Theme: MI6
Lexical area: spying, personal information, codes
Instructions for language assistants in Italics.
Classroom materials
Introduction
This lesson offers a variety of activities based on MI6, The British Secret Intelligence Service, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2009. Task 1 is a warm up activity that introduces the topic of spying. Task 2 is a quick quiz about the world of spying which introduces some of the vocabulary from the text in task 3. In task 3 students read a text about MI6 and match headings to paragraphs. In task 4 students correct false information to check their comprehension of the text. Task 5 is an information gap activity where students ask questions in pairs to complete a secret agent identity card. Students try to crack codes and then make a coded message in task 6. Task 7 is a discussion activity for higher levels.
Task 1 Missing Words
Ask the students to guess the missing 3-letter word by looking at the clues around the square.
Answer: spy
Ask the students if they can add any more ‘spy words’ to the ones around the square (e.g.,gadget, James Bond, code, double agent).
Task 1 Missing words
Can you write the missing word in the square?
Agent Gun Invisible Ink _ _ _ Secret Identity
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2. Quiz
Do the quiz as a whole class activity with a lower level. Ask for a show of hands to see who thinks which option is correct. Higher levels can do the quiz in pairs then check answers as a class.
Answers:
1b, 2a (lemon juice reacts to heat and becomes visible), 3b, 4a(in 2009), 5c (KGB is Russian, CIA is American)
Task 2 Quiz
What do you know about the world of spying? Do the quiz.
Spy quiz
1 A double agent is: a) A spy who has two names. b) A spy who secretly works for two countries. c) Two agents who are identical twins.
2 You can make invisible ink from: a) Lemon juice. b) Blood. c) Nail varnish.
3 James Bond was: a) A real spy. b) A fictional spy. c) A writer.
4 How many Bond films are there? a) 22 b) 51 c) 7
5 Which one of these organisations is British? a) KGB b) CIA c) MI6
Check the answers with your teacher. |
3. MI6: Read
Tell the students that they are going to read about MI6. Set a time limit of 4 minutes for students to read the text and match the headings with the paragraphs. Have them compare answers with a partner before checking answers as a class.
Answers:
1 What is MI6?, 2 How old is MI6?, 3 Where is MI6?, 4 MI6 agents, 5 Secret messages, 6 MI6 online
Task 3 MI6: Read
Read the text and write the headings in the correct place.
MI6 online Secret Missions What is MI6? Where is MI6? |
MI6You might have heard of MI6 through the man known as 007. James Bond doesn’t exist of course, but what about MI6?
1 ___________ MI6 is very real. It is an organisation that recruits agents who collect ‘human intelligence’, or information, from countries around the world in order to protect the security of the UK. The offical name for MI6 is the Secret Intellegence Service, or SIS.
2 ___________ MI6 has recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. The agency started life in a small rented office in London in 1909 but it wasn’t officially recognised by the British government until 1995!
3 ___________ The agency has its present headquarters in a huge building at Vauxhall Cross on the banks of the river Thames. The building is shown in a recent James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. In the film, a bomb, hidden in a suitcase full of money, explodes inside the MI6 headquarters.
4 ___________ The first chief of MI6 was Sir Mansfield Cumming. He always signed his name as ‘C’ in green ink. This tradition is continued today by Sir John Scarlett, the present chief, who also signs documents with a green ‘C’. John le Carré, famous for his spy novels, is a former MI6 agent. He changed his name from David John Moore Cornwell because agents weren’t allowed to publish books under their own names.
5 ___________ During the Second World War (1939-1945), MI6 communicated with agents through coded radio messages broadcast on the BBC. MI6 was also involved in the work of the code breakers who collected important enemy information at Bletchley Park in the south of England. Modern computers didn’t exist at that time and the code breakers had to use huge noisy machines to help them break the codes.
6 _________ MI6 now has an official website where anyone can learn about its history, read a glossary of Secret Intellegence Service words, have a virtual tour or even apply for a job.
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4. MI6: False Information
Tell the students that sentences 1-5 all contain some incorrect information. Ask them to try to correct the information before reading the text again to check their answers. Check the answers as a class.
Fast finishers can work in pairs to write two more sentences with incorrect information. Answers:
1 The Secret Intellegence Service is MI6’s real name.
2 The British government officially recognised MI6 in 1995.
3 The present chief of MI6 signs documents with a ‘C’ in green ink.
4 MI6 sent coded messages to agents during the Second World War.
5 Anyone agents can access the MI6 website.
Task 4 MI6: False information
Sentences 1-5 contain false information. Correct the information with a partner then read the text again to check your answers.
1 The Secret Intellegence Section is MI6’s real name.
2 The British government officially recognised MI6 100 years ago.
3 The present chief of MI6 signs documents with his name in green ink.
4 MI6 sent coded messages to the enemy during the Second World War.
5 Only agents can access the MI6 website.
5. Secret agent identity card
1 Tell the students that you are going to give them some information about a secret agent and that they need to ask their partner questions to find out more information. Write the following on the board:
Real name
Code name
Age
Nationalities
Family
2 With a higher level class have the students tell you what questions they need to ask to find out the above information. For lower levels put the following questions on the board and have students match them with the above items (Real name etc):
What’s his/her real name?
What’s his/her code name?
How old is he/she?
What are his/her nationalities?
What languages does he/she speak?
Is he/she married?
Has he/she got any children?
You might also want to revise ‘How do you spell it?’
3 Put students in pairs and give each member of the pair either an A or a B card. Insist that all students keep their information hidden. Students can now take turns to ask questions and complete their secret agent identity card. For lower levels demonstrate the activity first with a student. Students compare their cards to check they have the correct information when they have finished. You should move around the class checking that students are speaking rather than showing their cards.
4 If students enjoyed this activity they could invent their own spy identities and draw a picture or cut out photos from magazines to make a poster wall display of secret agent ID cards.
Task 5 Secret agent identity card
Your partner has the information that you need to complete your Special agent indentity card. Ask questions about the agent to complete your card. Don’t let your partner see your card!
Student ASecret agent indentity card REAL NAME - ____________ CODE NAME – Ace AGE - __________ NATIONALITIES - Swedish, __________ LANGUAGES - Swedish ________, ________, German FAMILY – ex husband, no children |
Student BSecret agent indentitiy card REAL NAME – Susan Jones CODE NAME - __________ AGE - 35 NATIONALITIES –________, Australian LANGUAGES - ________, English, Turkish, _________ FAMILY - ________, ___________ |
6. Secret codes
Put students in pairs and ask them to try to work out what the messages mean. Walk around and offer help as needed. Hand out the answer sheet as soon as the students have finished or start to get frustrated. Have the pairs use one of the codes to make another secret message. Demonstrate this on the board first if necessary. Pairs can then swap messages with a different pair and try to decode the new message. Alternatively they could write their code on a post-it note then stick it on the board for others to read and decode. You may need to remind students that they can only use language that is suitable for the classroom!
Answers:
1 THE FIRST LETTER OF EACH WORD IS WRONG. A random letter replaces the first letter of each word.
2 THIS MESSAGE LOOKS VERY STRANGE. All the vowels are removed.
3 WRITING BACKWARDS IS DIFFICULT. This is written backwards.
4 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Use the grid below.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Answers: 2 THIS MESSAGE LOOKS VERY STRANGE. All the vowels are removed. 3 WRITING BACKWARDS IS DIFFICULT. This is written backwards. 4 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Use the grid below. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26,A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z,
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Task 6 Secret codes
Can you decode these secret messages? Work with a partner. Ask your teacher for help.
1 WHE CIRST OETTER PF KACH EORD JS ZRONG
____________________________________________________________________
2 THS MSSG LKS VRY STRNG
____________________________________________________________________
3 TLUCIFFID SI SDRAWKCAB GNITIRW
____________________________________________________________________
4 23,8,1,20 9,19 25,15,21,18 14,1,13,5?
_____________________________________________________________________
| Make another secret message with a partner here: |
7. Discussion
These discussions questions are suitable for higher level classes. Ask the students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.
Task 7 discussion
Discuss these questions:
What are pros and cons of being a spy?
Do you know any famous spy stories from your country?
Is James bond a realistic spy? Why/ Why not?
Would you spy for your country? Why?/ Why not?
Internet links
Look at the official MI6 website here
http://www.mi6.gov.uk/files/images/h_panel_main_img.jpg
This MI5 site has activities for children, including a recipe for invisible ink
http://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/mi5-history-for-schools.html
Crack some more codes here
http://www.youthonline.ca/spykids/aa041001c.shtml
Find out about Bletchley Park here
http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
By Sally Trowbridge
| Attachment | Size |
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| MI6.pdf | 129.63 KB |
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