An escape room, also called a breakout room, is a game where you solve clues and riddles to “escape” from a situation. It’s best played with a team and is a BLAST… making it perfect for test review at the end of the school year!

Why will your students love doing an escape room to review for the big test?

The clues engage their brains in a fun way.
It involves teamwork.
There is an intrinsic reward in “escaping” from the escape room!

Want to know how to use escape rooms for your test prep lessons this year? Keep reading!

1. Introduce the storyline and expectations that you have for your students

Every great escape room always starts with a great story! There needs to be something that students are escaping from, right? On the day of the escape room, begin by introducing the story, by either displaying it on the interactive whiteboard or giving students a paper copy. Read the story together and watch your students get excited immediately!

After students are engaged, it’s essential to set expectations for their work time. This is a fun activity, but the main goal is to get in some test review!

Some expectations that I always set are:

Students must work together with their teammates.
Every student in the group must solve the problem on their own paper.
All work must be shown.

2. Give students clues

Once students know the expectations, it’s time to get started with your escape room test review! There are a few ways you can give students their escape room clues:

All at once, in an envelope, for them to work on at their own pace.
One by one, as they complete the previous clue.
Have each clue set up in a different classroom area and have groups rotate between them.
Digitally! Assign all of the clues on Google Classroom (or another platform) and have your students complete the escape room digitally!

3. Check clues as students complete their test review

Sometimes students get so caught up in the excitement of the escape room clues that they can get a little “sloppy” with their math. Since we’re trying to review for end-of-year testing, we definitely don’t want that! To avoid this, it can be helpful to check students’ work as they go through their escape room clues!

Here are some easy ways to check students’ work while they solve their clues:

Rotate around the classroom as they are working, and make sure they are on the right track. This is a great time to provide support if you notice a group is struggling with a math question!
Station yourself at your small group table and have each team bring their work to you when they have completed a clue. Once you check their work, you can “approve” it and allow them to move on to the next clue!
Digitally! If you have assigned digital clues to your students, they can be self-checking!

4. Celebrate when students “escape”!

Once your students have “escaped,” it’s time to celebrate! When students have solved all of their clues, they should receive a final “unlock code” that allows them to “escape.” Once they have this, they have won the game!

Students will often get excited just from finishing the game, but you can also add extra rewards such as homework passes, candy, or other prizes. But they’re not necessary!

End-of-grade testing can be so stressful! Especially when we’re talking about upper elementary students who are relatively new to high-stakes testing. But adding an escape room into your test review lessons can bring some joy to this time of year… and help give your students some confidence going into the big test!

Ready to Try a Test Review Escape Room?

Now that you know an awesome way to engage your students in test prep, you need a ready-made escape room!

Check out these math review escape rooms! They each come with 3 clues that cover most major standards from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. They also include printable and digital (Google Slide) versions of the clues, so you can choose how you use it.