For the past year or so I've been hearing a lot about Breakout EDU from other librarians. Breakout EDU calls itself an "immersive learning games platform." The idea is that students work together to solve puzzles using critical thinking skills. The puzzles help them open a locked box called a Breakout box. Teachers around the country design Breakout activities that are tied to curriculum.
I kept hearing from other librarians and our wonderful school social worker how amazing Breakout boxes are for student engagement and for working on all of those collaborative skills that are integral to our library standards. I was thrilled to find out that my Donors Choose grant for Breakout boxes had been funded and that we were receiving the supplies needed for three Breakout boxes.
In the past couple of weeks all of my sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes have had the chance to participate in their first Breakout. Students discovered it can be quite challenging to solve all of the puzzles and "break into" the box. In fact, only one group of seventh grade girls successfully got into the Breakout box without a single hint! In the next few weeks, fourth and fifth grade students will begin their first Breakout on this year's Global Read Aloud book The BFG.
