[ISLMA-Share] 'escape room' library lesson

Email list for the Illinois School Library Media Association islma at list.railslibraries.info
Fri Oct 14 15:45:24 CDT 2016 

Here's what our Social Science Department shared with me about using the
breakout kits with staff:

   - All locks and initial lesson plans were found at the same site
   mentioned by many here already ( <http://www.breakoutedu.com>
   www.breakoutedu.com)
   - Deb Endress (at ROE 8) was a big influence on them and a big advocate
   of breakout lessons. If you are interested in learning more, contact her (
   dendress at gmail.com) or take her class "Collaborative Inquiry"for some
   fun PD hours.

To demonstrate the variety of questions and disciplines a breakout activity
could encompass, our faculty was divided into six teams of 10-12 at the
institute day.  This was also supposed to be a team-building activity, so
the teams were mixes of age, gender, content areas, etc.  The teams were
spread throughout the commons, where the Social Science Department
supervised a head table which included 10 different locks (digits, letters,
and directional) and "black light" flashlights.  Each team was given a
packet of materials and two Chromebooks.  A whistle sounded and we had one
hour to solve the game by opening all of the locks.  Here's what happened:

The packet had a color photograph of the 10 different locks and variety of
puzzles printed in different colored ink or on colored paper.  We soon
learned that the color of the puzzle matched the color of some of the
locks, which helped narrow down which lock we needed to try.  Some of the
puzzles:

   - The word search puzzle answers filled in blanks to reveal *To Kill A
   Mockingbird*.  We call it *TKAM* here at RTHS, which opened a lock.
   - There was a piece of paper with holes in it that, when set on a
   completed sudoku, revealed a number to enter in an equation whose answer
   opened another lock.
   - When we put together cut-up images of our old school and new school,
   an invisible-ink question asked us to subtract one from the other (turned
   out to be street addresses, not year constructed) to open a lock.
   - One puzzle asked for numbers about the staff (how many are engaged,
   how many are RTHS alumni, how many had children attend RTHS, etc.) which
   were then plugged into an equation to open another lock.
   - One puzzle was a map of the U.S. with dozens of National Parks
   marked.  Questions about staff members' recent vacations led to the
   solution for a directional lock.
   - Two puzzles led us through the students' and staffs' respective
   handbooks (online via Chromebooks) to answer questions (course offerings,
   graduation requirements, staff parking space numbers, school calendar etc.)
   that opened two other locks.
   - A treasure map led pairs from each team to five different rooms across
   the building, where the answers to math problem at each room were plugged
   into an equation to open another lock.


My personal take-away of this activity as a staff team-building exercise:

   - Putting together an activity like this takes a lot of time,
   organization, and practice.  Even with six teachers collaborating to create
   it, there was a lot to do.  (If I were teaching this lesson to a class with
   many sections, I'd worry that the last class of the day might have heard
   answers from friends.  Or would I need to create many different lessons?)
   - We needed everyone on our team to finish with 3 minutes to spare.  One
   person was our runner back and forth to the lock table, one person
   organized all of the answers coming in on one page, and the rest of us
   paired up to divide and conquer, trading puzzles when there was a need for
   fresh eyes.  (Only two teams finished in the hour, so trying to fit a
   similar lesson within a class period with students would be an exercise in
   not making it too long.)
   - If you're going to color-code questions to locks, stickers on the
   paper might be easier to identify than ink.
   - This was a great way to talk with staff you might not usually see,
   either through teamwork or asking them questions because they were part of
   a clue.  (It would be a great way to shake up a class of students set in
   their comfort zones.)
   - Teachers are like students in that buy-in for participation is
   essential.  One staff team quit after 15 minutes and read their phones or
   the newspaper.  (Seriously??)


Our Social Science Chair, Carol Schneider, used her breakout kit in two
sections of American History today.  If you would like more information
from her, you may reach her at cschneider at rthsd212.org.

Ann Marie Jinkins
Librarian
Rochelle Township High School
1401 Flagg Road
Rochelle,  IL 61068

(815)562-4161, ext. 4112
ajinkins at rthsd212.org

On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 8:33 AM, Email list for the Illinois School Library
Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:

> Sorry to keep you waiting--I've been playing email tag with our social
> science department since the "escape room" lesson at the institute day last
> week.  The session ran long and they were disappointingly vague on details
> about crafting the lesson--no links or handouts.  I have a scheduled
> appointment to see the dept. chair, so I will send info after that.
>
>
>
> Ann Marie Jinkins
> Librarian
> Rochelle Township High School
> 1401 Flagg Road
> Rochelle,  IL 61068
>
> (815)562-4161, ext. 4112
> ajinkins at rthsd212.org
>
> On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 9:08 AM, Email list for the Illinois School
> Library Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>
>> I think we all would haha....It sounds like so much fun!!! I just placed
>> an order for the Breakout EDU.....
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 8:59 AM, Email list for the Illinois School
>> Library Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>>
>>> I would also like a lesson plan for the library escape box.
>>>
>>> Sue Genenbacher
>>> Media Specialist
>>> Southeastern High School #337
>>>
>>> On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 8:44 AM, Email list for the Illinois School
>>> Library Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Ann,
>>>>
>>>> How did things go?  Feel free to send any feedback my way or it looks
>>>> like others would here would like to know more about these kinds of lessons
>>>> too.  Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> Chuck Atteberry
>>>> Roanoke-Benson High School
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Oct 5, 2016 at 1:58 PM, Email list for the Illinois School
>>>> Library Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Chuck,
>>>>>
>>>>> Our social science department is teaching this as a learning strategy
>>>>> to the whole faculty as part of our institute day on October 7.  I can send
>>>>> you some details next week.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ann Marie Jinkins
>>>>> Librarian
>>>>> Rochelle Township High School
>>>>> 1401 Flagg Road
>>>>> Rochelle,  IL 61068
>>>>>
>>>>> (815)562-4161, ext. 4112
>>>>> ajinkins at rthsd212.org
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Oct 5, 2016 at 1:47 PM, Email list for the Illinois School
>>>>> Library Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Anyone done a lesson in your library that's like an 'escape room'
>>>>>> where people have to solve clues to 'get out'?  A Biology teacher here
>>>>>> wants to try this second semester as a way to recap the first semester's
>>>>>> content and while i've recently become aware of the escape room phenomena,
>>>>>> i'm still not sure how to proceed.  I'd be open to any suggestions in other
>>>>>> words!  Thanks!
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Chuck Atteberry
>>>>>> Roanoke-Benson High School
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Work with the living and bring the dead to life."  -author unknown
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> ISLMA-Share mailing list
>>>>>> islma at list.railslibraries.info
>>>>>> For list archives and subscription options, visit:
>>>>>> http://list.railslibraries.info/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/islma
>>>>>> To unsubscribe, send a message to:
>>>>>> islma-leave at list.railslibraries.info
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> ISLMA-Share mailing list
>>>>> islma at list.railslibraries.info
>>>>> For list archives and subscription options, visit:
>>>>> http://list.railslibraries.info/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/islma
>>>>> To unsubscribe, send a message to:
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Chuck Atteberry
>>>> Roanoke-Benson High School
>>>>
>>>> "Work with the living and bring the dead to life."  -author unknown
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Ryan Lambert
>> Farmington School District
>> District Media Specialist/Teacher
>> Theater Director
>> Winter Guard Coach
>> 309-245-1000 Ext 6731
>> rlambert at dist265.com
>>
>> "The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything but
>> they make the most of everything."
>>
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>
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