Zoo Summer Camp Mystery

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
English Language Arts
Mathematics

Grade(s)

K, 1, 2, 3

Overview

This activity is a digital breakout to enhance a unit with animal standards or for classes that have a field trip to the Birmingham Zoo. It can be used before or after the field trip or during the unit. It is an activity that will build collaborative and critical thinking. It can be used as a whole group activity for K-2 classrooms or for teachers/classrooms that are not familiar to digital breakouts. It can be an activity for small groups in K-5 rooms if students are familiar with digital breakouts. 

This Learning Activity was created in partnership with the Birmingham Zoo. 

Phase

Before/Engage
After/Explain/Elaborate
Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 1

DLCS18.1.R5

Locate and curate information from digital sources to answer research questions.

UP:DLCS18.1.R5

Vocabulary

  • video
  • text
  • image
  • webpage
  • ebook

Knowledge

Students know:
  • search engines help to locate information.
  • computers give access to many different forms of information.
  • devices can record pictures, drawings, videos, and text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • choose and type or say key words and phrases into a search engine which results in specific information pertaining to a topic when given support and guidance from an adult.
  • find information about a specific topic or to answer a specific question using a digital resource such as a webpage, ebook, and/or video when given support and guidance from an adult.
  • record their learning into a digital device using video, text, and/or pictures/drawings when given support and guidance from an adult.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • a search engine will find specific resources and information using key words.
  • answers to questions can be found in many different digital resources such as a webpages, ebooks, and/or video.
  • they can show what they have learned using a digital resource such as video, text, and or pictures/drawings.
Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 2

DLCS18.2.R5

Locate and curate information from digital sources to answer research questions.

UP:DLCS18.2.R5

Vocabulary

  • video
  • text
  • image
  • webpage
  • ebook
  • search engine
  • key words
  • phrases

Knowledge

Students know:
  • search engines use key words and phrases to find specific information.
  • devices give access to many different forms of information.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • choose and type key words and phrases into a search engine that results in specific information pertaining to a topic when given support and guidance from an adult.
  • use + symbol which combines to words/phrases and quotation marks which tell the search engine to look for an entire phrase.
  • find information about a specific topic or to answer a specific question using a digital resource such as a webpage, ebook, and/or video.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • a search engine will find specific resources and information for you based on key words.
  • answers to questions can be found in many different digital resources such as a webpages, ebooks, and/or video.
  • one can focus a search by using the + symbol and quotation marks around words or phrases one wishes to search for as a whole.
Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 3

DLCS18.3.R5

Locate and curate information from digital sources to answer research questions.

UP:DLCS18.3.R5

Vocabulary

  • curate
  • keyword
  • search engine
  • database

Knowledge

Students know:
  • that information to research questions can be obtained from digital sources.
  • how to use resources to organize information.
  • how to use resources to present or share with others.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • create a list of keywords or phrases to enter into a search engine and/or database such as the Alabama Virtual Library.
  • use additional words or punctuation to narrow search such as AND (+), OR, NOT (
  • ), and quotation marks.
  • organize information.
  • share information by creating a digital resource.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • information can be located from a digital source to answer research questions.
  • information can be organzied and shared by creating a digital resource.
ELA21.K.2
ELA21.1.42
MA19.1.2

Learning Objectives

The students will:

  • use information on the digital breakout to solve problems.
  • analyze patterns and apply observations.
  • work collaboratively in groups for a common goal: breaking out.
  • build inferencing skills by reading the mystery and clues and then using these clues to solve the digital breakout.
  • enhance communication skills by working together in pairs, groups, or a whole class to complete and solve the digital breakout.
  • use high-order thinking skills and perseverance to solve the mystery/problem posed in the digital breakout.
  • solve word problems that call for the addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20. Students may use objects, a drawing, or equations to represent the problem.

Activity Details

**This activity is a great addition to an animal unit of study or as a culmination activity after the unit or a field trip to the zoo. 

The goal of the breakout is to use the skills in the learning objectives to analyze and apply information on the digital breakout to discover codes to unlock locks.

Teacher Directions: 

1. If students have not participated in a digital breakout, try this one called SOAR,  as a class. It is a great introduction into solving digital breakouts.  

2. After completing SOAR, discuss what strategies students needed to complete the breakout: cooperation, communication, perseverance, and problem-solving.

3. Introduce the Zoo Summer Camp Mystery digital breakout.  Explain to the students that they will need to work together to solve the mystery and breakout of this digital game. 

4. The teacher will project the game on the board/screen.  If you have older students, you may want to complete this in the computer lab or with students in pairs sharing a device.  (This shortened URL can be used to allow students to log in independently, or you can log them in: https://goo.gl/jwfdej.)

5. The teacher will read the mystery/story at the top of the digital breakout.  The teacher will ask: Do you notice anything that might give us a clue to solve the mystery? (Students will probably tell you to click the pictures or the hyperlinked word)

6.  Work through the digital breakout together. When you get to the "Giraffe Feeding", K-1 students may want to access math counters to solve it. Students may also use drawings to solve the problem.

7. After completing the digital breakout, discuss how the group improved from the first digital breakout (SOAR). 

Assessment Strategies

The breakout has a self-checking feature built in and students/groups will be provided a confirmation screen at the end notifying that the group broke out successfully.  

Classes can evaluate their work during the process of breaking out with these questions:  

  • What was the most difficult part of this breakout?
  • Which part of the breakout made you proud to solve?
  • What skills did you need to complete this breakout?
  • How could we improve our communication skills in the next breakout? 

Variation Tips

This Digital Breakout can be done as a whole group, in small groups, or individually. Before assigning this Digital Breakout in small groups or individually, I would highly recommend doing another breakout from the Digital Breakout site like Catch the Bus or Soar as a whole class, so students can understand the structure of a Digital Breakout.

Background / Preparation

Before playing Breakout with the class, you may want to take the time to work through the Breakout yourself to have an understanding of how to play the Breakout. This is a teacher answer sheet with codes and where to find them in the Digital breakout: https://goo.gl/Kiqi7U.

DO NOT share answers with students.  Please allow them to use clues they discover to figure out the lock codes. 

K-2 Digital Breakout
https://sites.google.com/hcs-students.net/birminghamzoosummercampmystery/home

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

missmac100
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