Four Ways to Integrate Breakout EDU Activities Throughout the Year

Four Ways to Integrate Breakout EDU Activities Throughout the Year

Mix-and-match activities to amplify learning and engagement

Breakups aren’t always a bad thing! Students and teachers alike benefit from breaking up lesson activities and content into engaging chunks for students. At Breakout EDU, we believe education can (and should) be interactive and fun for students of all ages. That’s why we offer different activities - to fit the needs, preferences, and schedule of every classroom. 

We are here to help you break up with instructional monotony and reinvigorate curiosity while keeping you informed of student progress towards current year learning expectations. Check out these 4 ways teachers can use Breakout EDU to breakup with boredom throughout a school year: 

Kick-off class with Lock of the Day

Lock of the Day (LOTD) allows teachers to inject surprise and anticipation into a classroom routine, capturing students' attention. LOTDs can be used to start class as a bellringer, offer a mid lesson brain break, end class as an exit ticket, or even serve as an activity for students who finish sooner than others.  

Each day, students use critical thinking and problem-solving skills along with teamwork to crack open a new lock. Adding this unique element of mystery and excitement to each day’s lesson also supports a positive classroom culture. Sit back and watch as students become more motivated and eager to participate!  For added excitement, consider implementing a “streaks” competition to see how many days in a row students can successfully complete LOTDs. 

LOTD transforms the student learning experience by temporarily transporting them into an adventure-filled journey. Designed to be completed in 5 minutes or less, LOTD ignites curiosity by allowing students to explore different concepts in a dynamic and immersive way while teachers check for understanding. 

Whether it's a math problem, historical mystery, or digital science experiment, LOTD brings subject matter to life, making it relatable and memorable for your students. 

Introduce content with digital games

Capturing students' attention and building excitement at the beginning of a new unit is key to fostering a positive learning environment. That's where digital Breakout EDU Games come in as the perfect anticipatory set! 

These interactive experiences pique students' curiosity while setting the stage for the upcoming unit. Select one of our pre-made digital games (or make your own!) that aligns with the subject or topic of an upcoming unit. Breakout EDU games ask students to work together to solve puzzles, decipher codes, and unlock virtual locks. Not only do these games instantly grab students' attention and provide a sneak peek into the content they'll be exploring, they also provide teachers with a simple way to assess prior knowledge. 

By building your own game in the Breakout EDU Game Design Studio, teachers can establish learning expectations based on their student populations' proximal development needs. In addition to content based games, teachers can easily design games to teach students about classroom rules, introduce them to the school library, highlight local celebrations and customs, learn more about their teacher (and each other), or even prepare for an upcoming field trip. 

Digital Breakout EDU Games allow teachers to tap into various multimedia elements like videos, images, and other interactive elements that provide context or background information related to the upcoming unit. For example, if your class is preparing to dive into a historical period, a digital Breakout could include visuals, audio clips, and primary sources to transport students back in time and ignite their imagination. By engaging multiple senses, you create an experience that helps students emotionally connect with the subject matter. This not only grabs students' attention but also primes their minds to be receptive and excited for what lies ahead in their learning journey.

Review content with Breakout EDU kit-based games

Breakout EDU also offers physical kits paired with kit-based games to provide an immersive learning experience for students. While these games are a powerful resource any time of the year, they are particularly powerful for end-of-unit content review and assessment. These hands-on games provide a unique and exciting way for students to demonstrate their understanding of essential course content and learning objectives. 

Each kit-based game includes a series of puzzles and codes that pair with the physical locals included in a Breakout EDU kit. Students are challenged to solve puzzles collaboratively to "break out" or open the kit and succeed. Teachers can design a custom Breakout EDU game or select one designed by our game team from our growing library that aligns with the units key concepts and learning objectives. As students work together to crack codes and unlock physical locks, they apply their content knowledge, critical thinking skills, and problem-solving abilities in a hands-on, real-world context. This serves to reinforce understanding while also encouraging active inquiry. 

As students work to beat the clock and “breakout” teachers are able to assess student progress towards achieving state standards. By strategically incorporating questions and challenges directly related to the learning objectives of each unit, you can gauge individual and group understanding. As students work through the puzzles and activities, you can even observe their progress towards establishing critical social-emotional skills alongside their ability to apply content knowledge. This formative assessment approach allows teachers to monitor student progress in real-time, identify areas of strength and areas that require further reinforcement, and provide timely and targeted feedback. With this valuable insight, you can tailor your instruction and intervention strategies to support students in achieving state standards throughout the school year.

Give students agency with game design studio

The Breakout EDU Game Design Studio allows students to create their own games. Used as a summative activity, this empowers teachers to assess student proficiency of learning expectations at intervals best serving their instructional strategy - end-of-year assessment review, end-of-unit review, or even “all about me” projects. 

Game Design Studio enables students to become the architects of their learning by designing breakout scenarios that align with the content and learning objectives. As they create their own games, students must apply their knowledge and understanding of the subject matter to construct puzzles, challenges, and clues. This process requires them to think deeply about the concepts, identify key information, and present it in an engaging and logical way. By designing games, students demonstrate their level of comprehension along with their ability to effectively communicate and transfer their knowledge to others.

Once students have created their games, the real excitement begins! Peers (and even the teachers) can step into the role of players, attempting to "breakout" from the games their classmates have designed once they have been added into the class games library. This peer-to-peer engagement fosters a collaborative and interactive learning environment. As the teacher, you can observe these interactions and gain valuable insights into students' comprehension, misconceptions, and areas of strength.

By incorporating the Game Design Studio into your teaching practice, you create a dynamic and student-centered approach to check for understanding. Students become active participants in the assessment process, taking ownership of their learning and showcasing their knowledge and skills. Additionally, the collaborative nature of playing each other's games promotes a supportive and inclusive classroom culture, where students learn from and with their peers.

Conclusion

It’s time to breakup with boring! It’s never too late to unleash the creativity and knowledge of your students with Breakout EDU. Every game type offered by Breakout EDU prompts students to read and interpret informational text, communicate ideas, seek out patterns, build self esteem, and participate in logical thinking exercises. 

 Visit our website to empower your students to become game designers, collaborators, and assessors of their own learning journey.