Spy Investigation

It all started with the spy gear. Over and over again kids were creating various pieces of spy equipment during choice time. And it wasn't just a few kids...it was almost all of them! So we headed into very un-chartered territory with a spy investigation.

We began by thinking about and sharing what we already know about spies.

Then we dove right into some fiction stories to help build communal excitement about the topic. This class loves chapter books, so Nate the Great stories were a huge hit...as well as a fun way to build our spy vocabulary.

I borrowed a great idea from a fellow K teacher and used a spy dictionary to help us keep track of the new spy words as we learned them.  It was neat to see how much more aware this process made the kids of noticing and thinking about new vocabulary.  

Lately I had begun to understand the immeasurable role informal conversations play in propelling investigations.  One such conversation got us busy thinking and talking about what we hope to learn during our investigation.

Spy play was still going strong in the classroom!

I thought a great way to propel their spy play would be to turn the kids into "real" spies.  So, after learning about and collecting their fingerprints, 

 taking their spy pictures,

and letting them come up with a spy name, we created a spy badge for each kid.  The badges were huge hits!

The kids were overwhelmingly interested in learning about spy gadgets, so that was of course where we began.

We experimented with several types of invisible spy ink,

and then moved on to the more tangible gadgets.  The kids observed, sketched, and labeled some of their favorites, 

began bringing in gadgets from home to share, 

used decoding wheels to write and decipher secret messages,

and planned and built some of their favorite gadgets.

The kids were pros by now at recreating spy gear, but they were still very interested in the topic.  So, we stretched them a little bit further by challenging each child to design and create a mystery gadget that could be useful to a spy but doesn't already exist.

Challenge accepted!

Then we transitioned into the next phase of our investigation. Through a variety of physical and metal classroom games and challenges we helped develop their spy skills, 

In order to begin doing what secret agents/spies do best, each child was given his/her very own spy journal.  I was totally unprepared for what a HUGE hit the journals would be. As I had expected, the journals helped grow the kids' observation and literacy skills.  However, the journals also generated excitement and propelled momentum for our investigation in immeasurable ways.

The kids began looking for, writing about, and sketching clues during all their free moments -in the classroom, on walks through the hallways, and even out on the playground. I had no idea what mysteries they were busy solving, but they sure did.  Gotta love kindergarteners!!

We filled the room with Eye-spy books to help strengthen their skills of observation (very important for solving mysteries!), and the books were a huge hit.  

In fact, the books were such a big hit that we decided to try a new writing technique and create our own...

We also worked to strengthen fine motor skills through a torn paper activity where each child dressed their person in spy gear or disguises.

The kids continued to be SO excited about solving mysteries, so we began telling our own mysteries with an emphasis on the necessary story elements - characters, setting, problem, and solution. 

My maternity leave began, so I left the the investigation in the hands of our trusty long term sub. The first week I was away she worked with the Spanish teacher to plant a mystery in our classroom - the mystery of the missing polka dot chairs. After days of hypothesizing, clue-finding, and contagious joy, the kids finally solved the mystery and found the chairs in her closet.

As a final culminating activity, the kids used all of their new knowledge about spies, mysteries, gadgets, and story elements to write their very own mystery stories.  Even though I missed the ending, our spy investigation was definitely one of my favorites.  One thing I now know for sure is that ANY topic can be a great catalyst for meaningful learning.  Never be afraid to follow the students' interests and see where it leads you!!