An escape room is one of my favorite ways to get students excited about reviewing content. What is an escape room? It is a game where a group of players need to “escape” from a situation by solving clues. It keeps those participating engaged and promotes critical thinking–and it’s just plain fun!
When I first heard of escape rooms, my first thought was “how can I use this in my classroom?” High engagement, critical thinking, and collaborating are all things I love having in my classroom… so why not plan an activity that involves all 3?
Fast forward to now–I’ve been creating and using escape rooms in my classroom regularly for a few years now. They are now my go-to activity for the end of a unit! My students regularly ask when we will do our next escape room. Want to know how you can plan your own escape room? Keep reading to find out 4 steps to plan a fun escape room activity!
1. Hype it up
An engaging escape room always involves a great story! There needs to be something that students are escaping from, right? In the days leading up to the activity, I like to drop little hints to get students guessing what the theme will be.
On the day that we complete the escape room, I start our activity by introducing the story. There are multiple ways that you can do this! Here are some ways that you can share the story with students:
- Display for students on interactive board or with a projector
- Share screen during a virtual class meeting
- Have students follow along on a printed story or on their device
2. Introduce clues
Once students know what the story behind the escape room is, it is time to introduce the clues to them! If you have done an escape room multiple times in your classroom, your students may not need as much instruction on each clue type. However, if this is a new activity, I recommend going over the directions for each of the clues before having students start on them.
No matter how familiar your students are with escape rooms, I always recommend setting expectations before allowing them to work on the clues. Students should know that they are allowed to have fun while working, but that there are still high expectations for their behavior and work that they produce.
3. Time to work!
When planning an escape room activity, you’ll need to decide how you would like students to work. I like to mix it up, so that my students don’t get bored. Some ways that I often have students work are:
- In collaborative teams, either around the classroom or in virtual breakout rooms
- As a small group review, during my guided math time
- Independently, as a center or early finisher activity
4. Create buy-in
This part is optional, as the escape room is fun by itself, but sometimes I like to add a little extra. During times of the year when my students might have a tougher time focusing (right before a break or in the spring), I will sometimes add a reward for students who “escape” successfully. Some easy rewards that I’ve used are:
- HW passes
- stickers
- candy
- … or anything that goes along with my classroom management system (bonus Dojo points, an extra behavior bingo piece, etc.)
There you have it–4 steps to help you plan a fun escape room activity! Taking these steps will help make creating an escape room feel less daunting and your students will love it!
Not feeling quite ready to create your own, but would love to try one out in your classroom? Check these out! Click on any image to be taken to the resource.
