The English III team had a great couple of days pushing their students collaboration, communication, critical thinking skills, and of course content knowledge. The beauty of BreakoutEDU is the ability to incorporate 21st Century Skills along with content driven lessons.
What did the Breakout incorporate? 1. Clue 1 incorporated content knowledge of the Great Gatsby and puzzles. Students had to analyze symbols in the book as they related to characters. Then they had to decode the names and complete the code using some basic math skills. 2. Clue 2 used knowledge of colors in the books. They filled in quotes with the correct color symbols, which eventually lead to a WORD code. 3. Code 3 required students to put the book events in order to open the directional lock. 4. Code 4 then had them read a passage, finding literary devices, and using those line numbers to open the last box. How were 21st Century Skills involved? Students had to collaborate with their group in order to understand the clues. Through collaboration they used critical thinking skills to not just understand the content of the game, but to solve puzzles. Oftentimes in secondary classes, content becomes the main focus to where there is no other focus on other skills. Was there high student engagement? Absolutely! While I will not go on and say every student was engaged 100% of the time, and not every student loved the challenge, but I would definitely say that most did. Throughout the game you could find students talking it out (even arguing on who was right), competing to get to to open the box first, running through the library to find the clues the fastest, asking questions, and most of all seemed to have a genuine interest in completing the breakout and having fun. To me, the best part, was to see the kids in action and watch their thinking occur in physical ways. Teachers, don't be scared to try new things and get a little "out there." Students appreciate the time and effort you put into lessons to make them engaging. Don't let the 1-2 students who don't like to be challenged, keep you from challenging the others. Try it, you'll like it! You can find the resources for this Breakout here.
3 Comments
Carla Baxley
2/21/2017 07:25:29 am
Way to go, Junior Team! This looks awesome! Can't wait to try this with our sophomores :)
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Traci M Vedros
9/26/2019 06:06:59 pm
Thank you so much for sharing your files! I am excited to try it with my students!!!!
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Mari
4/2/2020 07:42:48 am
Thank you for sharing your resources!
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