Do you love escape rooms? Do your students love BreakoutEDU? If the answer to either of these questions is "Yes!" you are in luck, because you can create your own FREE digital breakout! The first step is to create a google document with a chart that has a column for the lock type, another for the solution, and one more for the clue. Then fill in the chart as you please. At the top of the page set the scene for your breakout. Where must they escape from? Why must they escape? After this page is complete, you will create a google form. Each question should be one of the clues that you decided on in the chart. Be sure to also include instructions for answering. For example, "In order to leave this room you must add the fractions to find the combination to escape. Write the answer in fraction form." Be sure to make each question required, and be sure to set the form as a quiz with the answers that you type in. Additionally, be sure to change the submission message to tell viewers to check their answers and see if they escaped. Then, choose a website to use. I used weebly, but you could use google sites or anything else that you are comfortable with. On the website, begin by inserting your description of the scene that you wrote on the google document. This should be the first thing that viewers see. Next, embed the google form that you created. If there are any picture clues that are necessary, be sure to insert this as well. Now, give students the link and see if they can escape!
This activity relates well with components 3C and 3D of the Danielson framework. Component 3C is Engaging Students in Learning. This breakout is a great way to use your resources to engage students. Many students today are familiar with escape rooms, and would love to do one in school. Additionally, component 3D is Using Assessment in Instruction. Due to the use of google forms in the breakout, this activity is an amazing way to formatively assess learning. As the creator of the google form, you can see who answered each question correctly. You could create questions based on the material you are covering. The students will have a lot of fun trying to escape, and they will be putting more effort in because they want to escape. This will allow you to assess how much of the material they have learned.
I can see myself using this activity in a few ways. First, it would be a fun first or last day of school activity. The questions could be all about you. This would also be fun to send home and have families try and escape together. Another fun way to use this would be to have students create their own breakout. It is simple and easy, and students would have a lot of fun creating breakouts on the material that they are learning, as well as escaping from others. This would also cause them to do their best work because they know that others are going to be trying to escape from their breakouts. Finally, digital breakouts would be a great formative assessment tool after or during a lesson to see if students are understanding what is being presented.
Check out the breakout a partner and I created for our virtual co-ops!
This activity relates well with components 3C and 3D of the Danielson framework. Component 3C is Engaging Students in Learning. This breakout is a great way to use your resources to engage students. Many students today are familiar with escape rooms, and would love to do one in school. Additionally, component 3D is Using Assessment in Instruction. Due to the use of google forms in the breakout, this activity is an amazing way to formatively assess learning. As the creator of the google form, you can see who answered each question correctly. You could create questions based on the material you are covering. The students will have a lot of fun trying to escape, and they will be putting more effort in because they want to escape. This will allow you to assess how much of the material they have learned.
I can see myself using this activity in a few ways. First, it would be a fun first or last day of school activity. The questions could be all about you. This would also be fun to send home and have families try and escape together. Another fun way to use this would be to have students create their own breakout. It is simple and easy, and students would have a lot of fun creating breakouts on the material that they are learning, as well as escaping from others. This would also cause them to do their best work because they know that others are going to be trying to escape from their breakouts. Finally, digital breakouts would be a great formative assessment tool after or during a lesson to see if students are understanding what is being presented.
Check out the breakout a partner and I created for our virtual co-ops!