How many times have you given your students an assignment and they find it too difficult and feel frustrated?
They give up…
But, what if you could find a way to keep them interested and encouraged to complete a series of questions or problems? Teaching students to put in the hard work to find a solution, will help them throughout their school, social and professional life.
Before starting this class, I was interested and excited to start a breakout activity. I had never heard of this activity and was not sure how it would work, but I was interested to find out. The class was online, so the point was to prove that I did participate in the activity to be marked present for the class, and to learn the content provided within the activity. Not only is the breakout game a fun activity, in order to solve the problems, puzzles or patterns you have to read content and learn the material.
Breakouts can be played in the classroom with actual breakout boxes, or they can be played digitally. There are two main breakout games that educators use, BreakoutEdu and Digital Breakout. Both ask students to use the content, or previous knowledge provided to solve problems and breakout of the activity. These activities can include finding the code (a series of numbers, colors or letters), solving math problems, reading a passage and finding an answer. Educators can decide if the activity should be a group interaction or an individual assignment, and set the game up to fit the classroom dynamic.
Visit this great video to see the differences of the breakout activities, and how they can both be incorporated into the class lesson.
Breakout games can be designed for any age level, content and class dynamic. I look forward to using these within my classroom, especially for subjects that may be boring or frustrating to students. I enjoyed the activity that we participated in and think that many other students will benefit from the activity as well. I plan on incorporating breakout games into reading lessons, math lessons, and anywhere else I can find a use for the activity.
Escape Games: The Boredom-Crushing Classroom Tech Your Students NEED.
There are many resources to use when bringing Breakout games into the classroom. Lesson plans and pre-made games can be found easily and used by anyone. If a pre-made game doesn’t fit your classroom, it is extremely easy to learn how to make the games and provide them to your students. These games can be used within the classroom or as homework assignments; just remember to be sensitive to students who may not have access to the internet at home.
Here is a great resource for Breakout Games!
https://www.breakoutedu.com/freegames/
