Easter Breakout Box

This Easter breakout box activity is fun and engaging for students. Students get to practice their problem-solving skills in order to open the locks on the breakout boxes.  Students work collaboratively to break into the box that is locked with several different types of locks.

The great thing about ”Breakout Boxes” is that they can be geared toward subject area, and for most age groups. You can do this activity without boxes, but the boxes add a new experience to the activity.

I purchased 4 toolboxes, hasps, and 4 locks for each box.  I have more information about the locks at the bottom of this post. 

Breakout box games require “the four C’s”…

Getting Started with Breakout Boxes

I put the various tasks in manila folders.  I have 6 students in a group.   Several students work together to solve a problem in the manila envelope while someone else solves another problem.  Since there is a 45-minute time limit, students need to work quickly.  If a team has difficulty solving their problem, someone else in their group can help.  They need to work cooperatively to problem solve and get the locks off.  Not everyone will get the locks off, and that is okay.  We don’t always succeed the first time we attempt something.

You can also go to Breakout Edu to learn more about breakout boxes.  

Making Compound Words

One of the tasks my students had to solve was to put the eggs together to form compound words.  You need to use the compound words jellybean, railroad, popcorn, butterfly and flashlight in order to solve the maze.  I also put a few extra eggs in such as baseball, bathtub, pancake, etc. that are not on the recording sheet.   

Do not use the words grasshopper, fireworks, sidewalk, fishbowl, basketball, ladybug, or airplane on your plastic eggs.

After making the compound words, they had to find the compound words on the paper using up, down, left, and right arrows.  I laminate the paper and have my students put a dot on the compound words from the eggs.  Then they connect the dots.  This is the code for the directional lock  (up, right, up, left, up).  I explained to my students how to use the lock and how to clear it by pushing down on the lock two times.

Counting Money

Another task that they completed was finding the secret word by counting the money and matching it to the value.   Then they had to put the letter that was printed on the card to solve the code for the word lock which is “treat.“

Easter Egg Sort

The next task they had to complete was an Easter sort with adjectives, nouns, pronouns, and verbs. I write the words using invisible ink.  They had to use the UV flashlight to see the words printed on the back of the eggs.  If you want, you could write the clues using a marker.  The combination for this lock is 4, 2, 1, 4.

You decide on how many words you want in each column and program your lock to match it.

              

Breakout Box Supplies

Here is my affiliate link for the items that I purchased from Amazon.

Wordlock PL-004-BK 5-Dial Combination Padlock,

 Black Master Lock 1500iD Speed Dial Combination Lock, Assorted Colors Master Lock 120Q 

Solid Brass Body Padlock, 3/4-Inch Wide Body, 5/32-Inch Shackle Diameter, 4-Pack Findway 5 UV 

Ultra Violet Blacklight 9 LED Flashlight Torch Light Outdoors Novelty Place [Spy Pen] Invisible 

Ink Pen with Built-in UV Light – Magic Marker For Drawing, Secret Message Writing, Currency 

Checking, Security Marking (Pack of 4) Master Lock 421 Lockout Hasp with Vinyl Coated Handle, 

1-1/2″ Inside Jaw Diameter HT®The Ultimate 4 Digit Combination Padlock Set – Set Your Own(Not TSA Approved Lock) (Blue)

 Stanley 016011R Series 2000 16-Inch Tool Box

Check out this March Breakout Box.