Spy School

While Ben is mostly thrilled when he gets selected for spy school, he quickly learns there are all sorts of spies. What qualities make a strong spy? Which of these are most important? Consider the following questions as you develop your ideas:

• Many people underestimate Ben, but where does he show his skills?
• How does Erica excel in the spy world?
• How strong of a spy is Murray?
• Which spy seems most competent?
• Who hides their skills?

Teaching Suggestion: Listing skills that would benefit a spy and asking students to rank these could be a way to increase interest in the discussion and help students identify subtle differences between spies. Groups might also complete a list-sort-label where they group skills into categories. Ranking spies according to these skills and including specific evidence could strengthen student analysis.

Differentiation Suggestion: English learners, students with dyslexia, and those with attentional or executive function differences might benefit from a narrower focus. Providing students with specific sections of the text to analyze, 1-2 characters to evaluate, sentence stems to complete, or extra time could help.

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.