The Easiest-Ever St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt . . . Digital Escape Room Style
This blog will show you how to keep your students engaged while computing, comparing, and converting fractions in a 360° digital escape room on St. Patrick’s Day.
St Patrick’s Day is one of the most splendid days of the school year. A sea of green in classrooms and hallways makes school feel like you are in the midst of a celebration.
And, you probably need a little celebration in mid-March?!?!? Am I right?
After a long school year, the green cupcakes, leprechaun cut-outs, and pics of pots of gold bring feelings of a lucky new start to mid-March.
It’s one of the last holidays of the school year so you are probably looking forward doing it up big.
Ms. Volz, my 5th grade teacher, had a St Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt that got all of us students excited!
The whole class went about the room in teams of besties with fingers stained from far waaaaay too much green dye # 3 covering fluffy St Patrick’s Day cupcakes computing, comparing, and converting fractions.
In this case, my bestie and I were trying to beat the two smartest boys in class. Unfortunately (for us), the boys beat us that year.
But, in every cloud, there is a silver lining . . . in the 5th grade . . . the sting of that St Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt loss launched a laser focus on mastering math.
I was determined that should there ever be another competition involving computing, comparing, and converting fractions I would win a coveted green cupcake!
St Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunts During Covid-19
Now, you probably want your classroom filled with the same air of enthusiasm and academic determination you remember from your favorite holiday celebrations in elementary school.
As a result ofthe crazy school year we’ve had, you might be wondering what is the best way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day: tried and true (i.e., physical), or fun and new (i.e., digital)?
There are several reasons a physical St Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt might not work this school year:
- Remote learning
- Sickness or student body quarantine
- Pull-out classes for ESOL, speech, or special ed students
- Social distancing requirements
But . . . I know, I know . . . you want to share the same dose of learning and fun to all your students.
No worries, I’ve got your back!
Right now, I’m going to show you how you can still immerse your students in so much St Patrick’s Day fun they won’t want math class to end!
Seriously.
Infuse Tech into your St Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt
Technology is a great way to build students’ enthusiasm and academic grit.
It seems like each week there is a new educational game to be played with my students. My current favorites over the past decade have been: Kahoot, Gimkit, Nearpod, Baamboozle, and Charlala.
After wearing these games out, I decided to up the ante and create my own digital game for my students.
I wanted to recreate an escape room because my students love the aspect of a scavenger hunt in the classroom.
Think about it. It might just be time to replace the old-fashioned physical St Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt with some easy-peasy tech!
Yep! It’s time. Out with the old and in with the new fun and easy tech!
Say this with me: Digital. Escape. Room.
Let’s try that again: 360! Digital. Escape. Room.
The 360 part is key to stepping up your St Patrick’s Day fun!
A 360 digital St Patrick’s Day escape room is a good fit for, um . . . how do we even refer to 2020?
Let’s just say this: A unique 360 digital escape room is a great fit for such a unique school year. Right?!?!?
A Digital Escape Room filled with Friendly Little Fractions (FLFs)
So, let’s get back to your St Patrick’s Day fractions lesson plan.
Wonder what might happen when you click on one of those numbers inside the 360 image?
You guessed it . . . FLFs (friendly little fraction) problems appear!
But, because it’s an escape room, the FLFs come in the form of a puzzle. (FYI: The links become active – and the game appears on your entire screen – after it’s purchased!)
For example, students compute, compare, and convert fractions. Many of the fractions have the same denominator, but there are a few with fraction problems with unlike denominators.
360° Digital Escape Room Benefits
Indeed, one of the biggest benefits of a St Patrick’s Day 360° Digital Escape Room for fractions is the opportunity for mastery of academic content that students get.
First, because they are so engaged in clues, puzzles, and escape strategies, students are more likely to build neural connections related to FLFs:
- Adding fractions with like denominators
- Subtracting fractions with like denominators
- Adding fractions with unlike denominators
- Subtracting fractions with unlike denominators
- Comparing fractions with like denominators
- Comparing fractions with unlike denominators
- Converting fractions
Second, in addition to mastering fractions, a St Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt in the form of a 360° Digital Escape Room allows you to focus on nurturing students’:
- Growth mindset
- Grit
- Communication skills
Let’s take a quick look!
Digital Escape Rooms and Growth Mindset
As a teacher, some of your highest aspirations are likely related to teaching your students how to:
- keep working at a problem until they have the answer,
- apply what they know,
- believe in their ability to find the answer,
- turn a problem inside out and upside down,
- find more than one way to solve a problem, and
- dig a little deeper
The novelty of a St Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt in a 360° digital escape room format provides the fertile soil to develop these growth mindset qualities.
Because it is novel stimuli, students’ brains are already more primed for learning than if you were to plop a printable down on their desk.
Congratulations to you!
You’ve just set the stage for strengthening neural networks.
Digital Escape Room Helps You Praise the Right Way
A 360° digital escape room is the perfect fodder to praise students the right way.
Is there a wrong way to PRAISE STUDENTS?
Yep, you bet there is!
Here are a few tips on the RIGHT WAY to praise students from 30 years of Growth Mindset research. When providing feedback to students,
- Praise students’ efforts
- Comment on their hard work
- Admire their determination
Don’t praise students simply for getting the correct answer as this leads to a “fixed mindset” i.e., I got the answer right because I’m smart; when students face unknown or very challenging situations they are more likely to think, “I’m not smart enough.”
360° Digital Escape Room Builds Grit
A St Patrick’s Day 360 Digital Escape Room Scavenger Hunt also gives you the right context to praise students’ grit! Let’s take a look:
Let’s suppose your student clicked on the #1 at the end of the rainbow in the above St Patrick’s Day 360° digital escape room scavenger hunt and this picture pops up.
How do you think they’ll respond?
Hmmmm….let’s have a think.
Students must first recognize this as a jigsaw puzzle. Most will.
What’s next?
That’s a great question!
Do they know the jigsaw pieces are moveable? Some will. Some won’t.
Do they know there is an audible ring and a FLF (friendly little fraction) problem awaiting them when the put the puzzle together?
Students have to figure all this out – AND, they need to solve the solve the fraction problem!
The St Patrick’s Day 360 Digital Escape Room Scavenger Hunt is loaded with puzzles and fraction problems like this!
A grit building activity for sure. Definitely worthy of a leprechaun-green iced chocolate muffin IMO.
Digital Escape Rooms Strengthen Communication and Collaboration
You likely have students working in socially distanced collaborative teams because you know the research says that peers talking to peers about math helps students’ communication and math skills.
In this St Patrick’s Day digital escape room example, students will need to make at least three decisions:
- roles within their group for assembling the puzzle,
- solving the math problem that appears when the puzzle is complete, and
- recording the answer on the digital escape room answer key.
As a teacher, you are in the one of two fortunate positions:
- Either you facilitate this problem-solving and collaboration (while encouraging grit).
- Or, you observe small groups making these decisions without your guidance.
I don’t know about you, but I feel such a warm tingle in my heart when I observe the latter.
So . . . a 360° digital escape room may be the pot of gold that kicks off your St Patrick’s celebrations.
Summary
Grab your St Patrick’s Day 360 Digital Escape Room Scavenger Hunt today!
The 360 Digital Escape Room for St Patrick’s Day will work for in-person AND virtual learning.
Here is a short video for your students on the history of St Patrick’s Day.
Wishing you all the best for a joyous day of teaching!
free bonus resource
Want to get a taste of this new technology and see for yourself how much fun you can have with this no prep resource? Try out a FREE escape room now!
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