Cool Tool Alert -- Blast from the "Past"

 My post for you this week is a bit of a nudge, reminding you of one of the most engaging tools we have to foster the 4 C's of collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking -- and that's Breakout EDU.

Breakouts are a great way to introduce a concept or reinforce a concept in a fun and and engaging way. There are a couple ways to do Breakouts with your kids: digital (all online) and with the kit. Digital Breakouts can be done as a whole class, in small groups, or individually. When using the kit, working in small groups or as a whole class are your options.

Just to kind of entice you a bit, I spent some time scrolling through the options. Here are some Breakouts I found:

K-2:

• A Need to Eat (what plants and animals need to survive)
• A Perfect Habitat (different animal habitats)
• A Visit to the Zoo (addition and subtraction)
• Are We There Yet? (fiction and nonfiction features)
• Array Blaster (practice with arrays)
• Back in Time (learn about historical figures)

3-4:

• 3,2,1...Blastoff! (phases of the moon)
• A Pacific Problem (water cycle)
• Circus Americana (civic responsibility)
• Composting Catastrophe (composting and the environment)
• Cracking the Dewey Code (learning the Dewey Decimal System)

5-6:

• A Day at the Beach (optics, mirrors, lenses)
• A Night at the Movies: Who's That Quadrilateral? (quadrilaterals)
• Elementary Dear Poet (elements of poetry)
• End Marks, Ellipses, and Ephones (end punctuation)
• Every Vote Counts (the election process)

7-8:

• Ace the Slope or There is No Hope (graphing)
• Airport Arrival (verbs)
• Aliens Explain Alternate Energy (alternative energy sources)
• Articles of Confederation and Constitution (beginnings of our government)
• The Color Scheme (color theory)

Worried about how to do one of these activities? Don't. Your building tech and I are available to set it up, moderate, model, run it for you!

How do you know what's available? Well, you can hop onto the Breakout EDU website and do some browsing, or -- even easier -- is give me or your building tech information on what you're looking for and let us find some game options for you! Some games require a subscription to use, so each building tech and I have a subscription so we can find games for you. We can bring back suggestions for you, set up the kit for you (if you're using the kit), provide you with the answer key, and be in the room to run the game or assist you. I LOVE doing Breakouts with kids because I literally get to see thinking become visible. I get to see natural leaders emerge. I get to see kids be excited at solving a problem they persevered through. I get to see them have fun learning when they don't even realize they're learning!

Have you used Breakout EDU before? If so, please share your experience in the comments! I think that it is so valuable for us to hear from each other how powerful this learning tool is! And I'm super excited to maybe get the chance to come do a Breakout with you and your kids 🤞