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January STEM Challenge 4th Grade- Breakout EDU Geometry Review

January STEM Challenge: 4th Grade Geometry Breakout EDU

Breakout EDU games teach critical thinking, teamwork, complex problem solving, and can be used in all content areas.

Players have a fixed amount of time to solve a series of challenges, riddles, and mysteries. 
Watch a video about Breakout EDU 
4th Grade students just completed a Geometry Unit. This game was used as a review for the formative assessment. This game addresses the following objectives:

Math-Geometry Relationships:
  • Name and identify properties 1,2, 3-dimensional shapes; describe attributes of 3- dimensional shapes using appropriate geometric vocabulary (circle, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid, triangle, square, oval, hexagon, cube, rectangular prism, cylinder, pyramid, sphere, cone, parallelism, perpendicularity).
  • Select and use benchmarks to estimate measurements of 0, 45 (acute), 90 (right), and greater than 90 (obtuse) degree angles.
  • Classify angles as acute, obtuse, or right.
  • Using graph paper, construct triangles and quadrilaterals of specified areas.
Science- Impact of Science, Technology, and Human Activity
  • Identify a question that was asked, or could be asked, or a problem that needs to be solved when given a brief scenario (fiction or nonfiction of people working alone or in groups solving everyday problems or learning through discovery). 
  • Work with a group to solve a problem, giving due credit to the ideas and contributions of each member. 
Of course this game helped with team building, problem solving, critical thinking, and resilience.

The students started off by watching this introductory video:
(I got some help from OB staff members)


Since we have two Breakout EDU kits, they were divided into two groups. 
They were given very little instructions, and told if they were having trouble, they could use a Hint card to get assistance from me to solve the current puzzle they were trying to solve. 

The game required you to open several locks, by solving several clues.




The challenges were difficult and they required a lot of team work. They included measuring angles, classifying angles, reading maps, identifying types of polygons, decoding puzzles, and more!










In the end they solved the puzzles with time to spare!
Opening up the locks was motivation!






In the end, there was no treasure, but they students gained confidence in their Geometry skills. The students especially liked how the challenges built on the next one. They are excited about doing this again, and possibly creating their own games.


Check out the game in action


Check out breakoutedu.com



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