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!