ESCAPE ROOMS for Novels? Why, yes!

Escape Rooms have become all the rage…and for good reason! They are highly-engaging activities that allow students to deepen their understanding of content. It’s a win-win situation for all!

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I have been OBSESSED with creating and implementing Escape Rooms for my TpT store and teachers at my school, respectively. The Escape Rooms that I have created are designed to be used after reading novels and go like this:

It assesses students’ knowledge of major story events (Task #1), characters (Task #2), vocabulary (Task #3), and theme (Task #4 with the Quote Reflection) through the use of 4 coded stations. This product also allows students to reflect on themselves as learners (Escape Room Reflection).

An Escape Room can be used after a whole class read (or read aloud), novel study, or even independent reading. The beauty of an Escape Room is that students work collaboratively to solve puzzles; however, it could be completed by individual students as well.

How It Works:

→ Station 1: Students sort through Plot Cards to determine which events actually occurred in the text and put them in plot order. Doing so will reveal a hidden code.

→ Station 2: Students match characters to distinct character descriptions to reveal a hidden code.

→ Station 3: Students match vocabulary words extracted from the text to their respective definitions in order to reveal a hidden code.

→ Station 4: Retrieving clues in the previous stations, students work to decipher a secret message related to the text.

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If you’re interested in trying out an Escape Room, come on over to my TpT store, That Book Life. If it’s your first time implementing an Escape Room, rest assured that my goal is to make this as painless as possible! As such, I have included VERY detailed teacher guides to walk you through every step of the process.

A sampling of students' reflections on their Escape Room.

Each Comprehensive ESCAPE ROOM Product Contains:

background information on the novel a 3-page, step-by-step How-It Works Teacher Guide
a 3-page Station Details: Teacher Guide
a Frequently Asked Questions tip sheet
Station Set-Up Instructions
an Escape Room Print Checklist
an Escape Room Student/Group Completion Checklist
a Certificate of Achievement for students
4 Station Signs
4 Clue Card Envelopes
4 pages of Clue Cards
Task Card Directions
a Student Answer Book
an Answer Key
2 Different Student Reflection Sheets