Shh! Spies!

Activity: Secret Spy Code Names

http://www.frugalfamilytimes.com/2012/03/family-fun-secret-agent-party-birthday.html

Each child chooses one slip of paper from each container.  Container one contains slips of papers with adjectives on it; container two contains slips of paper with nouns on it (ex. Stormy Castle).

Activity: Secret Agent ID Cards

http://lisabrown.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/05/birthday-girl-part-2-super-secret-super-spy.html

We did this through out the program.  After the kids got their names, we wrote their information on their ID cards and took their pictures.  After the program, we printed out their pictures, attached them to the ID cards and laminated them.  We handed them out to the kids at the next program.  (The one problem with this is that some kids never returned to another program so we ended up throwing their ID cards away after a few months had passed).

Activity: Spy-Q

http://spoonful.com/printables/test-your-spy-q

Kids answer questions from this worksheet to discover if they have what it takes to be a spy.

Activity: Code Breaking--Caesar Cipher

We handed out a sheet from this website ( http://www.math.uic.edu/CryptoClubProject/CCpacket.pdf) and worked together on it.

Activity: Fingerprint Analysis

http://birthdayblueprint.blogspot.com/2011/05/spy-party.html

Kids use a black ink pad to place their left and right thumbprints on a piece of paper.  They they tried to figure out what type of fingerprint they have.

Activity: Satellite Photo Identification

1. Kids try to identify local places from satellite photos from Google.
1. I got images of each local school, the library and a few other common local places.

Activity: Memory Training

See: http://birthdayblueprint.blogspot.com/2011/05/spy-party.html

1. Let kids look at a tray of objects for one minute.
2. Remove tray.
3. Kids try to write down everything that was on the tray.

Object: remote, combination lock, Swiss army knife, scotch tape, Walkie Talkie, tape measure, disguise glasses, cell phone, SD card, pen, magnifying glass, pencil, post-it notes, flashlight, binoculars, mini DV tape, whistle/compass, newspaper

Activity: Stealth Training

http://www.frugalfamilytimes.com/2012/03/family-fun-secret-agent-party-birthday.html

1. Start by explaining what stealth means (the act of moving, proceeding, or acting in a covert way).
2. Kids try to make it through to the other side without touching/breaking the web of lasers (red streamers).

Evaluation:

This was a jam packed program.  The Spy Code names, memory training, and stealth training were the most popular activities.  Spy Q was too hard for the younger kids, especially when it came to tallying up their scores.  Satellite ID was also a huge hit with the kids.  We never really got a good chance to do the code breaking.  It was an option toward the end of the program and the kids needed a lot of help to figure it out.  However, in a classroom situation, this would be a fun activity.