Find the Secret Agent

Solving problems requires careful attention and focus. We are going to play a game to practice focusing attention. The point of the game is for the detective to figure out who is the leader. To meet the goal, you will need to pay to attention to follow along with a changing pattern while trying to figure out who is leading the pattern. When you focus your attention, you can solve challenging problems around you.

1. Before you begin, choose a student to be the detective, and ask that student to leave the room (or close his/her eyes, or turn around so he/she can’t see). Choose another student to be the leader without letting the detective know who it is (you can tap the leader on the shoulder or point silently if the detective is in the room with eyes closed).
2. The leader begins the game by doing a simple movement, such as tapping her or his pencil or waving his or her hands.
3. Students should follow along by copying the leader’s movements. The leader will make gradual changes to the movement (i.e., switch from clapping to snapping) and all students try to follow along closely, so that it is not obvious who is leading the pattern.
4. The detective should say “I found the leader!” when he/she thinks he/she knows who is leading the pattern.
5. Play multiple rounds with a new detective and new leader each time.

• What about this game was easy or hard for you?
• What strategies did you use? What might you do differently next time?
• When do you need to focus at home or at school?

For primary school students:

• If necessary, invite the students to practice following the secret agent’s instructions quickly and changing movements without choosing a new detective.
• Invite two participants to become Detectives to make the task easier and to find the secret agent faster together.

For students in grades 5-6:

• Complete the activity in teams rather than as a class.
• To increase the challenge, require the secret agent to change the pattern more frequently.