Dinner together after the Escape Room!
On a family getaway weekend near Blueridge, Georgia (have you been? It’s such a great family vacation spot!). We stayed at a mountain retreat with stunning views (check it out here – not an affiliate link – we just loved it!). On our trip, we went to an Escape Room and there was no going back! Have you been to one? They’re more fun than I expected. And, being the teacher that I am, I couldn’t wait to put together a version for the classroom. It’s a fantastic way to work cross-curricular concepts into a single lesson. I have some tips and tricks to share for creating your own Escape Classroom activity. These activities will challenge your students to think creatively and critically while working together as a team. It gets your students moving around the classroom and into problem solving mode!
Sweeping views at Moonshine Mountain Lodge!
Seriously one of my favorite vacation spots.
We began with a study of Ancient Egypt. Students explored (as a team) various math, history, science and language arts concepts while solving team challenges. I suspected that my students would enjoy it – but I wasn’t prepared for how they begged for more!
So I’m launching a new one exploring the United State’s Race to the Moon, and have another in the works exploring volcanoes! The kids are going to lose their minds. Ha!
The Race to the Moon is a bit longer and more involved and will take about two weeks for my kids to complete. I’ve dug up YouTube videos to accompany each riddle which has completely re-inspired me in what a country can do when we’re all championing the same cause.
We may not be able to all get behind climate change, healthcare or education systems, or how even our country is run – but I’m pretty sure you’re here because you can get behind being creative in your classroom and engaging your students in a fun and unique way. Let’s get behind that together.
So here are some of my secrets for creating these units:
- Choosing a Topic – What’s your specialty? Language arts? Choose a book you’re studying! Science? Incorporate labs into your challenges.
- Perspective – Our Ancient Egypt study was broad enough to be multi-disciplinary but we tucked facts into each riddle. Our Race to Moon unit walked students through the timelines of each launch, and the progress (and failures) necessary for the US to set foot on the moon. Our volcano lesson is in progress, but this one is more of a story line of a fictional character who lives in Herculaneum in Ancient Rome who is nervous that the mountain, Vesuvius, is going to erupt and destroy his family and their home.
- Challenges – This is where it gets fun! My original ideas spurred from a few of the escape room ideas, but I’ve since branched out. From finding differences in pictures, to solving secret codes, to solving math problems.
- Creating the Incentive – This one is a piece of cake. Break up your students into small team and let them after the game. Competition will entice your students to keep after each answer even when the riddles get tough! The Race to the Moon is a bit more involved and we added a currency portion that adds an extra element of fun (and an assessment activity similar to Jeopardy where they can leverage their currency to win!).
- Assessment – Speaking of assessments…these are some of the easiest assessments in my experience because the kids don’t have the aversion to traditional assessments. We build a pyramid in the Ancient Egypt program…they have no idea they’re being tested!
- Have fun – Seriously. Your students are going to have fun if you get into experience with them. Build a pyramid! Launch a rocket! Explore lava! Don’t forget to be allow yourself to be in awe and let that spark fuel your lessons.
Still not sure where to start? Give ours a try and then come back and tell us what you create!
Escape with the Pharaoh’s Treasure!
Escape the Launch Pad – Race to the Moon!
