Last week, I did an Escape Room challenge with my Algebra 2 classes, and I posted about it on Facebook. A few of you wanted to know what it was all about, so I'll try to explain as best as I can here and if you have any other questions, feel free to contact me!
So if you haven't heard of it before, you should check out Breakout Edu. I had pondered the idea of creating an Escape Room in my classroom before, but didn't really know how to go about doing it until some people in my class were talking about this site. On the site, there are tons of games already created that you can search through by content area and grade level (you can also search by group size, but don't get too hung up on group size. Most games can be played with different group sizes than suggested). Some games are officially published and vetted by the Breakout community, and some are called "Sandbox" games which aren't officially published in the Breakout directory but have been created and used by other teachers. Also, the games are password protected, but if you fill out the beta form on the Get Started page, they will tell you what the password is. They are password protected so that students don't go on the site and get the answers to the clues. All games use the same kit (around $125), and the kit includes all of the locks, invisible ink pens, and uv flashlight, etc that you would need for each game. You could also find your own box (I've seen people use tackle boxes or anything that you could put locks on) and open source your own kit using the links that they have on the site to Amazon for all of the stuff you would need.
Once I had researched it a bit on the site and talked to a friend who had used one of these kits before and played the game that I was thinking about doing, it was time to convince my principal to get one these boxes. He asked the usual questions, "how much is it", "how often would you use it", "could this be used in other content areas", and so on, but it really didn't take that much convincing! Like I said before, the one kit is used for all of the games that are already created (and you can make your own too)! So I ended up filling out a PO, but then I was talking to a teacher at the middle school and she said they already had 2 boxes! So instead of buying one or two more boxes, I just borrowed those from the middle school, which worked out well. If you are looking into getting a kit, I would suggest getting at least 2 boxes. It can be done with just one, which is what I was planning on doing before learning that we already had some in the district, but it is easier with 2. If you can only get one kit, I would suggest having the teams figure out the clues then have them tell you what they think the combination is and you can keep track of how many each team has done. Then they can unlock them all at once at the end to get the prize in the box. Or, you could have them try to unlock it, and if they get it, then you can just put it back on the box for the other group(s) to try.
Once I got the boxes, I used a game that was already created called "Linear Thought", but I ended up tweaking some of the clues to make it fit better with what we were doing in class. Once all of the clues were set, it was time to change the combinations to the locks and get everything printed off that I would need. If you keep track of all of the directions to reset the locks and the combinations that have been previously used, the locks really aren't difficult to change combinations. I joined the Facebook group for Breakout Edu as well and have seen people having difficulties with some of the locks, but the people on there are great about giving advice if you need help with a lock. One of mine had reset itself while it was in the box so I didn't know the code. So I put a post on the group page and it was answered with some good advice on how to crack it within a few hours. Also, I would suggest printing off more clues than you would think you would need. For example, I had 2 teams in each class, and the one team used the back of a clue to write stuff down. I had printed off 2 extra copies, so instead of creating/printing a new one in the limited amount of time that I had between classes to get everything set back up, I just pulled out one of the extra copies that I had. It's so much easier to be prepared before hand!
Ok, now for the setup. I ended up setting it all up the night before, then had my morning Algebra 1, Pre-Alg, and Trig classes in the ICN room so that they wouldn't mess around with all of the stuff that I had set up. I wish I would have taken pictures of my room with everything out, but alas, I did not think about doing that since it was going to be recorded while the students were playing the next day. But, below is a picture of how the locks are set on the box and a picture of the 3-digit lock box. Anyway, I had split the room down the middle so that each team had to stay on their side of the room. Then on each side, I had posted all of the clues on the walls or desks in plain site so they wouldn't have to dig through anything, but I also put red herring clues out as well like word find books, Sudoku puzzles, and other QR code activities to make it a little trickier. The boxes were then up front with the locks on them and candy inside for their prize for breaking out.
I was so excited once I had gotten it all set up! Finally 4th hour came, and I met the kids outside of the classroom to split them into 2 teams. Each team consisted of 6 kids in 4th hour and 4 kids in 6th hour. These ended up being perfect sized groups, and I think if there were many more in a group, some of the students would end up maybe not participating or feel left out. I think it worked out well having 4-6 kids in a group, and everyone was participating in some way. Once they were split into groups (I let them choose), I led them into the classroom and laid out the scene. Then they got to work! Each of our classes are 43 minutes long, so by the time I had explained everything (I tried to do it fast so they had more work time), they had about 41 minutes to "break out". I thought it was interesting that in both classes, they all went for the Sudoku and word find puzzles that I had out on the desks first. These were supposed to be red herring clues, and I ended up telling them that they were fake clues with about 28 minutes left. I didn't want them to get too stuck on these and not figure out the rest. Now that they've played this, I think they would try to find some of the less obvious stuff first. I also had some QR code activities up on the wall that have been there for a while since I've used them with some of my other classes, so they didn't really focus on the QR codes that were up there as clues. Once they figured that out it was smooth sailing! Each group gets 2 hint cards that they can use, and most groups used 1, but I think I ended up giving them more help than I should have without them using a hint card. I wanted them to break out, but I think I gave them more help than I should have. Next time, I will try to keep my mouth shut and let them figure it out themselves.
In the end, the first group in my 4th hour class broke out with about 10 minutes left and the other group had 8 minutes left, and in 6th hour, one group got done with 15 minutes left and the other had 9 minutes left! Overall, the kids loved it! I gave them a little reflection sheet to fill out afterwards to rate it 1-5 (1 it sucked and 5 it was awesome!), and all of them put either 4 or 5! I was excited about it and so were they, and they said they would love to do another one sometime! I'm so glad they enjoyed it, and I can't wait to do another one with them! I'm also going to try it in some of my other classes, too. I think this would be great for PD as well, and there are games already created for such a thing too! There are so many possibilities with this, and it's all about problem solving, collaborating, and team work!
Have any of you tried one of these Breakout games? How did it go for you? If you haven't tried this yet, you should! If you have any other questions about it, please let me know!
