Enigma Codebreaker Alan Turing: Maths Used as a Powerful Weapon

Short description

In the context of the 80th anniversary of D-day in 2024, the Second World War is at the core of current issues and it’s also part of the curriculum in Middle and Secondary schools. What is a better way to delve into history than through the inspiring story of a gifted mathematician who got involved in the outcome of the second World War?

Aims

The objective is to use English as a tool to find out more about history ( the WWII context, the battles that Alan Turing and his team helped win), Alan Turing (his life, his studies, his personality), Bletchley Park (how the the Government Code and Cypher School worked during the war , what it has become); cryptography (the study of secret codes), and Maths, Science and IT (as Alan Turing is often referred to the father of the modern computer).

Work process

The cross-curricular approach of the project through the study of history, science, and IT will increase the students’ motivation and curiosity through the discovery of this fascinating scientist. The students will be provided a wide range of documents : articles, videos, worksheets, videos among which the film entitled ‘Imitation game’ which is about Alan Turing, comic strips (ex : Le cas Alan Turing, histoire extraordinaire et tragique d’un génie , édition borché). They will carry out a series of activities to grasp the story around this fascinating scientist who was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013. 

Expected results 

The eTwinners will exchange throughout the project by using the Twinspace. They will share outcome (polls, posters, riddles, biographies, timelines, videos, comic strips…). They will be expected to use and develop their IT skills with the help of teachers. They will take part in video-conferences and in common polls. They can collaborate to common European projects in keeping with the content of the project (ex : The European day of language or Safer Internet day). Eventually, they will create a common eBook to recap the spirit of the project.