have a 4 STEP FORWARDS CODE. You should have written '+4' above each letter of RAT.

This time, we have to DECODE a word in code, so we have to do the REVERSE of the code. In other words we have to move BACK 4. So J becomes F and S becomes O. Remember that when we reach one end of the alphabet we go to the other end, so B becomes (A, Z, Y) X. And there on your left is the answer: FOX.

OK, kiddo. Are you sure you understand STEP CODES?


It's much too hard for me. I give up.
Hey, look at that fly crawling up the window.
That was really confusing. I'd like another look.
I think I understand STEP CODES now.
In that case, kiddo, you won't mind doing an exam.

Will you?

No thanks. I'm allergic to hard work.
It's too dangerous. I might get a paper cut.
Whatever doesn't kill me will make me stronger.
No problem! I'm really smart so I'll get 100%.
Before you start, a few pieces of advice.

1. Use a pencil and paper to note down how you get from the starting letter to the coded letter. Is it FORWARDS or BACKWARDS, and how many steps do you move?

2. Remember that if you are ENCODING a real word you follow the SAME rule to get your answer. If you are DECODING a nonsense word you follow the OPPOSITE rule to get your answer.

3. If you are DECODING a nonsense word your answer must be a REAL word. If you're not sure, look it up in your dictionary. If it's not there you've made a mistake: try again.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 1. If the code for OAK is PBL what is the code for ASH?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 2. If the code for ARM is FWR what does QJL mean?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 3. If the code for LION is HEKJ what is the code for BEAR?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 4. If the code for ROSE is PMQC what does JGJW mean?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 5. If the code for YARD is BDUG what is the code for FOOT?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 6. If the code for PINK is NGLI what does ZJSC mean?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 7. If the code for CHESS is EJGUU what is the code for GAMES?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 8. If the code for KNIFE is EHCZY what does MJIIH mean?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 9. If the code for SUMMER is XZRRJW what is the code for WINTER?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.


Use the on-screen keypad to enter your answer. If you make a mistake press 'CLEAR' to start again. When you're sure you have the right answer press 'SUBMIT'. If you get it wrong you can try again but only your first answer counts towards your score. 		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Question 10. If the code for KNIGHT is CFAYZL what does TAKZGH mean?

Use the keypad below to enter your answer.

You now know how to make a STEP CODE, and how to decode messages written in a STEP CODE.

Next time you're sitting in a really boring lesson, write a message to your friends using a STEP CODE!

You can say something really bad about your teachers: they won't be able to work out what it means!