Break out and learn!
Breakout Edu has become one of my favorite activities for engaging students. I first read about it on my go to source for learning ... Twitter! I purchased a kit and started recruiting teachers to work with me to share this learning experience with their students. The response has been absolutely fabulous! The teachers love it, the students love it and we all learn from each experience.
If you are not familiar with Breakout Edu, here's a brief overview. It's similar to the escape room concept where students solve puzzles and gather clues in order to open locks attached to a box. Students implement the four Cs in their work ... creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. The Breakout Edu website features games on every subject imaginable, and for all ages.
I have facilitated Breakout Edu activities for students in grades one through seven, and even for our staff development before school started in the fall. The most recent Breakout Edu I facilitated was for a third grade class, and was titled Reindeer Games. The object of the game was to solve the puzzles that Rudolph left so that we could leave his room. He was away at Reindeer Games Training Camp and left this game.
The students worked in groups, and each group had to solve all of the puzzles. When the groups were finished, we gathered and talked about the clues and what each group had for an answer. One by one, the groups then tried to open the locks on the box.
Each activity and group of students is different, and I'm not able to predict how it will play out. Some groups work better together than others. Some groups need a little guidance, and some struggle with the clues. It's a learning opportunity for all of us ... the students, the teacher and myself. Facilitating these activities has taught me to let go of the control ... the students will figure this out. It might be different than how I imagined, but they will do just fine. And we will all learn something while having fun!
If you are not familiar with Breakout Edu, here's a brief overview. It's similar to the escape room concept where students solve puzzles and gather clues in order to open locks attached to a box. Students implement the four Cs in their work ... creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. The Breakout Edu website features games on every subject imaginable, and for all ages.
I have facilitated Breakout Edu activities for students in grades one through seven, and even for our staff development before school started in the fall. The most recent Breakout Edu I facilitated was for a third grade class, and was titled Reindeer Games. The object of the game was to solve the puzzles that Rudolph left so that we could leave his room. He was away at Reindeer Games Training Camp and left this game.
The students worked in groups, and each group had to solve all of the puzzles. When the groups were finished, we gathered and talked about the clues and what each group had for an answer. One by one, the groups then tried to open the locks on the box.
Each activity and group of students is different, and I'm not able to predict how it will play out. Some groups work better together than others. Some groups need a little guidance, and some struggle with the clues. It's a learning opportunity for all of us ... the students, the teacher and myself. Facilitating these activities has taught me to let go of the control ... the students will figure this out. It might be different than how I imagined, but they will do just fine. And we will all learn something while having fun!
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| Students gathered together after breaking out! The timer in the background shows they broke out with 16 minutes remaining. |
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