Digital Breakout

The stars at night are big and bright in Texas, as sure as the STAAR test is a guiding light throughout the school year for any core subject teacher. From data mining to RTI, there's no telling how many hours are spent by teachers searching in the night for a beacon of hope in the form of a tech tool, teaching method, or turn of phrase that will catapult a student to success.

Though I don't think there is a secret elixir that will mend all of the wounds from years of a student reading below grade level and not always having the necessary support outside of the classroom, I do think that making what was once a monotonous task fun and challenging can make a world of difference. Transforming a conventional STAAR test into a digital breakout does just that. I chose to focus on ELAR, but this could easily be adapted to any set of questions in any subject. 

With the help of my coworker, Bree, I put together a basic outline of how I wanted to structure the breakout. I used Google Sites as a place to house each of the breakouts that were made using Google Slides. Since there are texts connected to the questions for ELAR, I based the cutoff for each breakout around the texts and the fact that I wanted them to able to complete a breakout within a 45 minute class period. PDF Candy was a lifesaver when it came to dividing the text of a PDF up.

Additionally, I wanted there to be clues that linked one breakout to the next. This led me to use the confirmation message (which can be accessed in the Form settings) to add figurative language riddles. The answer to the riddle in the previous breakout unlocks the subsequent breakout.

A breakout of this sort could be tackled on consecutive days or distributed throughout a longer period of time. Maybe you have Breakout Fridays. You could also allow students to complete the breakout with a partner (simply change the first question to request both of their names). Another variation of such a breakout would be to use it for test corrections. Hypothetically, students would be able to complete the breakouts at a faster clip since they had already read the texts. Though, the absence of reading may have been the need for the corrections to begin with. If used in this manner, it may also be beneficial to enter the questions as individual steps in the breakout, rather than bundling them. For example, by asking the participant to alphabetize the answers for questions 1-5.

No matter your approach, you can make this dream a reality with your own flare by following these steps:

• Plan
• Determine the questions.
• Break the questions into sections.
• Create the Google Form
• Make each question required.
• If you want to identify the class period or the student, make these the first two questions.
• Create a question.
• Select Short Answer.
• Click the three dots to the right of required and select Response validation.
• Determine the format of the answer.
• Determine what should be required.
• Type in the answer. All caps may be easiest.
• Create a new section.
• Make sure you are on the last question.
• Give the sections a title.
• Follow the same steps above for all questions and sections.
• Share with Students
• The Google Forms can be accessed through a Google Site or you can get the link to share in Google Classroom or assign it directly from Google Classroom.