Breakout Boxes Activities!

Do you have a group of students who love a good challenge and are EXTREMELY competitive? How do you think your students would do in an Escape the Room type of challenge? As it is frowned upon to lock students in a room unattended, Breakout Boxes give us a unique alternative!

Breakout Boxes consist of one larger box, one smaller box, one clamp that can hold several locks, and 4 locks. The smaller box can go in the bigger box, and the smaller box can hold a "prize" of your choosing (I usually do extra credit towards an assignment, or a homework pass, or, an appropriate snack of their choosing, because, you know, food.) The students have to solve a series of clues to unlock the locks to get to the prize. 

A sample Breakout Box. Picture source: Programming Librarian. 

I have run these a few times in my Chemistry classroom, and it even gets the quietest student engaged and excited about what might be inside. I usually run them on days we have half a day, or before an exam to help the students review. Because I teach in New York State, they usually involve Chemistry Regents Questions, and students can use their Chemistry Reference Table and their notes to help navigate the problems. They can even use white boards/ scratch paper and calculators as necessary. 

I am trying something with my Forensics students where they get to write their own clues and answers, and I get to pick the best clues (so they can't FULLY cheat). 

There is a small learning curve with setting up the boxes, but the Breakout Boxes website is GREAT at helping navigate this curve. Let me know if you want to see some of my sample lessons. I'm currently trying to design a Breakout Box for every unit I have, and I can work with you to design your own lessons!