YMS QUARTERLY

          Instead of watching a movie, or reading about Christmas in France, most French classes at YMS participated in a “Breakout EDU” session.  A “Breakout” is an ultra-engaging classroom escape game, that encourages critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration and teamwork to successfully unlock the box by solving clues. Students had to “unwrap presents”, find hidden clues, and research information to piece together clues, and determine codes to unlock the many locks that held together the large locked box.  Some classes were more successful than others. Students learned very quickly that all members of the class needed to be included and work together in order to unlock the box in the set amount of time: 35 minutes!  Groups that did not, were not as successful as those that did.  Not only did students learn about how Christmas is celebrated in France through the Breakout EDU experience, they learned about each other’s strengths and how important listening to everyone and collaborating can be.  Will we do more of this in class? Absolutely!​