Putting more FUN into the everyday content that I teach. This includes but is not limited to...
- Using Kagan Cooperative Learning strategies to get kids up and moving.
- Replacing lectures and worksheets with more active forms of learning in which students are still able to grasp an idea of the content.
- Using reality TV shows to force students to be creative with historic content.
- Find technology programs, apps, and games to transform the history into something else.
- Creating projects that have more student voice and choice.
Basically I'm stealing anything that is fun, challenging, or different in order to make my classroom more "student-friendly."
Don't let that fool you. There are still traditional days in here, but to give you an example. My 8th graders will have listened to a grand total 6 lectures (all 20 minutes or less) the entire first semester. This number is down from approximately 15-20 just 3 years ago. The cool part is, my kids are still learning the material without the seated, note-taking format.
And then last year I encountered my first "breakout" experience.
Breakout EDU comes from the "escape room" concepts in which a group of people are locked into a room and have to use a variety of clues and puzzles hidden throughout the room in order to escape. These are very popular forms of entertainment in cities throughout the country. By participating in an escape room activity the participants use a variety of skills such as collaboration, problem solving, creativity, and perseverance. All great "buzz" words in education today...and the workforce!
Bringing these skills into the classroom is as simple as locking a box. That's about where the word "simple" ceases to exist. The box is locked with many different lock options and the keys or combinations to the locks can only be found through solving a series of content related clues throughout the room.
Without a doubt one of the most fun ways to embed content into those "buzz word" type skills that can be hard (if not impossible) to teach in a traditional classroom.
The website houses over 250 already pre-made games that range from general team building to high school algebra, small group and large group games, even games for adults as well as the little ones in elementary school. (Click here for BreakoutEDU site)
I have now ran all of my classes through a breakout game. Two of them have been made specifically by me. I created a breakout on the Executive Branch to kick off our election unit. My 8th graders loved it and are constantly asking to do another one. My 7th grade breakout was created over Bleeding Kansas. This could easily be adapted for a "Causes of the Civil War" Breakout and I'm sharing that here. Feel free to try it out!
I now see the world completely different. Everything is a potential puzzle, lock, or clue that could somehow be used to help engage kids in my classroom. And as much as I love using it to help jazz up class, it's nothing compared to how excited the students get when they know a breakout is coming!
Bringing these skills into the classroom is as simple as locking a box. That's about where the word "simple" ceases to exist. The box is locked with many different lock options and the keys or combinations to the locks can only be found through solving a series of content related clues throughout the room.
Without a doubt one of the most fun ways to embed content into those "buzz word" type skills that can be hard (if not impossible) to teach in a traditional classroom.
The website houses over 250 already pre-made games that range from general team building to high school algebra, small group and large group games, even games for adults as well as the little ones in elementary school. (Click here for BreakoutEDU site)
I have now ran all of my classes through a breakout game. Two of them have been made specifically by me. I created a breakout on the Executive Branch to kick off our election unit. My 8th graders loved it and are constantly asking to do another one. My 7th grade breakout was created over Bleeding Kansas. This could easily be adapted for a "Causes of the Civil War" Breakout and I'm sharing that here. Feel free to try it out!
I now see the world completely different. Everything is a potential puzzle, lock, or clue that could somehow be used to help engage kids in my classroom. And as much as I love using it to help jazz up class, it's nothing compared to how excited the students get when they know a breakout is coming!
