Learning to Build Breakouts from Scratch

I remember the first time I heard of the concept of a "breakout" in the classroom. I was at an EdCamp sponsored by my state professional association and we were put into groups to actually do one. I recall looking around at everyone getting really into it and figuring out how to solve the problems, which I thought was really amazing, but in the back of my head I was wondering how everyone could figure the problems out, how the students could do it, and how on earth someone could even think about making one of these. However, I really loved the concept and was determined to find some teachers who would be willing to try doing one of these with me.

When I first tried doing a breakout, I used an existing one from the BreakoutEDU website (https://www.breakoutedu.com/). An English teacher who was willing to try this with me had a student teacher at the time, so we were able to spend a couple of weeks trying to figure out how to put it together and how to make it work for the class. I created four breakout boxes out of supplies I got on Amazon and we were ready to begin once we downloaded all of the clues from BreakoutEDU. I can't say that the first time was 100% successful, but we saw enough light bulbs going on over our students' heads that we thought it was worth trying again. Right away the teacher wanted to create a breakout specifically based on her curriculum, and I really tried, but I just hadn't experienced enough breakouts created by other people to try making one on my own.

Experience Is Crucial

Experience is crucial in creating a breakout. If you haven't facilitated several of them, you won't know what works for students and what doesn't. You've got to have a little experience under your belt before you start trying to build a breakout from scratch.

I had to do at least five different breakouts with several classes before I could wrap my brain around creating one of my own. But, the time finally came where classroom teachers wanted breakouts very specific to their class needs, and I wanted to make sure we made this happen. The teachers really wanted one on To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and so we began. We started with a brainstorming session on the objectives of the breakout: what is it we really wanted the students to learn by doing this? Our breakout originally started as a review of what was happening in the book, but just doing a review didn't really seem exciting, and it didn't provide students with any background knowledge of the book.

Focus on the Topics

Since our first idea didn't seem promising, the next thing we did was to brainstorm concepts students should know prior to reading the book: the Scottsboro trial, Jim Crow laws, racism in the South, segregation, and the time period when the novel was set. We wanted students to understand how the events happening when Harper Lee wrote the novel affected her choice of setting for the novel. Once I had identified these topics, I felt I could start creating the breakout.

Getting a list of topics the teacher wants the students to know about, instead of focusing on specific objectives, makes it a little easier to create a breakout. (These are often similar, but the list of topics was easier for me to work with as I began development).

Find Models

Search for many different types of clues, then adapt your content to the type of clue that works best for your content. Once I had the topics, I began looking at other breakouts for different types of problems to solve. I wasn't reusing their clues (although there are many breakouts you can adapt with permission from the creator), but simply the types of clues. One used a QR code with a link to a video, one used a Google Form for an online quiz, and another had a map for use with the directional lock. I took these different clue ideas and tried to figure out what topics would go with each.

I also kept in mind that each lock should take at least two steps to solve. Students shouldn't read an article and then have a random number highlighted in the text that is the code to one of the locks. They should have to complete multiple steps to get to the final answer.

Use Your Databases

I also made sure I used our databases as a resource. The articles are great for building student's background information. I will often print out articles or provide links to online articles depending upon the situation.

In order to get students to learn about Jim Crow laws, I found a database article about the laws. I then created a quiz using a Google form. Once the students read the article and completed the quiz, they received a key from me to open a lock. I know this is taking a rather traditional take on the concept of breakouts, but some of the questions from the quiz were placed on the unit exam after reading the book and students performed well as they still remembered the answers from the breakout.

Another set of clues used articles from the databases and images related to several important events from the Civil Rights Movement: the murder of Emmett Till, Loving vs. The State of Virginia, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington, the Little Rock Nine, and the Edmund Pettis Bridge. If students read the articles, they could determine where each situation occurred. Then they mapped it and solved the directional lock.

Have Teachers Complete the Breakout First

Once the breakout was created, I invited the professional learning community to actually complete the breakout prior to using it with the students. I learned that having the teachers try it does two things: it allows us to troubleshoot to see where things aren't working as well as we would like and it lets the teachers learn how the game works so they are able to help the students as needed. We always have a few tweaks when we do this, so I usually only create one set of clues because I know they will need to be changed.

Once you have made your tweaks, you are ready to let your students try your breakout. We've had tremendous success with breakouts at my school and have created a number of them on a wide variety of topic areas. Building a breakout from scratch isn't easy, but it is worthwhile as you can focus in on your specific curriculum, help your students learn in a more interesting way, and allow them to memorably retain knowledge.

See the infographic "Breakouts: Lessons Learned" for a handy summary of Robyn's tips for creating breakouts.