|
I was on a roll and energized last week after completing my 1960s breakout. My 6th graders are reading, or rereading, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory through a critical lens. We'll explore how the characters represent the seven deadly sins and discuss the changes the book has had since 1964. We're even going to talk about the controversy surrounding the proposed changes that made the news in February of this year.
Since state testing is right around the corner, I jumped into create-mode to design a breakout about the author, elements in the book, and the challenges and censorship surrounding Roald Dahl and the book. I had so much fun using Canva to design all my images for this one, so kudos to Canva for being such an amazing design space.
0 Comments
This breakout has been a year in the making. I was inspired to create it in April of last year when I decided to do a read aloud for my 7th grade gifted students of Death Coming Up the Hill by Chris Crowe. We were beginning the craziness of state testing, and they needed a break. To be honest, so did I. The book is a novel in verse written in haikus. It's an amazing story that takes place during the Vietnam War. They needed background, so I started a list of ideas for the escape.
Unfortunately, time was my enemy, so I put it on hold. About a month ago, I pulled out those notes and got to creating the breakout. I must say it's one of my favorites on the site, and I'm looking forward to using it as an introductory activity for the book and as a review before our state assessment. The Vocabulary reviews are mini-breakouts that are on the simpler side if students have a good grasp of affixes. They are divided into three units that correspond with the Themed Root Word Study Sets. Each Wednesday, my students are given a themed list of roots to study. I introduce them using a PowerPoint presentation. Students take notes using either a foldable or a designated notes page. We review throughout the week with Quizlet and Quizlet.Live games, and we use our knowledge of these affixes as we encounter new words in the texts we read independently and in class. They take a short quiz on their list the following Tuesday each week. At the end of each quarter, students take a unit test on the roots and affixes they learned up until that point. The breakouts are used as a review prior to each test. The entire word study unit is covered in three quarters, so that students go into their state tests with a vast vocabulary base.   Jailbreak was my first breakout on the site. I was just learning how to embed the Google Form for the lock codes into the Weebly, and I was playing around with creating bitmojis and avatars. I had already created a prison themed nonfiction text structure activity for TpT. That was the inspiration for the breakout theme. I even used aspects of that activity to incorporate into the breakout. Initially, the JailBreak was extremely tough. I had hints dropped everywhere. Students had to click throughout the site to get the hints. After testing it with my gifted 6th graders, I realized that it was just too complex to complete in a 55-minute class period. My students helped me to make the revisions to simplify it more. I added the map to show which images and keys needed to be used, and I clarified instructions to guide students through the mission. Although it still is one of the more challenging of all the breakouts, it is a great review of language arts topics. My suggestion is to use it after students have experience with the easier breakouts.  My discovery of digital breakouts came during EdCampEVA in the summer of 2017. I've always loved puzzle games, and I was intrigued at how these digital adventures could engage students in problem solving and critical thinking skills while also encouraging collaboration. I got right to work exploring the BreakoutEDU site to see how these games were set up. YouTube became my best resource for videos on setting up Google Forms to create the lock boxes. I knew that I wanted to house these breakouts on one portal, and I just loved the look and ease of using Weebly; hence, EscapeEdventures.com was born. Over the past few years, I've added themed breakouts that review units of study. My PLC members have been such a help in testing out the items, and our students have enjoyed the break from traditional instruction and review. I love when a student asks, "When will we get to do another breakout?" Their enthusiasm motivates me to revise and create breakouts that will entertain and challenge them. I decided that I wanted the site to remain a free resource for teachers looking to add some variety to their teaching. For those who may not have the time to go through each before sharing with their students, I do have the answer keys available through my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I absolutely love creating these breakouts, and I hope that you and your students enjoy them.  |
Archives
May 2023
Categories |
|
If you enjoy these breakouts, please visit my TpT store for answer keys and to see more products created by me.
© 2018-2023 Escape Edventures |