YEAR
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
‘Spies’, Michael Frayn
Nine
AIMS:
 To challenge the more able through the study of a challenging text,
‘Spies’, by Michael Frayn.
 To develop students’ stamina in reading a whole text in preparation for
GCSE and beyond.
 To provide an enjoyable reading experience and to develop students’
skills in reading.
 To foster independent learning and promote thinking skills.
 To develop students’ analytical writing skills.
Duration: Six weeks
Resources:
Week One
Class set of novels
Copy of cover and blurb on acetate
Photocopy of cover with space for annotations
‘Role on the Wall’ outlines for Stephen and Keith
A3 plain paper for mind maps
Week Two
Photographs of the students when they were younger.
Photograph of teacher when younger on OHT.
Plain paper for tension graph.
Students’ mind maps.
Week Three
Barebones map for visualisation exercise
Extract from p.72-74 on OHT for shared reading and text marking
Optional picture stimulus for descriptive writing
Mini-whiteboards for secret starter
Week Four
Advice starter / mini whiteboards
Shopping basket with items contained within it (see p. 156 for details!)
A bunch of grapes
Week Five
‘Roles on the Wall’ from week one.
Post-it notes – must be a different colour from those used in week one.
Copy of the front cover for each student – possibly some on acetate for
sharing.
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Week Six
Mini-whiteboards for starter of lesson 1
Passages for group study – see Student Sheet 7, p.17 of Heinemann resources
Prepared model oral
Note-making frame
Challenge, Compliment, Suggest cards
Prepared model paragraph
Students will:
 Read the whole novel through a mixture of shared, guided, paired and
independent reading approaches.
 Discuss their responses to plot, theme and character.
 Respond critically to the text, producing an essay which analyses the
relationship between Stephen and Keith.
Key Assessment: Essay analysing the relationship between Keith and Stephen.
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KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Pupils should be taught to:
WORD LEVEL
6, know and use the terms that are useful for analysing language
7, recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s choice of words.
SENTENCE LEVEL
3, write with differing degrees of formality
4, integrate speech, reference and quotation effectively
9, write sustained standard English with the formality suited to the reader and
purpose
TEXT LEVEL – READING
1, review and extend their own strategies for locating, appraising and
extracting relevant information
13, review and develop their own reading skills
18, discuss a substantial prose text, sharing perceptions
TEXT LEVEL – WRITING
2, record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing
3, produce formal essays in standard English
11, make telling use of descriptive detail
15, offer general advice or guidelines for action
16, present a balanced analysis of a text or set of ideas, taking into account a
range of evidence
17, cite specific and relevant textual evidence to justify critical judgements
about texts
TEXT LEVEL – SPEAKING AND LISTENING
2, use standard English to explain, explore or justify an idea
3, develop interview techniques
9, discuss and evaluate conflicting evidence to arrive at a considered viewpoint
10, contribute to group activity to help solve problems and evaluate alternatives
12, use a range of drama techniques, including work in role, to explore issues,
ideas and meanings
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Week 1: Introducing Keith and Stephen
Objectives:
Word: 7, recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s choice of words.
Writing: 2, record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing.
S&L: 2, use standard English to explain, explore or justify an idea.
Resources:
Class set of novels
Copy of cover and blurb on acetate
Photocopy of cover with space for annotations
‘Role on the Wall’ outlines for Stephen and Keith
A3 plain paper for mind maps
Coverage: Chapters 1 & 2, pages 1-28.
Focus: What we learn about Keith and Stephen, their families and
relationship.
Suggested route through:
1. Show copy of cover on OHT on whiteboard. What do we associate
with the title ‘Spies’ and what does the photo on the cover suggest?
What sense of time and place is evoked?
 Read the blurb – what predictions can we make?
 Read p1-10 and establish the narrative perspective – the fact that
the narrator, in the present, is imagining himself in the past and
referring to himself in the 3rd person.
 Speculation about what Keith says that changes everything.
 Visualisation exercise – draw a map of the Close and label to show
who lives where. Annotate with quotations.
2. Read p10-18. What do we learn about Keith and Stephen and their
relationship? Collect evidence of Stephen’s sense of inferiority. Begin
character mind maps. Model how to construct / present these.
3. Read p18-28. What more do we learn about Keith and Stephen? ‘Role
on the Wall’ activity for Keith and Stephen. This can be revisited and
updated at different points in the study of the novel. Students
update their mind maps.
Outcomes: Annotated covers, location maps and character mind maps.
Possible h/wk: Students to find a photo of themselves as a young child
that they could talk about and bring it to the next lesson.
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Week 2: The Spying Game!
Objectives:
Word: 7, recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s choice of words.
Writing: 2, record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing.
S&L: 2, use Standard English to explain, explore or justify an idea.
Resources:
Photographs of the students when they were younger.
Photograph of teacher when younger on OHT.
Plain paper for tension graph.
Students’ mind maps.
Coverage: Chapters 3 & 4, p.29-69.
Focus: The development of Keith and Stephen’s characters.
Suggested route through:
1. Paired oral starter using the childhood photos the students have brought in.
How do they view their younger self? They should describe to a partner
what they see in the photo and describe the type of person they were – do
they understand more about their younger self now that they are older?
Teacher models first.
 Read p.29-36. Establish the war context and the threat of spies.
2. ‘Careless talk costs lives’ starter. Organise students into groups and give
each group a poster from the campaign. They have to present it and explain
what it suggests to the rest of the class.
 Read p.36-43. What do the marks in the diary actually denote? What does
the reader understand that K&S don’t? How does this knowledge shape the
reader’s response to the boys and their actions? Read p.43-48. What more
do we learn about their relationship?
3. Read p. 49-69 (4). From pages 49-52, what more do we learn about
Stephen’s relationship with his family? What more do we learn about
Stephen and his relationship with Keith on bottom of p.55 & p.56? P.58-60
Setting – compare the Avenue with the Close. Speculate – where does
Keith’s mother disappear to? P67-68, presentation of Barbara Berrill – how
does she affect Stephen and Keith? End of chapter – what has Stephen
realised?
 Discuss how the author creates suspense. Construct a tension graph for the
chapter – possible h/wk?
Outcomes:
 Paired oral discussion and small group presentations.
 Students update their character mind maps.
 Tension graph.
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Week 3: The Plot Thickens!
Objectives:
Word: 6, know and use the terms that are useful for analysing language
7, recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s choice of words
Reading: 13, review and develop their own reading skills
18, discuss a substantial prose text, sharing perceptions
Writing: 2, record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing
11, make telling use of descriptive detail
S&L: 2, use standard English to explain, explore or justify an idea
9, discuss and evaluate conflicting evidence to arrive at a considered viewpoint
10, contribute to group activity to help solve problems and evaluate alternatives
Resources:
Barebones map for visualisation exercise
Extract from p.72-74 on OHT for shared reading and text marking
Optional picture stimulus for descriptive writing
Mini-whiteboards for secret starter
Coverage: Chapters 5-7, pages 70-126
Focus: Description of setting and the students’ developing theories
Suggested route through:
1. Bottom of p72-top of p.74 = description of the setting; lanes, farm and
tunnel. Visualisation exercise where teacher reads and students draw a
picture of place and annotate with key words and phrases while passage is
being read and compare with a partner afterwards. (To scaffold this, the
students could be provided with a ‘barebones’ map with key locations
already drawn to which they then add the detail.) Or, guided tour activity –
this involves whole class shared reading of passage on the OHT, text
marking sights, smells and sounds etc, then the students pair up and one has
to take the other on a virtual guided tour of the location describing what
they can remember from the passage and trying to evoke the same sense of
place. Either activity should be followed with a class discussion on the sense
of place created by the author. How does Frayn create this vivid sense of
place which appeals to our senses? This leads to further analysis of the
language of the extract.
 Read p.74 onwards, what is Keith’s mum doing, what could the letter be that
she’s holding as she leaves the tunnel, what does the ‘x’ signify? Is
Barbara’s hypothesis likely? Hear students’ theories.
 P88-94 could be read as h/wk (depending upon time). Focus for reading =
Keith’s mum’s visit – what is the purpose of this? Refer to bottom of p.92 –
who is it that she is warning them against following?
 An alternative h/wk would be for the students to write a short description
of an outdoor place they played / play in e.g. a den, a park, a street, a
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garden. They must appeal to the senses as Frayn did. A picture stimulus
could be provided for students who cannot think of a real place to describe.
2. Starter – how do you feel to be trusted with a secret? Adjectives on
white-boards e.g. flattered, important, burdened, compromised. Feedback
and categorise words into positives and negatives. Read opening of Chapter
6, how does Stephen feel to be keeping secrets? Which of the words the
class suggested best describe his feelings?
 Read to top of p.100 – who is the man and what is the object Stephen has
found? Read to p.107 – what more do we learn about Keith and Stephen’s
relationships and the dynamics between them? Students could update
character mind maps at this point.
 Students read on to the end of the chapter – possible h/wk if time is tight.
Having finished the chapter, students to develop their theories about what
it is Keith’s mother is up to. They must be able to support their ideas with
evidence from the text.
3. Starter – small group discussion for students to share theories about
whether Keith’s mother is a German spy or not and what she’s up to. Each
group to present one theory to the rest of the class.
 Read p.115-119 = Stephen’s perceptions. How do they match with the
students’ ideas?
 Read to the end of the chapter. How does this new ‘evidence’ (delivery of
the thermos flask to the ‘tramp’) support some of the theories discussed?
Possible Outcomes:
 Map of setting
 Descriptive writing
 Updated character mind maps
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Week 4: Visits!
Objectives:
Word: 6, know and use the terms that are useful for analysing language
7, recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s choice of words
Sentence: 3, write with differing degrees of formality
Reading: 18, discuss a substantial prose text, sharing perceptions
Writing: 15, offer general advice or guidelines for action
S&L: 12, use a range of drama techniques, including work in role, to explore
issues ideas and meanings
Resources:
Advice starter / mini whiteboards
Shopping basket with items contained within it (see p. 156 for details!)
A bunch of grapes
Coverage: Chapters 8 & 9, p.127-167
Focus: Features of advise and persuasion, prediction
Suggested route through:
1. Starter – brainstorm features of writing to advise. Or, show some stock
words and phrases from writing to advise and ask students to identify the
text type.
 Introduce the dilemma by reading pages 127-top of 129. What should
Stephen do? In pairs students write a short letter of advice to him,
imagining they have an agony column in the local paper and he has sent in a
letter. Students must ensure their writing fulfils the conventions of the
text type. Pairs then swap and annotate each other’s work to show where
the features have been used.
 Read on to p.133 – what might the letter be?
 Read to the bottom of p.137 – how would the account of Keith arriving home
be different if it were told from Keith’s perspective? What was his
impression of the children crowding round his gate be, how would he
describe his feelings?
 Read to the bottom of p.143 – who was the visitor to the Close, what did he
want? Invite student speculation and sharing of theories.
 Read to end of chapter – possibly for h/wk depending on time. Focus for
reading = are they convinced by Stephen’s theory, as described on p.145?
2. Chapter 9, pre-reading starter – organise students into groups and issue
each group with an object from the basket Keith’s mum entrusts to Stephen
in Chapter 9 e.g. medicine bottle, tin of corned beef etc. (see p.156). The
groups have to decide the significance of their item and present it to the
rest of the class with a brief explanation of why it’s been included in the
basket and what it tells us about the recipient.
 Read the opening 2 pages of Chapter 9. Organise students into pairs. The
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pairs have to role play the conversation between Stephen and Mrs Hayward,
guided by clues in the text as to how this conversation may have gone. Hear
some of the students’ improvisations.
 Read to the break in p.153 – response to Mrs Hayward? How does Frayn
make us feel sorry for her?
 Read to the break in p.158. What does the letter say? Students could write
what they think the letter is – possible h/wk?
3. Starter – organise students into pairs. They must label themselves A&B.
Give all ‘As’ a grape. Bs must try to persuade their partner to surrender the
grape to them! Allow 1 minute for this and then take feedback on the
strategies used by each – which were the most successful? An opportunity
to revise persuasive techniques! How is persuasion different from advice
which students were giving earlier in the week?
 Read p.158 to the break in p.161. What was it that made Stephen surrender
the basket? In the starter, did any of the students try this simple
technique of using ‘please’?! Compare to what Barbara assumes must have
happened!
 Student predictions – what do they think might happen now?
 Read to the end of the chapter. Were their predictions right? How does
the man know Stephen’s name?!
Outcomes:
 Letter of advice
 Role played conversation between Mrs H and Stephen
 The letter – possible h/wk
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Week 5: Resolution!
Objectives:
Word: 7, recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s choice of words
Reading: 13, review and develop their own reading skills
18, discuss a substantial prose text, sharing perceptions
Writing: 2, record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing
S&L: 2, use standard English to explain, explore or justify an idea
9, discuss and evaluate conflicting evidence to arrive at a considered viewpoint
Resources:
‘Roles on the Wall’ from week one.
Post-it notes – must be a different colour from those used in week one.
Copy of the front cover for each student – possibly some on acetate for
sharing.
Coverage: Chapters 10 & 11, p.168-199 (End)
Focus: The relationship between Stephen and Keith, responses to the ending.
Suggested route through:
1. Read the opening of Chapter 10 until the break on p.169. Class discussion on
the identity of the tramp. Students must support ideas with evidence from
the text – encourage searching back for clues.
 Continue reading to the break at the top of p.174. Has their opinion been
confirmed or do they want to change their minds? What is the relationship
between the tramp, Mrs Hayward and Auntie Dee? What has been going on
between them?
 Read to the bottom of p.176 – what might the discussion between Mrs H
and A Dee be about?
 Read p.177 to the break in p.181 – the struggle between Stephen and Keith.
Why does Keith attack Stephen and why does Stephen respond as he does?
Who does the author make us feel sorry for? How? Who do we perceive to
be the stronger character?
 Read on to the break in p.184 – why doesn’t Stephen tell his parents that
Keith was his attacker?
 Students re-visit the ‘Roles on the Wall’ of Stephen and Keith and offer
new adjectives to describe them. These should be recorded on different
coloured post-its to the first ones used. How has the reader’s opinion /
understanding of these characters changed?
 H/wk – students update their character mind maps for Keith and Stephen.
2. Read from p.184 to the end of Chapter 10. Ensure students understand
what has happened. Focus on the quotation, ‘The one thing I know for sure
is that I did this’, p.189. Do the class think Stephen is to blame for what
has happened? To what extent is he responsible? Class debate or put
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students into pairs, one has to argue that it is his fault and the other has to
defend him. Refer back to ‘Careless talk costs lives’ starter.
3. Read the opening of Chapter 11 to the break on p.193 – again, ensure
students do understand what actually happened to Uncle Peter – consider
whether Auntie Dee and Mrs H know he was killed on the tracks. If so, why
have they told neighbours he was posted as missing? If not mentioned
before, introduce the idea of desertion and feelings towards this.
 Read to the end of the chapter. Reactions, surprises, evaluations? Is the
end satisfying?
 Issue another copy of the front cover of the novel to each student. They
must repeat the first task they did – annotate the cover to show what the
title and image now mean to them and the associations and feelings they
conjure. Some students could be given acetates so that they can share
their work with the class.
Outcomes:
 Roles on the wall for Stephen and Keith
 Updated character mind maps for Stephen and Keith
 Oral on whether Stephen is responsible for events – could be an opportunity
for formal assessment
 Annotated cover
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Week 6: When Friendship Breaks Down!
Objectives:
Word: 7, recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s choice of words
Sentence: 4, integrate speech, reference and quotation effectively
9, write sustained standard English with the formality suited to the reader and
purpose
Reading: 1, review and extend their own strategies for locating, appraising and
extracting relevant information
18, discuss a substantial prose text
Writing: 2, record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing
3, produce formal essays in standard English
16, present a balanced analysis of a text or set of ideas, taking into account a
range of evidence
17, cite specific and relevant textual evidence to justify critical judgements
about texts
S&L: 2, use standard English to explain, explore or justify an idea
3, develop interview techniques
10, contribute to the organisation of group activity
12, use a range of drama techniques, including work in role, to explore issues,
ideas and meanings
Resources:
Mini-whiteboards for starter of lesson 1
Passages for group study – see Student Sheet 7, p.17 of Heinemann resources
Prepared model oral
Note-making frame
Challenge, Compliment, Suggest cards
Prepared model pararaph
Focus: Essay preparation
Suggested route through:
1. Introduce the essay which is to be the main assessed piece of writing
arising from this unit, ‘How does the relationship between Stephen and
Keith change during the summer covered by the novel Spies?’ Explain that
students will spend this week preparing for the essay but that the work
they have already done, particularly the mind maps, will be very useful to
them in answering this question. For the starter ask students to suggest
words / phrases to describe Stephen and Keith’s friendship at any point in
the novel. Take feedback and then ask students to work in pairs and try to
re-order these words / phrases into a continuum to describe the
development of the relationship as the novel progresses i.e. chronological
order. Take feedback.
 Brief discussion: ask students if they think Stephen and Keith, as boys,
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would come up with the same words if they were asked to do this exercise –
how might their perspective differ? What alternatives might they offer?
Consider the difference between the reader’s viewpoint and that of the
characters. What about the author? Is his perspective the same as ours,
the readers?
 Explain that the students are going to hot-seat the characters of Keith and
Stephen in order to gather information for their essay. Organise the
students into groups of about five. Each group must decide on two people to
be the characters in role and the other members of the group will be the
interviewers. (You may wish to allocate roles for differentiation purposes.)
Model a couple of appropriate and effective questions that might be asked.
Give the students about 10 minutes to prepare and then allow them about 10
minutes to interview the characters. Take feedback from each group on one
key insight they learnt.
2. Remind students of the essay title. Explain that they will need to refer to
specific passages from the novel in their essay to support their ideas. For
the starter ask students which passages they think will be significant for
the essay – offer an example of your own first e.g. p.11-14 which describes
the types of things they did together. Allow students to discuss this in
pairs. Take feedback.
 Organise students into groups and allocate each group a passage from the
novel to study (see Student Sheet 7, p.17 of Heinemann resources for
suggested extracts). Set the task – each group to present their passage to
the rest of the class. Their presentation must include a brief summary of
the events covered by their passage and a PEE analysis of what it reveals
about Keith and Stephen’s friendship. Model what this might look like for
the passage offered as an example for the starter, p.11-14. Draw out the
PEE structure of the analysis.
 Give groups time to prepare their presentations and begin to hear some, as
time allows. Students must make notes on the presentations made by other
groups. A note-making frame could be provided for this. Such a frame might
have a column for the page reference, and a column for each part of PEE.
This would also help students assess whether each group had fulfilled the
task set and provided a PEE analysis! The ‘Challenge, Compliment, Suggest’
cards could also be used to support students’ responses to the
presentations.
3. Hear the rest of the presentations on the key passages.
 Ask students how they think they should structure the whole essay and
what the introduction and conclusion should contain. Offer guidance and
advice – the class generation of a flow diagram might be a useful scaffold
for the students.
 Remind students of the PEE structure for their paragraphs and how to
punctuate quotations. Model a possible paragraph of the essay for the
students, taking their suggestions as appropriate.
 Students to write essay for h/wk over half term.
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Outcomes:
 Key words to describe deterioration of friendship
 Hot-seating interviews
 Group presentations on key passages – an opportunity for formal
assessment
 Essay
If time allows, students could peer-assess a draft of the essay, improve it and
then self-assess their work before handing it in for marking by the teacher.
Ensure clear success criteria are shared for assessment.
Other Teaching and Learning Ideas for the Study of ‘Spies’:
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Research into the social and historical context of the Second World War.
Debate on desertion and whether or not to help deserters.
Keeping a class ‘Crime Board’ to record evidence and theories about Mrs
Hayward and the tramp.
Creative writing based on a smell stimulus (smells are a motif in the
novel).
‘Placing the text’ drama activity for a particular passage.
‘Conscience corridor’ drama activity for a key passage in the novel e.g. one
of Stephen’s journeys into the tunnel at night – should he go?
Freeze frames to show the status of Keith and Stephen at a particular
point in the novel – how would their physical positioning reflect their
power / status?
Newspaper report on the death on the railway lines.
Doctor’s / Social worker’s report on Stephen – family life, school life,
friendships, anxieties etc.
Autobiographical writing about an important summer.
Autobiographical writing about a significant friendship.
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