The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle
Active Program 1
Program Title
Create Your Own Chatelaine
Introduction/Purpose of Program
Chatelaines are a small belt or pin worn at the waist from which useful or important tools
were suspended by chains and could be considered the 19th century equivalent to
present day keychains or Swiss Army knives. They were also worn by some as
decorative adornments.
Description of the Program
Students will create their own chatelaine using the supplies provided and/or by adding
their own items. Instructions provided below.
This can be as simple as an extra-large safety pin decorated with beads or a lobster
clasp and split ring key fob. Or, for a more elaborate (albeit more expensive) alternative,
use a tea infuser ball.
Here are a few possibilities:
Ribbon or necklace chain or cording or wire.
Here are additional possibilities:
Beads and charms
Depending on which of the above supplies you use, you may also need:
Jump rings, split rings, clasps, crimps, and needle-nose pliers.
For this example, I made myself a chatelaine to use for sewing/crafting purposes. I
needed it to hold thread, small scissors, a needle-threader, and extra needles. As my
decorative centerpiece, I used a decorative tea strainer to hold and organize my thread,
as shown here:
I took the floral wire and wrapped it around the ring of the lobster clasp/key fob.
I threaded beads onto the wire and secured the ends by threading the wire through the
holes of the tea strainer:
Another option is to attach the tools/charms to the ends of the beaded wire instead and
the lobster clasp/key fob to the split ring.
Program Related Books to Display or Book Talk
Cool Beaded Jewelry by Pam Scheunemann Abdo Pub. 2005
Junk Drawer Jewelry by Rachel Di Salle, Kids Can Press 2006
Jewelry Tips & Tricks by Emma Carlson Berne, Lerner Publications Company, 2016
List of Supplies
Centerpiece from which chains are hung. This can be as simple as an extra-large safety
pin decorated with beads or a lobster clasp and split ring key fob. Or, for a more
elaborate (albeit more expensive) alternative, use a tea infuser ball.
Ribbon or necklace chain or cording or wire.
Beads and charms
You may also need:
Jump rings, split rings, clasps, crimps, and needle-nose pliers.
Incentives (Optional) Completed Chatelaine
Resources (print and electronic)
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-killer-mobile-device-for-victorian-women/
Professional Resources (for librarian and teacher use)
Program Flyers, Posters, Advertisements, Bulletin Board Ideas, Templates,
Rubrics, etc.
The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle
Active Program 2
Program Title
Spy School
Introduction/Purpose of Program
The possibility of spies occupying a secret room of Rookskill Castle features
prominently in the story. This program will introduce students to the skills and tactics
used by World War II era spies.
Description of the Program
Spy School – Embrace your inner James Bond and become an expert at espionage in
no time.
Plan a series of missions (activities) where students can develop their spy skills. For
example:
Mission 1: Code Writing - Provide students with books and other resources describing
various types of ciphers and codes. Use one of the codes to write a secret message
and have the students attempt to break the code. Or have them create their own code,
write their own secret message and see if another student can decipher the code.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Best-Codes/
Mission 2: Memory Training - provide a tray or box of miscellaneous objects. Give the
students 30 seconds to view the items. Out of sight of the students, remove several
items from the box. See if the students can recall the missing items.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim's_Game
Mission 3: Invisible Ink - using the video link below, choose one or more types of
invisible ink making techniques. Have students determine which method produces the
best results
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Invisible-Ink-Message
Mission 4: Stealth Skills - To develop their stealth skills, create a maze of crisscrossed
string or yarn and have the students attempt to work their way through the maze without
touching any of the stings.
http://allastonishment.blogspot.com/2010/02/in-which-we-are-stealthy.html
Program Related Books to Display or Book Talk
You Wouldn’t Want to be a Secret Agent During World War II! : a perilous mission
behind enemy lines by John Malam. Salariya Book Company, 2010
Top Secret Files: World War II by Stephanie Bearce. Prufrock Press, Inc. 2015
Stealing Nazi Secrets in World War II: an interactive espionage adventure by Elizabeth
Raum. Capstone Press 2016
Intelligence and Counterintelligence: cryptography: cracking codes by Rob Curley.
Britannica Educational Publishing 2013
List of Supplies
Supplies to make Invisible Ink: using the video link below, choose one or more types of
invisible ink making techniques
String or yarn – To develop their stealth skills, create a maze of crisscrossed string or
yarn and have the students attempt to work their way through the maze without
touching any of the stings
Memory skills – provide a tray or box of miscellaneous objects. Give the students 30
seconds to view that items. Out of sight of the students, remove several items from the
array of objects. See if the students can recall the missing items.
Incentives (Optional)
If you’d like, you can create challenges at each “mission” and provide prizes for those
who complete all the challenges successfully; i.e. graduate from spy school. Spy-centric
items are a plus.
Activity Resources (print and electronic)
Spy Handbook template
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Invisible-Ink-Message
Professional Resources (for librarian and teacher use)
You Wouldn’t Want to be a Secret Agent During World War II! : a perilous mission
behind enemy lines by John Malam. Salariya Book Company, 2010
Top Secret Files: World War II by Stephanie Bearce. Prufrock Press, Inc. 2015
Stealing Nazi Secrets in World War II: an interactive espionage adventure by Elizabeth
Raum. Capstone Press 2016
Intelligence and Counterintelligence: cryptography: cracking codes by Rob Curley.
Britannica Educational Publishing 2013
Online Resources:
International Spy Museum
http://www.spymuseum.org/
International Spy Museum – Spy for a Day Student Spy Guide
https://spy-museum.s3.amazonaws.com/files/spyforaday.pdf
Codes and Ciphers
http://www.instructables.com/id/Best-Codes/
Program Flyers, Posters, Advertisements, Bulletin Board Ideas, Templates,
Rubrics, etc.
Spy Handbook template
The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle
Active Program 3
Beat the Clock
Introduction/Purpose of Program
In Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle, the author introduces the reader to codes and
the role they played in World War II. In this activity, patrons attempt to decipher codes
before time (or the song) plays out.
Detailed Description of Activity
1. Print a copy of Cipher bookmarks for each patron. Each cipher is a quote from
the book. Patrons may work in groups or individually.
2. Create a Spy music playlist on Youtube or Spotify. I used the following songs for
my playlist: Theme from Mission Impossible, Theme from Get Smart, The Pink
Panther Theme , Theme from Austin Powers, Secret Agent Man by Johnny
Rivers, and The James Bond Theme.
3. Explain to patrons the different types of ciphers that were used.
Simple letter substitutions as in numbers 1 and 5 (lower case only) bookmarks
Key word alphabet shift as in number 2 bookmark
Reverse alphabet as in number 3 bookmark
Caesarian shift with N=10 as in number 4 bookmark
3. Practice with bookmark #1 by explaining the code used and playing a song from
the playlist.
4. Continue with the other bookmarks and different songs.
Books to Display
Underground Bro Decoder by Mickey and Cheryl Gill
The Spy’s Guide to Secret Codes and Ciphers by Jim Wiese
39 Clues series by Rick Riordan, Jude Watson, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis,
Margaret Peterson Haddix, Patrick Carmen, and Linda Sue Park
The Potato Chip Puzzles by Eric Berlin
The Puzzler’s Mansion by Eric Berlin
The Puzzling world of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin
See Read-A-Like List
Activity Supply List
Cipher Bookmarks
Blank sheets of paper used for deciphering
Pencils
Spy music playlist
Device to play music from
Incentives
Completed bookmarks
Activity Resources (Produced by the Committee)
Activity Resources for Teens, Teachers & Librarians
Resources (print and electronic)
Cipher Bookmark pdf
Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle Quotes list
Professional Resources (for librarian and teacher use)
Types of Ciphers explained: http://rumkin.com/tools/cipher/
Cipher creator website: http://stevenhansen.info/cipher/
Program Flyers, Posters, Advertisements, Bulletin Board Ideas, Templates,
Rubrics, etc.