ALEXIS PhotoZone--from the school of Photo-opolis from Minneapolis in Minnesota

In the Fall of 2010 INFLIGHT sessions, Alexis' 4th and 5th graders were in role as a covert team of the International Detective Agency, traveling through South America trying to discover Carmen San Diego's next plan. They created their own cover story: that they were photography students from a school called Photo-opolis in Minneapolis. They decided this would allow them to take pictures, research and travel as much as they needed to to track Carmen. One day, at a border crossing, however, the border guard said, "You must have a blog if you are a photography school! Can I look it up?" In order not to raise suspicion, the undercover agents said yes. Thankfully, the guard said his internet was not working, so the agents had a few days to create a fake blog. These were their entries:

10-11-10
Today I heard from my friend, Bryanna that she was going to a school called Photo-opolis. And I said, "what's that?". She said, "it's a school that you get to go on trips and take pictures!". Then I said, "Sounds cool. I'm going to apply also." She said, "awesome".
Tajah

10-12-10
Today my teacher said, "Class, do you want to go to take pictures in South America?" I was so excited. I love taking pictures of nature. When I was little, my mom said I was a photographer.
Rayna

10-16-10
This is the day that we get close to Brazil. Outside the window we saw trees, grass, plants, flowers, people, food....we took pictures and ate food and listened to the radio. When we were driving we we learning about South America....the food, people, and places.
Serafina

10-17-10
Today we were fixing a real engine with first aid stuff. I had to put a needle shot in the oil. And trust me, it was not easy. You have no idea how hot it is!

10-20-10
Today I was in the bus with my colleagues and we just ate lunch and the rope that held our luggage snapped and 5 bags fell on a tree on the side of the mountain we were driving on.
Miles

Today we had the most amazing day. We were going along a cliff when our luggage fell off and landed on a tree sticking out of the cliff. So we went to a remaining bag and took out a rope and tied it to a big and wide rope....
Daniel





10-23-10
Today we had been taking pictures of waterfalls, rain forests, another things. I came on this trip because I wanted to see around the world and visit around the world. This is a great trip because I like to take pictures.




10-25-10
We'd been driving for 2 hours with no problems. But then something happened: A flood. Right in front of the road. Go figure. So, we had to build a raft, which was SUPER hard, not at all like in the movies. I got really frustrated, but then we were done. So we climbed on and hoped for the best. It got worse. One of the people in our group couldn't swim so they wouldn't go on. In the end we had to tie him to the raft. We got floating. But then a huge wave came and me and som eother person almost fell off. Terrifying. LIke the water wanted to eat me. Why didn't I fall off? Lidija saved me. Thanks Lidija.

I.D.A. Mission in Iraq Complete!

Here is a report of the IDA mission in Iraq! Sally Sleuth (Kelli) sent them a message that she had just had some amazing luck! She had discovered one of Carmen's hide-outs in New York City. Instead of heading to Iraq ahead of the agents, she decided to stay in New York to try to figure out Carmen's plans. The night before, she saw Carmen outside her hideout and caught her on video talking to one of her agents! This is what she saw:

From this message, the agents figured out what Carmen was trying to steal: The Cradle of

Civilization (Tigris and Euphrates rivers) and all the books ever written about it. They decided to head to Alia Mohomad Baker's house right away before Carmen's agent would get there! Thankfully, the agents knew all about her. They had read a book about her in the Hero Center the week before. Alia was a librarian in Basra who carried 30,000 books to her house before the US invaded. She saved the books just in time, before the library was burned down.

First we read a letter that Agent Shams and her father had written giving us more important information about Iraq. Agent Shams read it to us. The students seemed excited that one of our agents was from Iraq. They knew she would be able to help all of us!

Here are some reports from the Agents themselves about what happened next:

"...when we arrived at Alia's house (the great and mighty book keeper of 30,000 books)...

Agent Lidija

"She offered us baklava and black tea. The baklava was sweet and crunchy and the black tea was sweet, silky and smooth. It all filled my belly up so I could get down to stopping Carmen." Agent Solomon

"...we had to ask for the book called the Arts of Assyria. When we asked for the book we had to make a distraction because in Carmen's video she said that there is a hidden flip cam in the back of the book..." Agent Lindsay

"...then we calmly asked for the book, lying to Alia about how we are students, then sneaking the flip cam over her shoulder, then taking the book and reading..." Agent Lidija

"So, then we took a look through the Arts of Assyria. And when we saw a secret note we said, "Oh hey! look there's a blue jay!" to Alia so she turned around so we could get the notes...." Agent Solomon

"After we saw the two notes, we had to hunt for the books before Carmen's agent finds them because Carmen want to steal Alia's books. So we had to stop them. And we searched everywhere!" Agent Lindsay

"Lucky for us we got all the books and finished the list. When Carmen replied back we found out we had to go to the Great Mosque of Sammara..." Agent Lidija

"When we got tothe Mosque of Sammara, we had to walk up and around it six times to get to the top of the the Mosque. But as soon as we started up, we ran into guards and they told us that the Mosque was closed....so we took a test they gave us." Agent Andre

"...they asked us questions about the 5 Pillars (of Islam). They told us to name them. We didn't do to well on that." Agent Shams

"...So we had to do another test. The other test was to make a figure of one of the 5 pillars: Ramadan fasting, one God, Charuty, Praying 5 times a day, and visiting Mecca." Agent Andre

"But they put us in groups for doing that. Then we passed the test so they let us in the Mosque. But then we had to go up 6 times around and it was really hot." Agent Shams

"It was in the shape fo a spiral." Agent Christopher

"Oh man! I'm gonna have to walk up that thing!? The third time around I'm going to melt! Now I'm wishing we didn't survie the tests! ooh! I forgot! I'm afraid of heights! 1.....we're getting higher...2...and higher...3...and higher...4...Don't look down, Tanner...5...don't...look...down...6..we're at the top! There's a message in stone. Can we run down now?"

Agent Tanner

"...and then we got up to the top of the minnaret, then we found the stone. Then Agent Christopher picked it up and there was the final plan for Carmen's Agent!" (carved into the stone) Agent Shams

"Then we reached the top of the Mosque of Sammara. And I, Christopher found the stone that was the message to Carmen's Agent D. Then we went back to the ship. And slammed the stone on the floor and it shattered into a thousand pieces and everyone threw the pieces into the water!" Agent Christopher

"...and that was how we passed the mission!!" Agent Shams

Leadership Training Videos

The agents have just complete their mission to Iraq. Details of their adventures will be coming soon.

In the meantime, I.D.A. Headquarters asked the agents to develop a training video to teach new recruits how to work with a team.

Check out what the agents came up with!

Alexis: I.D.A. Mission to IRAQ

Here is a report on our fifth InFlight drama session with the agents of the IDA.

Safely back on the yacht after our successful adventure in Tibet, the IDA agents checked their mail! They had received a thank-you letter from the Ruben Museum, who had heard that they had saved the stories from Buddhism and the monks from being stolen by Carmen.

The agents hit the fitness room on the yacht, where they exercised and did some small group training work. In Tibet, there had been a few glitches with team-work skills, especially when the entire group of agents had to work together to create a formation with all of their bodies....the shape of a mountain that could be seen from above.

After exercising, we recieved a message from HQ! They had intercepted some messages from Carmen! We got out our atlases to be prepared. We listened to a music clip picked up from a cell phone call. Shams recognized it! We deciphered a math problem that gave map coordinates and re-assembled mixed up words that turned out to be the countries surrounding Iraq. Finally, we watched a video of one of Carmen's computer screens that HQ had hacked into. After all those clues, the kids had no doubt that the next place Carmen was headed was Iraq!

We mapped our course on the world map. The agents spent the next week on the ship, going through the learning stations Alexis (aka Ingrid) had so brilliantly set up. By the next week, they were ready for their Iraq adventure!

Mission Reports from Tibet

In our next drama session, the Agents arrived in Tibet and found out what Carmen was trying to steal: all of the stories of Tibetan Buddhism!!

They had only one hour to intercept and solve the clues that Carmen was leaving her agents! They had 3 clues to solve.

1. At the Yak Hotel in Lhasa they ordered vegetable momos (traditional Tibetan dumplings). As they were eating (yum!), they noticed that the bottom of the plates had scrambled letters on them! They had to work together quickly to unscramble the letters, sending them to...

2. Potala Palace, "West Hall". At the Potala Palace, the guards were only letting religion students into the West Hall. To prove they were studying Buddhism, the IDA agents were asked to draw a picture of one symbol or story of Buddhism. Thankfully, the guards were very impressed by their knowledge and let them in.

3. The next clue lead them to the sacred Nam-Tso Lake where they had to accomplish a difficult task as a team!

Hear all about this latest mission to Tibet from the Agents themselves!

First stop, Yak Hotel where Agents Karma, Tenzin, Dream, Jackson, and Mateo share the details.





What happened next? Listen to Agents Bryanna, Shams, Tajah and Lindsey and find out!




Agents Jose, Christopher, Julian, Tanner, Owen, and Andre tell more about Potala Palace.






The adventure continues at Lake Nam Tso, hear from Agents Spencer, Solomon, and Cormac!





And finally, hear more about how the Agents saved the day - straight from Agents Dolma, Lidija, and Willa!

Alexis: I.D.A. Mission to TIBET

Here is a report on our third InFlight drama session with the agents of the IDA.

Safely back on the yacht after our adventure in Kenya, the IDA agents had a debriefing of their mission. They had successfully foiled Carmen San Diego's plans to steal all of the trees of the Green Belt Movement (planted by Wangari Maathai and the women of Kenya) as well as the National Motto, "Harambe!", which means "to pull together". We discussed the kinds of things that Carmen likes to steal: very significant, large-scale things that are very important to a country. We also talked about how well we did as agents and how we could improve for our next mission. Ideas included listening better, paying attention to details, improving our tourist disguises, and thinking on our feet to come up with better answers when asked about who we are and what we're doing.

We were just about to have a little free time in the fitness and pool room, when an urgent message came in from Headquarters! They had intercepted a message from Carmen! The message said: "Same latitude as Cairo, Egypt". We got out our atlases and started making guesses as to what country it could be. Two more intercepted communications were retrieved. They were pictograms that we deciphered: "Roof of the World" and "Home of Snow". I think Karma, Tenzin, and Dolma knew where it was at this point! But, we all discussed the meaning of the messages and came to conclusion that there must be many mountains in this place. Just then, HQ called again. They had just hacked into one of Carmen's computers and were able to record the screen of one of the computers as a google search was happening. This was the google search of one of Carmen's agents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhPQxO6qbDE

They were very excited about this video and had lots of

ideas about what Carmen might be up to in Tibet! This was on April 27th, sowe knew that we had one week to get there. Headquarters sent us information about traveling in Tibet immediately. I read some information to the students about the very high altitude of Tibet and how most travelers need to take several days to rest and acclimate. We discussed how this would be impossible to do since when we would arrive on May 4th, we would only have a few hours to discover Carmen's plan. We decided we would need to be in excellent shape before we arrived! We got right to work. A team of agents started redesigning the fitness room. They drew up plans for rock climbing walls, high-tech tread-mills that simulate steep mountains, and even fake mountains with fog/snow machines and fans simulating the weather conditions in the Himalayas. Another group studied the symptoms and remedies for altitude sickness. Another team studied pictures of Mt. Everest climbers and made a list of all the supplies we would need should we have to do any Himalayan climbing while there. It was a very productive, exciting end to our 3rd drama session. Sally Sleuth told everyone she would head straight to Tibet to start sleuthing for clues. In the meantime, the agents would spend one week on the yacht, researching all the could about Tibet (and working out in the new fitness room!)

The following week, Alexis (Ingrid Investigator) prepared amazing centers for the students. They read books about hte Dalai Lama, they listened to recordings of Tibetan words (recorded by Tenzin, Dolma, and Karma), they listened to music, watched a video, and took a field trip to the Ruben Museum of Himalayan art where they heard many stories of Buddhism!

Stay tuned for the agent reports about what happened when they arrived on May 4th in Tibet!

I.D.A. Kenya: Mission Report on the Game Park, Marketplace, and Our Escape!

After our encounter at Casablanca, the clues led us to the Game Park. Hear all about what happened!

Agent Andre gives us the details:



Agent Tenzin tells us the story!



Agent Mateo gives us the report!




After solving the Game Park Puzzle, we were off to the Marketplace in Meru.

Check out Agent Dream's Report:



And finally, listen to Agent Tanner describe our daring escape!

I.D.A. Kenya: Mission Report on the Encounter at Casablanca Dance Club!

Hear firsthand from our agents about our encounter with Carmen's henchmen in the Casablanca Dance Club!

First, from Agent Christopher:



Now hear from Agent Owen:




Agent Bryanna tells her side of it:




Agent Lindsey fills in some details:




Agent Shams gives the play-by-play:




Agent Willa gives us the details!

I.D.A. Learning about Kenya

Listen to Agent Jose's report on Kenyan music. This information was absolutely invaluable to our agents when they were deep undercover in the Casablanca dance club!





Want to know more about food in Kenya? Check out Agent Cormac's report! The agent's used this information when they were tracking Carmen's agents in the Meru Marketplace.





Curious about the people of Kenya? Listen to Agent Dolma!

I.D.A. Mission in Kenya!

Last week, our agents successfully stopped Carmen from stealing the Trees of Kenya! Before they could tackle this mission, they researched and learned about the country. Read on to see our Field Reports on Kenya and our Mission Reports on how we stopped Carmen's nefarious plan!

Alexis: The International Detective Agency's New Recruits!

On Tuesday, April 13th, I started the InFlight residency with Alexis' class! Alexis, myself, and the students will be blogging about our adventures over the course of the next two months. Our social studies topic is World Communities. Here is what happened on the first day.

The students received a TOP SECRET manilla envelope addressed to 3rd and 4th grade students of the five boroughs (and their teachers). They were concerned that the envelope might have aroused curiosity from non-3rd and 4th graders and that it may have been tampered with. So I asked them to help with the story-telling and figure out a way that this could have been prevented. They came up with the idea that it was actually sealed with a finger-print scanner that would open only for the students of Alexis' class. Excellent thinking and problem-solving! Also, a great way to give them an early chance to co-create the drama, setting the stage for what is to come!

The envelope contained a DVD from Sally Slueth (myself) from the International Detective Agency explaining how 10 years ago the criminal mastermind, Carmen San Diego and her crew (you may have heard of her) went on a stealing spree around the globe, stealing such treasures as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Milky Way, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, the Hip Hop music from NYC, the penguins from Antarctica and the Brooklyn Bridge. Fortunately detectives returned the stolen goods, but recent intercepted communications indicate that she is back and greedier and smarter than ever. A new generation of agents are needed to find out what she is up to, before it's too late! The students followed Sally Slueth's instructions to text message a code if they were interested in being interviewed. Luckily, they were all interested--whew!

Myself and Alexis were in role as Sally Slueth and Ingrid Investigator, the recruitment agents. We administered a series of tests to find out if the students were up to job including world geography questions and mapping skills. They also completed a language proficiency test, making a list of the word "hello" in as many languages as they could. We counted at least 25

different languages! In small groups, they were asked to create statues of world treasures with their bodies which included the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Pyramids, a space hotel, and the house of the Dalai Lama! They also had to answer why they, as a class would make great agents.

"We're very sneaky."

"We play alot of video games and some games are detective games so we are good mystery solvers."

"We did a mystery unit and solved mini mysteries."

"Because we listen."

"Because we have mixed grades and are from different places"

"We are smart"

"We are talented"

When Ingrid and I faxed the test scores to headquarters, the results came back with good news:

all the students were chosen as the new recruits! The chief also had a surprise for them: he was giving them a high speed yacht fully equipped with all the technology they would need. This way they could travel the world, following Carmen's trail. The chief named Ingrid Investigator the Captain, due to her extensive navigation experience.

These are the new recruits for the IDA and these are the recruits in their tourist disguises!

After we took a tour of the ship, we got a message from HQ! They had just intercepted some communications and needed us to figure them out immediately! We gathered in the stern of the boat (the captains room) and listened to a clip of music picked up from the background of a cell phone call. After listening several times, the students guessed that the music was from Africa. They got out their atlases again and from the following words, discovered that they think Carmen and her crew are headed to Kenya and will arrive in 7 days! "Equator, Coast, Lake Victoria, Nobel Peace Prize, Nairboi". The new agents mapped a route from NYC to the coast of Kenya through the Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and finally the Indian Ocean. I said good-bye to the agents, letting them know I would go to Kenya ahead of them and make arrangements for their arrival.

They will spend the next 4 days traveling to Kenya. On the yacht they will go through an intensive study of Kenya in order to be prepared with as much knowledge when they arrive next Tuesday. Alexis (Captain Ingrid) has outfitted the yacht with a music and language listening/learning center, a library, a map/geography center, articles on the daily life of Kenyans and many other resources. They should be experts by the time they arrive, disguised as tourists to catch Carmen before she strikes again!

Yadir, Jeanine, and Georga's Classes: Wangari and the Trees of Kenya

Hello All! Welcome to the first post of the 2010 InFlight season at EVCS. My name is Kelli Holsopple and I am the teaching artist for Phoenix Theatre Ensemble's InFlight Program. I collaborate with teachers to create learning experiences for students, using interactive theatre as a way to explore their curriculum. I have worked at EVCS for five years and we have found that drama as a learning tool fits perfectly with EVCS's project-based, hands-on curriculum.

I'm excited about beginning with the Kindergarten classes this year! Please become a follower so you can keep updated on our drama adventures.

The drama for the Kindergarten classes is based on the story of Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work planting trees in Kenya. (Thanks to Finn's family for giving Georga's class the book, Wangari and the Trees of Kenya! You inspired Georga and myself to make this the focus of our drama exploration this year. Wangari's story is a perfect extension of the Kindergarteners tree study; weaving in environmental, social justice, and global themes. The drama will be based on the story line of the book and other research.)

Monday, we began the drama with a huge envelope addressed to "The Scientists, Earth Helpers, and World Travelers of Georga, David, Jeanine, and Yadir's classrooms". I told the students that it must have been addressed to the wrong place: "Where are the scientists in this room?" I said.

They all emphatically informed me that they were, indeed, scientists. They informed me that they studied animals, trees, and nature! They know that trees have trunks, branches, and leaves that change color. They know there are different kinds of trees. They know that baby trees are called saplings. They also informed me that they were earth helpers. They recycle, clean up trash, and Georga's class pointed out that one of their daily jobs is "animals and plant caretakers". What more proof did I need that they were the intended recipients of the letter?!

The letter was from Wangari Maathai. She sent pictures of herself planting trees and giving speeches. She is also a scientist and earth helper and had heard about the students tree study and wanted to meet them. She invited us all to Kenya! She said she wanted to show us the trees she loves and three special places in Kenya: a big city, Nairobi....a big park, Masai Mara....and a big mountain, Mt. Kenya!

On Tuesday, we flew in an airplane from New York City to

Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya.

We rode in a matatu through the huge city filled with tall buildings, buses, cars, and palm trees. Here is a real matatu, and here is an illustration of our ride through Nairobi.

Wednesday, we went to Masai Mara, one of the most famous game parks in Kenya. We rode in an open-air truck and spied many animals through our binoculars. We saw amazing pictures of elephants, lions, giraffes, warthogs, zebras, and hippos swimming in Mara River. In Yadir's class I held up big pictures and in Georga's class, we looked at pictures on the computer screen!

An elephant walked right up to our truck and sprayed us with water!

(See the lion next to the truck?)

That night, the scientists and their teachers gathered around a fire outside their tent and roasted marshmellows. They watched the sunset and the stars. I was "in role" as the tour guide of Masai Mara and I told them about Thigi, the peace tree. A long long time ago there were many thigi trees all over Kenya. When a village elder would break off a branch from the tree and place it between two people having a fight, it meant that they would have to find a way to reconcile. We listened to a lullaby and fell asleep.

Thursday was the day we were to climb Mt. Kenya and meet Wangari at the top. It was a tough climb, but with our ropes we all made it! I was in-role as Kaya, the tour guide, who was very scared of heights. The students told me that they weren't scared at all (except one, who was also scared of heights) and that they would help me to the top. Here is an illustration. Note the smiling faces and teamwork! We used our ropes to lasso a rock jutting out and then pulled ourselves up. When we got to the top, I went into role as Wangari. We had talked at the beginning about how I would be playing many different characters, so by now the students were used to accepting the different roles that myself, the teachers and they were playing (at one point, they were in role as lions and giraffes, and the sunrise).

When the students realized that I was representing Wangari, Yadir's class began handing me pretend pictures of the trees in New York City and books about trees from their classrooms (they had remembered that Wangari had asked for them in the letter!). They also spontaneously broke into song, singing "Jambo Bwana" to show Wangari that they knew a song of Kenya!

PS. At the airport, we saw a man with a black bag who asked the students about the skyscrapers in New York City. We saw him again at Masai Mara, talking to someone about plans for buildings. We're not sure what he's up to, but we're curious.

PSS. Feel free to leave comments!