As many of you are already aware, there is a new activity sweeping the world. The escape room which involves groups of people being placed in locked rooms and provided with a series of clues to help them “escape”. It is a timed, pressure cooker of an outing! Interestingly, this craze is now sweeping the educational world as well, and as usual CIS is on top of the trend! As one of the PYP coordinators, it is my job to support the teaching and learning in the classroom, and I am constantly looking for meaningful ways to make this happen.

The Approaches to Learning (ATLs) as set out in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) are deliberate skills and strategies that help drive teaching and learning within the classroom. ATLs are divided into five categories; thinking, communication, research, self management, and social skills. We teach these skills through inquiry, and ensure that the needs of each learner are met in a collaborative environment emphasising teamwork.

The CIS mission statement, “Engage. Enlighten. Empower.”, is not just words on paper. It is a philosophy that we bring to life. To push skill development in kindergarten, I created an activity with Mishelle Lyons and her class that I felt would bring the CIS mission statement to life. Using ideas and resources provided by Breakout EDU, we created and prepared a skills based breakout-themed critical thinking and problem solving session for the students.

Setting the scene at SK

On separate days the students of Ms Mishelle’s and Ms Crystal’s SK classes returned from recess to find a number of Dr Seuss books in their classroom. Neither teacher knew where they had come from. But as they had found the books, both teachers read “Fox in Sox” to the students.

Later in the day, the students returned from lunch to find a strange black box on the floor of their classroom. The box was locked with 4 different locks; a key lock, a directional lock, a four number combination lock and a word lock. The students were of course curious and full of questions. They knew something new and exciting was happening. We had created the perfect conditions for learning!

Students inquiry

Both teachers expertly led the students on an initial inquiry about the box and locks so the students would have some information about what they would need to know to help them solve the mystery. Teachers then made a video call to me (in full view of the students) to see if I had any idea about where the box came from, and what may be inside. Of course I had no idea, but I did have a strange envelope on my desk that said, Fox? Locks? Box? Together we decided that I should come to the class immediately and see if we could work together to solve this mystery!

When I arrived I could literally feel the excitement in the air. The children shared all of their information with me, and were eager to discover what information I could add. My envelope contained a “parking lot” for the locks, and 4 more envelopes. We discussed why we might need a “parking lot” for the locks and one of the students correctly identified that we would put the locks into the parking lot once we opened them. We then decided as a class that we would divide into 4 groups, and each group would “take” an envelope and hope it would help us solve the mystery!

In one envelope there was a poem which directed the students to the classroom library. Once in the library they found the Dr Seuss books that had arrived in their classroom earlier in the day. They would also find a sock. Once some more digging was done, they located a key. This led to much excitement in both classes! The students had realised that there really were clues and things hidden around the room! Problem one solved, a key to the first lock!

In the second group’s envelope was a page from The Cat in the Hat. They read it and were not sure how it connected to the lock problem. With some prompting and expert questions from their teachers, they noticed that on the back of the page was the sentence, “This clue opens the directional lock.” There were a few shouts of excitement as they reread the passage with a new focus. With the help of other classmates, they discovered the words up, up, up and down, down in the passage. Problem two solved, directions for the directional lock!

The third group had a math problem. In their envelope they found four cards showing socks and numbers on the bottom. It also contained a highlighter pen and some sort of light. The light of course caused huge levels of excitement and questions. I asked the students from both classes why they thought they had a highlighter. They decided they needed to write something. They quickly agreed that they needed to highlight the correct number of socks on the card. Was that all?, I asked, and why the light? They began flashing the light everywhere, but it did nothing. They went over to the box and shone it on the locks. Nothing. They quickly regrouped and began to problem solve. The clue must be on the 4 pieces of paper, but where? One student held up a paper and another shone the light on it. Just like magic, there was a number in invisible ink that was only visible if the light was shining on it. There were shouts of excitement as everyone came over to see the magic light. Problem three solved, the four numbers for the combination!

The final group had a word problem. They discovered a bunch of puzzle pieces in their envelope. Each piece had a word on it. After reading all of the sight words, the group decided that some of the words rhymed and they could be joined together to form a green egg! Once they matched the pieces and created the eggs, they knew a clue had to be close. After some careful observation skills, they noticed all of the words were underlined except for one. Mouse. Problem four solved, the word “mouse” for the final lock.

The entire class gathered on the carpet to present their findings and explain how they had solved the puzzle. This activity was an excellent example of the children problem solving and the use of critical thinking in a collaborative environment. The excitement and enthusiasm of the students was palpable. After some intentionally chosen questions by Ms Mishelle and Ms Crystal, we were ready to try to open the box. Students who said they wanted to be risk takers volunteered to try to unlock one of the four locks. One by one the students applied the knowledge they had uncovered, to open the locks. Each time one opened there was a cheer from the class! Once they were all open, the students predicted what they might find inside the box. Answers included a live fox, a puppet, chocolates, and a metal robot! It turns out that Fox left a box full of sox for the students to decorate.

This escape activity was a wonderful example of how children’s skills can be developed through inquiry and collaboration. The level of engagement within the class was outstanding. Each and every student participated and encouraged one another during the activity. The looks of satisfaction and accomplishment on their faces were so rewarding for us as facilitators. Mishelle and Crystal did an outstanding job of guiding, and questioning, to uncover their students’ skills and confidence.

Teachers inquiry

Based on the success of the first two breakouts in SK, I decided to try the session with grade 1 teachers during a co-planning session. The breakout concept is an excellent tool for team building. In order to be an effective team, teachers need to communicate and collaborate. The teachers’ box was based on inquiry, not Dr Seuss! Teachers were only told to bring “Making the PYP Happen (the IB guide to the PYP curriculum framework)” and a device to read QR codes. They had no idea what was planned for them.

They were given the box with a QR code attached to it. The QR code explained that there were clues to solve based on their knowledge of inquiry. Once they solved the clue, they would be able to open the box. They immediately got to work. It was interesting to observe the different ways individuals approached the task. Eventually, they agreed on putting all the information out, sharing it, and then working on the clues one by one as a team. They did an amazing job working together, problem solving, encouraging each other and ultimately succeeding. They opened the box and found chocolates!

This session was so successful that next we decided to create a breakout exercise for grade 1 students for their Sharing the Planet unit.

I look forward to creating another engagement like this with other classes. So, remember if a locked box shows up in your room, you know what to do!