In the Middle with Breakout EDU Kits
Author: Megan Charlton, STEM Coach in Concord, NC
As a STEM Educator, we are always looking for innovative ways to engage our students. Breakout EDU provides the opportunity for each student to take part in an interactive lesson and use their critical thinking skills. As we move beyond the world of hybrid and virtual teaching, we have to immerse our students in highly engaging, hands-on lessons. Breakout EDU allows students to see real-world applications of content while teaching them Strategies That Engage Minds (STEM).
Our Middle School students love the hands-on experience that Breakout EDU kits bring! Encouraging our students to put their devices away and collaborate with their peers always leads to success. Having students look around the room for clues and puzzles through the evidence we provide them with is powerful! When our Middle Schoolers see the Breakout EDU kits come out, they can barely contain their excitement!
Here are some insider tips that will be helpful for the next time you play a Breakout EDU Kit-Based game!
When first introducing Breakout EDU to students, provide them with instructions on what they are doing and how they will accomplish their goals.
Introduce to them each lock and how it opens.
I like to use an Elementary Kit-Based Team-Building game to start off so my middle schoolers feel successful and get to know how the process works. Occasionally I will have a group split in half and have some students work on the Kit-Based version of the Breakout and others work on the Digital Breakout. After they have broken out, students share the differences between the two Breakout EDU activities.
Gather the locks in the OPEN position on your teacher desk or at the front of the room immediately after they open the locks. I like to use the locks parking lot. Before closing the locks, verify that students have not changed the code on you.
Allow a few minutes at the end of class to clean up. Task a responsible student to help you with resetting the locks for the next block of students.
If you feel that you have very little time between classes to reset the boxes., give your students in the next block an independent warm-up, like Lock of the Day, to allow you an extra moment to get the boxes ready.
Sharing the lock codes with later classmates can be an issue. I remind my students that if they are caught sharing the answers with other students from other class periods, they may not be able to participate in the next Breakout. Sometimes I will stagger my Breakouts and start them on day 1 with my later classes and on day 2 with my earlier classes. The sharing of codes usually only happens once because students realize it ruins the fun!
And most of all, enjoy the moment and have fun!
