Mission Pack: I Spy Greece: Ever Wanted To Be A Spy?
Mission Pack: I Spy Greece: Ever Wanted To Be A Spy?
6 13
GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES WEEKS
Version 1.0
Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 2
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 3
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MISSION OVERVIEW
A list of quests in the mission with the length and summary
for each one.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 5
Mission Summary
Students ready themselves to create a Spartan military formation with their hoplons (shields).
In this mission, students take on the to reflect on Ancient Greece and how
I Spy Greece is terrific for student
role of spies to advise the Emperor that time period still influences their
learning. In a lot of ways, it combines
Darius of Persia. The emperor wants to own lives.
the best elements of Quest missions:
expand the Persian Empire. To do so, he
it immerses students in an exciting
must make an informed decision about Essential Questions
learning experience as well as gives
whether to invade Athens or Sparta, • Is geography destiny?
them a real-world task that motivate
two prominent Greek city-states. The • What is power?
them for learning. As Persian spies for
content of the mission centers both • Does might make right?
Emperor Darius, students have a natural
on the study of geography and of • How does the past impact
entry point for learning as much as they
Ancient Greece. the present?
can about the Greeks, and they want to
learn about its geography and unique
To adequately advise the emperor, Enduring Understandings
systems of government. Spies must
students study geography, culture, • Geography is oftentimes key to
collect a wealth of information as well as
power and government, warfare and the survival of a civilization.
assess its importance when delivering it
alliances, and unintended consequences. • War and warfare is central
to a superior (such as Darius).
The mission culminates with a debate to the history and development
held in front of the Persian emperor and of civilizations.
- Ross Flatt, 6th grade teacher,
his war council about whether Persia • Elements from past civilizations
Quest to Learn, New York, NY
should invade with Athens or Sparta are oftentimes reflected in
or neither. Throughout the mission, modern societies.
students use their knowledge and skills
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 6
Mission Overview
QUEST TITLE LENGTH* DESCRIPTION
Operation Land and Sea 3 weeks Students learn about how geography and climate impacts people
and use their own lives as a self-study of the impact of geography
and climate.
Operation Government Infiltration 2 weeks Students are challenged to figure out how Athens or Sparta
would respond to Persian rule. They learn about political systems
focusing on Greek, Persian and current U.S. political systems.
Operation City-states 3 weeks Students are challenged to discover which city-state is more
valuable culture-wise, Athens or Sparta. They also investigate
cultural artifacts from Ancient Greece that are still important in
our society today.
Operation Persian Wars 3 weeks To help Emperor Darius prepare for war, students learn about
causes and consequences of wars, military tactics, and the
complexity of allegiances.
Operation Peloponnesian War 2 weeks Students debate about which city-state to invade in the
Peloponnesian War.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 7
Students support their argument to invade Sparta during the final mission assessment.
For the mission’s final assessment, choice. Using research and knowledge
students engage in a debate that gained throughout the trimester,
focused on Sparta and Athens. As students present their findings in a
spies well-versed in knowledge about class debate to a the emperor’s war
Sparta and Athens, students debate to council which includes the teacher and
convince Emperor Darius to invade community members. Student groups
Sparta, Athens or neither city-state in choose their position (Sparta, Athens
the Peloponnesian War. Their debate or neither) and are given a wide range
focuses on three aspects of Spartan/ of primary and secondary sources to
Athenian civilization—Culture, Military, find evidence to support their side of
and Legacy (how the city-state will the debate.
influence Persia presently and in the
future)—and includes predictions of
the consequences of the emperor’s final
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 8
Quest-by-Quest Details
This section provides more detailed information about each quest to help you
develop and design your own version of this mission for your students. Within
each quest, we describe its game-like learning experiences and list the types
of assessments produced by students as evidence of their learning.
Note that all games designed by Institute of Play are italicized.
A group of students play Inhabitation, an Institute of Play board game designed to help students learn about the growth of civilizations.
All assessments used at Quest students to be successful in college, • Ask students to change the game to
schools evaluate not only subject career, and life in the 21st century, and help players learn different content
matter knowledge and skills of we believe students need support in and/or skills.
students (aligned to national and building knowledge and skills beyond • Create game play scenarios and
state Standards), but also assess those measured on standardized tests. ask students about possible next
game moves.
21st century skills. These skills
include collaboration, empathy, Additionally, when Quest students play
problem-solving, systems thinking and games to learn, there are numerous It is important to note that all of the
design thinking. Quest assessments ways that teachers assess learning resources bolded in blue in the rest
of the document are active weblinks.
range from embedded and formative through game play. Some examples are:
Check out the example below:
(happening while students are • Circulate around the room to
learning to help teachers guide check for student understanding
Read our Games and Learning Design
instruction) to traditional (quizzes/ by observing student game choices,
Pack for more information about using
tests) to performance-based (tasks listening to student conversations,
games in your classroom.
and asking questions to students.
similar to those in the real world) to
• Ask students to create a strategy to
self-assessments. We want to prepare
help new players win the game.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 9
Galactic Mappers Card and Students play Galactic Mappers, an Institute of Play game
design game designed to help students learn physical geography terms and
map-making skills.
Persia Wiki Page Writing As a class, students create a student-friendly wiki page about
(informational) Persia. They are assigned different topics and are required to
share their research on the class wiki page. They ask for feedback
from high school students taking courses connected with
early civilizations.
Interactive Ancient Greece Map Research and Students use National Geographic’s Mapmaker Interactive Tool
presentation to research Greece’s geography and climate. They share their
research in a presentation tool (e.g. Keynote, Powerpoint).
Inhabitation Board game Students play Inhabitation, an Institute of Play game designed to
help students learn factors that enabled ancient hunter-gatherers
to first establish settled, agrarian communities.
Your Neighborhood Digital map Students use Scribble Maps to show the geography of their
and writing neighborhood and they write about how the geography impacts
their actions and decisions on a regular basis.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 10
Quest 2: Operation 2
Government Infiltration WEEKS
As part of their mission, Emperor Emperor Darius governs. With all this TOPICS & SKILLS COVERED
Darius asks students to learn about information about political systems
the leaders of Athens and Sparta and in-hand, students work on defining
• Different types of political systems
about the city-states’ governments to political power in their own ways
(e.g. oligarchy and democracy)
help him anticipate how the Greeks and investigate who holds power in
• Power defined
might respond to Persian rule after different political systems, including
• Power in different political systems
the invasion. Students reach out to a brief study of the current U.S.
• Organization of current U.S.
their contacts in Athens and Sparta political system.
government
and ask for government information.
• Central ideas in texts
Also, students study the Persian
• Summarizing texts
government to learn more about how
• Use of multiple media and formats
Political System Comics Comic strip and Students use Comic Life to explain a variety of political systems.
writing Pairs of students choose one political system to research and use
as the focus of their comic.
U.S. Government Mind Mapping Mind Map Students use mind mapping software (like XMind) to create a
visual of the U.S. government system with its different parts and
the relationships among the parts.
People’s Voice Board game Students play People’s Voice, an Institute of Play game designed
to help students understand the difference between government
systems where decisions are made by a single leader versus
democratically by a group vote.
A Brave New World Digital game Students play Minecraft in multiplayer worlds, forming mini-
societies, collecting resources and building structures. Over the
course of play, they experience different styles of government
inside their mini-societies.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 11
To help him strategize more about his identifying what cultural aspects of TOPICS & SKILLS COVERED
invasion plans, Emperor Darius needs Sparta and Athens are part of our
his spies to get him more information culture today. At the end of the quest,
• Cultures of Athens and Greece
about which city-state will bring the students decide what they would
• Cultural connections of today to
most value to the Persian empire, include in a time capsule for historians
Athens and Greece
Sparta or Athens. Students must to find in 3014 to help people in the
• Use of artifacts to understand a
gather intelligence about education, future understand what life in 2014
historical time and place
art, economy, religion, and civil rights is really like.
• Arguments, claims, and evidence
of Sparta and Athens. Students bring
• Discussion skills
their learning to the current time by
A Day in the Life Video Students use iMovie to film a 3-4 minute documentary about a
day in the life of a Spartan or Athenian of their choice (e.g. child,
woman, slave, teacher, etc.).
Royal Letter Writing (argument) Students write a letter to Emperor Darius arguing about which city-
state, Athens or Sparta, to invade based on which city-state will
add the most value to the Persian empire. They revise their letters
based on peer review feedback.
Find it! Physical game and Students visit a cultural institution with artifacts from Ancient
writing Greece and participate in a scavenger hunt focused on this
region of the world. They then make connections between
what they see at the cultural institute and current culture. For
example, students might find Greek “egg and dart” designs in
contemporary architecture.
Socratic Smackdown Pen and paper game Students play Socratic Smackdown, an Institute of Play game
designed to help students learn how to discuss texts and use
textual evidence to make connections and ask thought-provoking
questions, to discuss Greek myths.
3014 Writing and Students create an online personal time capsule filled with images
visuals (e.g. and sounds that would help future historians in 3014 understand
photos, scanned what life is like in 2014.
documents)
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 12
Emperor Darius uses all of the spies’ Students study Sparta’s war tactics to TOPICS & SKILLS COVERED
intelligence information to decide help improve Persia’s military as well
to invade Athens. The invasion fails as learn about any other significant
• Ancient Greek wars and
because of an unexpected alliance wars in Ancient Greek history and the
military tactics
between Athens and Sparta. After the associated causes and consequences.
• Common causes and
failed Persian invasion of Athens, the Lastly, students compare Sparta’s
consequences of war
emperor recalls his spies from the war military tactics to the tactics used in
• Current military tactics
front and asks them to recount how wars today.
• Use of multiple media and formats
Sparta helped Athens defeat his army.
Hoplons Shields Students research Spartan military tactics and use that
information to inform the design and construction of their own
hoplons (Ancient Greek shields).
Time to Phalanx Physical game Student groups compete to be the best group at getting into
different Spartan phalanx formations quickly and effectively
with their self-designed hoplons.
War Flowchart Flowchart and Students create digital flowcharts using gliffy or paper
writing flowcharts showing common causes and consequences
(intended and unintended) of wars.
Diplomacy Board game Students play Diplomacy, a commercial board game designed
for players to strategize how to gain land and supplies during
a war, to help them learn more about military tactics and the
complexity of war.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 13
Quest 5: Operation 2
Peloponnesian War WEEKS
Diplomacy Board game Students play Diplomacy again to help them learn more about
decision-making regarding wartime
The Emperor’s Decision Presentation Student groups present arguments about whether Persia
and writing should ally with Sparta or Athens during the war. Some student
groups also present an argument for not participating in the
Peloponnesian War at all . They must convince the Persian War
Council who directly advise Emperor Darius. Topics in the debate
include military strength, culture, benefits to Persian and its future,
and a student groups’ secret topic.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 14
Appendix
DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES • Peer feedback and time
• Word wall of vocabulary and for iteration
definitions (with visuals when • Use of physical experiences
appropriate) (e.g. phalanx formations)
• Student role assignments • Research guides with appropriately
• Guided support materials for leveled readings
projects, such as Clash of the • Students paired in
Greeks Debate Packet mixed ability groups
• Student choice about ways to • Various websites target the same
show learning (e.g. physical vs. material but at different reading/
digital model) comprehension levels
• Students choice to orally present • Students in groups will be given
research by recording it in iMovie different project components to
• Students split strategically focus on depending on difficulty
into groups based on ability. level (e.g. economy vs. geography)
For example, some forms of
government, such as oligarchy are
easier to analyze as a system, as
opposed to democracy, which has
many complicated components
and challenges.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 15
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 16
On ,
your class will present your research and arguments to the panel. The debate format will go as follows…
ROUND #1 INTERMISSION
Opening Arguments (2 min each) COUNCIL DISCUSSES QUESTIONS (3 Min)
• Ally with Sparta (invade Athens)
• Ally with Athens (invade Sparta) ROUND #4
• Remain neutral (invade neither) Questions from the Council (4 min each)
• Questions for Military Groups
ROUND #2 • Questions for Culture
Topics to Debate (3 min each) • Questions for Benefits
• Military Strength • Question for Secret Topic
• Culture
• Benefits to Persia ROUND #5
• Group Secret Topic Closing Arguments to Council (2 min each)
• Ally with Sparta
ROUND #3 • Ally with Athens
Rebuttals (2 min each) • Remain neutral
• Ally with Sparta
• Ally with Athens
• Remain neutral
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 17
Population
(431 BCE)
Political
Organizations
Military Strength
Life Style
and Values
Cultural
Achievements
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 18
To create your arguments for the debate, visit the following sites:
Getting Started
Site Name ABOUT the
Site Name Mr. Donn’s History Page Peloponnesian League Legacy
URL http://greece.mrdonn.org/ URL http://ancienthistory.about.com/
General Information
Site Name The British Museum of od/sparta/g/101107PelopLeag.htm
Site Name Are We Athens
Ancient Greece Focus on Athens or Sparta?
URL http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/
Site Name The Athenian Navy URL http://www.irascibleprofessor.
menu.html
URL http://www.agathe.gr/ com/comments-01-20-05.htm
Site Name BBC: The Ancient Greeks democracy/the_athenian_navy.html
Source Name History Alive!
URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/
Site Name Warfare in Athens Location Chapter 31, pages 297-303
primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/
URL http://www.h2g2.com/approved_
entry/A22766420 Focus on Sparta
Site Name A History of Sparta
Site Name The Delian League
Military Strength URL http://www.livius.org/de-dh/
URL http://www.sikyon.com/sparta/
delian_league/delian_league.html history_eg.html
General Information
Site Name Athens vs. Sparta – Focus on Athens
A Military Comparison Site Name The Legacy of
URL http://plaza.ufl.edu/tlombard Culture Ancient Greece
URL http://history-world.org/
Site Name Ancient Greek General Information greece%20legacy.htm
Military Technology
URL http://www.mlahanas.de/ Source Name History Alive!
Greeks/WarTech.htm Textbook
Location Chapter 27, 259-269
Site Name Education in Location Chapter 29, 279-287
Ancient Greece
Focus on Sparta
URL http://greece.mrdonn.org/
education.html Site Name Ancient Sparta
(Cultural Study)
Source Name History Alive! URL http://www.h2g2.com/approved_
Textbook entry/A9565437
Location Chapter 28, 271-277
Focus on Athens
Focus on Sparta
Site Name Culture (Athens focus)
Site Name Peloponnesian League URL http://www.crystalinks.com/
(Sparta & Allies) greekculture.html
URL http://www.livius.org/so-st/
sparta/peloponnesian_league.html
Remember, you can use any books from the class library.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 19
BRAINSTORMING
My team’s assignment is
Argument #1 Argument #2
Argument #3 Argument #4
Remember, you also need plenty of solid evidence to back up your claims. You will need to xdraw on expert opinion and historical facts.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 20
Outside Research Shows evidence of research done both in and out of class 20
by providing a bibliography with annotations.
Time Management Completes all tasks efficiently and effectively in and out of class. 20
Debate Persuasion • Uses clear arguments to convince judges to take your side. 20
Performance • Rebuts arguments of opposing teams.
(Individual) • Answers all questions correctly and clearly.
Use of Evidence Uses evidence that is clear, specific, and based on historical fact. 20
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 21
Standards Alignment
Common Core Standards
ELA Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.3
Determine the central ideas or Delineate a speaker’s argument and
information of a primary or secondary specific claims, distinguishing claims
source; provide an accurate summary that are supported by reasons and
of the source distinct from prior evidence from claims that are not.
knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Present claims and findings, sequencing
Identify key steps in a text’s description ideas logically and using pertinent
of a process related to history/social descriptions, facts, and details to
studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, accentuate main ideas or themes; use
how interest rates are raised appropriate eye contact, adequate
or lowered). volume, and clear pronunciation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.5
Determine the meaning of words Include multimedia components and
and phrases as they are used in a visual displays in presentations to
text, including vocabulary specific clarify information.
to domains related to history/
social studies. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.2
Write informative/explanatory texts
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.2 to examine a topic and convey ideas,
Determine a central idea concepts, and information through the
of a text and how it is conveyed through selection, organization, and analysis of
particular details; provide a summary relevant content.
of the text distinct from personal
opinions or judgments. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.3
Write narratives to develop real
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7 or imagined experiences or events
Integrate information presented using effective technique, relevant
in different media or formats (e.g., descriptive details, and well-structured
visually, quantitatively) as well event sequences.
as in words to develop a coherent
understanding of a topic or issue.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1
Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-on-one,
in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 22
Standards Alignment
New York State Social Studies Standards
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 23
Standards Alignment
21st Century Skills
At Quest schools, we integrate 21st century skills in all Missions and Quests.
Systems Thinking A systems thinker takes a dynamic systems perspective, demonstrating understanding
of part-to-whole feedback dynamics (including time factors); using visual mapping tools,
writing, and physical models to learn about how systems work, and to represent, invent,
and communicate about systems.
Communication Use of oral, written, performative, and visual forms of language to formulate, exchange,
present, and reflect on ideas: shared understanding is the aim of communication.
Teamwork Students plan and coordinate work towards a mutual goal; understand and regulate
themselves as a team member; demonstrate leadership skills, including the ability to
persuade and guide others; and resolve conflicts cooperatively.
Time Management Time management is the ability to achieve an effective use of time while performing
goal-directed activities. It encompasses the ability to complete tasks within an expected
time frame while maintaining outcome quality, through mechanisms such as planning,
organizing, prioritizing, or multitasking.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 24
Continued Learning
Now that you’ve explored this mission pack, we hope you are inspired to learn more
about game-like learning. Below is additional information to support you in continuing
to build and share your learning.
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Mission Pack I Spy Greece pg. 25
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