Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Breaking Out with BreakoutEDU

Back in January, I had the opportunity to attend FETC in Orlando with our district instructional technology team. During the Tech Share Live Session, we heard about Breakout EDU and instantly identified this as an instructional strategy that would be a good fit for the classroom and for our professional development sessions.

For our April Transform Session, our team planned a Breakout Game for teachers that integrated Math, Science, Social Studies, and ELA. Because we serve teachers in grades K-12, our team also created four different "levels" of the game (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). Our Breakout Game was designed to introduce teachers to Breakout EDU and the various ways it could be used in the classroom, and it was important for the teachers to see their grade level and content directly represented in our session.



It was great to see my teachers so excited about Breakout EDU! Several teachers booked appointments with me at the end of the session, and I was able to set up classroom visits with 28 classes at various grade levels. At Powdersville High School, I even had a teacher ask if he could bring students to try our Breakout Game during breaks between sessions! We found that the students at all levels were actively engaged in solving the clues. I even had students thank me for planning the session and allowing them to come.

Following the April Transform Session at Powdersville Middle, I met with Margaret Robinson (8th Grade) and Monique German (media specialist) to set up The Outsiders by Tiffany Whitehead posted on the Breakout EDU website. It was fascinating to see how the students organized themselves and identified leaders in the group! Our eighth grade students really enjoyed this Breakout Game.

My fifth grade teachers at PVES asked for me to share the Breakout Game created for elementary teachers with their students because it was a great review of the standards for their grade. To help manage the class, we split students into two groups (boys vs. girls). Moving forward, I found that reducing the level of competition between the groups led to faster times.

Fourth grade Science teachers at Powdersville Elementary were looking for an engaging review to end the school year, and I knew that students would LOVE Breakout EDU. Mr. Magnetic by Kelli Williams was a perfect choice! Instead of using colored blocks, I used colored QR codes that led to Google Forms giving students one of the numbers when they got the correct answers. We also added a station for building an electromagnet, which gave students a clue for an additional lock.

After getting into the fourth and fifth grade classrooms, my third grade teachers were excited to offer their students a chance to "break out." Looking at the Breakout EDU website, I found The Swamp by Katie Freking based on Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard and James Marshall. We started with a read-aloud before challenging students to solve the clues and crack the codes. Because our third grade students are 1:1 with iPads, I was able to integrate technology, using colored QR codes that linked to Math models as a clue. I also got a chance to try out the Locks app for this one! Students had to enter a code to get the next clue. We finished each class with a debrief of what went well and how they might improve for future Breakout Games. Students made some great connections and learned important lessons about working together and leadership!



When I met with Kindergarten teachers, we discussed ideas for developing the skills needed to successful complete a Breakout Game. In addition to working together and communicating, the students must also have some experience opening locks. Together we brainstormed ideas for using locks in stations to give students some practice with opening various types of locks... matching the correct key (with a letter on it) to the correct lock (with a picture based on starting or ending sounds), a station where students identify the beginning letter for five examples and use those letters to open the word lock, or a station at which students can solve four math problems and use those numbers to open a numerical lock. Blakely Callaham invited me to tryout a "mini breakout" with her kinders at Concrete Primary, and they were so excited to be detectives!

For our end-of-year Summer Academy, my team modified the Dr. Johnson's Lab Breakout Game posted on the BreakoutEDU website. We had a large group of around 30 teachers from all grade levels and content areas come to participate, and it was awesome to watch them come together to successfully complete the challenge.
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