About this resource
Creator's Statement
Creator Tim Bain drew on his childhood diet of 80s and 90s pop culture to conjure the distinctive world of Knee High Spies. Cinematic locations are reimagined in a relatable domestic setting. In our knee-high landscape, a fridge becomes a towering skyscraper, a clothesline becomes a heartpounding high-wire crossing, and toy helicopters, cars and trains take part in fast and furious chases.
“The show is a love letter to old school special effects in a time before CGI and AI,” says Bain. The spy toy characters are performed by actors in animatronic puppetsuits, shot against a green screen and ‘shrunk down’ into a live action house, where they interact with a real human family. “With real, cuddly-looking toys racing around the house, our young audience might imagine the spies’ secret missions could be happening right inside their very own homes”.
Welcome
Join a team of clever, courageous toys as they work together to solve problems and save the day! Inspired by the adventures of the Knee High Spies, this resource invites students to step into the role of “spies” as they tackle missions that build teamwork, creativity and resilience.
Across five engaging lessons, students will explore important skills such as communication, kindness, problem-solving and collaboration through structured, flexible and hands-on learning experiences.
Designed for Foundation to Year 2, this resource is aligned with the Australian Curriculum across English, Mathematics, Health and Physical Education, Media Arts, and the General Capabilities.
Get ready… mission time starts now!
Lessons
You are invited to choose your own learning adventure. The resource is organised by activities and themes, with each module linked below:
(INSERT THE MODULES HERE)
Activities
Every module includes a mission based lesson designed to support problem-solving skills. Activities are written so they can be displayed directly on your board or shared via your preferred digital platform. These activities include:
Watch: Either full episodes or scenes from Knee High Spies which relate to the topic of the lesson, which the class will watch to tune in.
Reflect: This is where students think and talk about what they watched in a whole class discussion setting. They discuss characters’ actions, feelings, and choices, and begin to connect ideas to their own experiences. Teacher questioning guides deeper thinking about concepts like teamwork, kindness, and strengths.
Explore: In this phase, students actively practise or investigate the key concept with their whole class or in small groups. They try out skills (for example,. non-verbal communication, identifying kindness, planning a story) with teacher support and modelling. This helps build understanding before creating their own work.
Create: Students apply their learning in a hands-on, creative way. They produce something that demonstrates their understanding. This stage emphasises independence, teamwork, and reflection on their learning.
Downloadable worksheets: Dotted throughout the activities are ready-to-print or digital worksheets that support independent and group work for each activity.