Learning in the Library

This week Mrs. Paradis’ fourth graders finally got their turn to breakout of the library!  Mrs. Paradis divided her students into teams and each team tackled one of the six information puzzles to unlock a lock.  Once one team finished, they assisted others.  The strategy worked because, not only did they unlock all six locks, but they finished with time left over (6 minutes and 40 seconds)!  Mrs. Paradis was thrilled and very proud of her students.

All three third grade classes experienced their first breakout this week.  The students had five information puzzles to solve.  For one puzzle, they had to look up the call number and find four library books.  Inside the front cover of each was a post-it note with a letter on it.  When the students sequenced the books, the letters spelled a word that served as the code for one of the locks.  Other puzzles required the students to use an encyclopedia, the index of an atlas, and the collection of local history photographs found in Harland Eastman’s Sanford and Springvale, Maine, in the Days of Fred Philpot. There was even a puzzle which required the students to alphabetize the names of our kindergarten teachers!  Mrs. Labbe’s class went first and they unlocked all five locks with over 4 minutes to spare. Mrs. Allaire’s class was next.  The students worked together and unlocked the locks with 21 minutes to spare.  Mrs. Parnham’s class was the last to experience the breakout, but it was the fastest! The students had 22 minutes left on the clock when they opened the box!  All the students seemed to enjoy working together toward a common goal and they practiced skills in the process!