Most of my students made it out of the forest alive.
Whew. 😉
Watching their engagement as they immersed themselves in the breakout activity was thrilling. I was so proud of their problem solving and teamwork. Now the kids were chomping at the bit to share their experiences. So we charted advice to our future selves about things we can do to be successful during our next classroom breakout adventure.
Mere seconds later, it became obvious that the kids had tapped into something HUGE. Every bit of advice was also a REASON to engage in more escape rooms.
We were onto something with these escape rooms. Not only can they reinforce and/or introduce content, but they also do so much more! Escape room activities magically tap into soft skills that we talk about and encourage every single day until we’re sick of ourselves. Or is that just me? 😏
Take a look; you’ll be inspired! Then scroll down for a FREE classroom escape, as well as a link for tips you can use to create your own breakout.
Escape Room Success Principles
Successful escapes during an escape room adventure, require one to…
- Read carefully, read everything, and reread.
- Work together.
- Listen to others.
- Follow the written directions.
- Talk out your disagreements to avoid wasting time.
- Organize your material.
- Go slowly. Rushing doesn’t help.
- Contribute to the group.
- Resist yelling out answers and ideas.
- Focus on one step at a time. Don’t be tempted to go ahead.
- Think outside of the box. Every one of those success principles is something that we WANT kids to learn. However, saying something and pushing kids to actually practice the skill are two different animals. This self-realization is what will make all the difference the next time such skills are required.
Too busy to create your own? Fortunately, there are many ready-made escape room activities available. HERE is even a link to a FREE one!