Escape!!

January 25, 2018

Escape!!

Everywhere I look as a teacher I read and see things about "student engagement" and "higher order thinking". While these are excellent things to keep in mind when planning lessons, I struggle to make every lesson "that lesson". The one that works perfectly, timing is on, students are engaged, and they are enjoying what they are doing. I've scanned countless blogs, articles, and books to try to improve my teaching in this area. One of the things that kept coming to my mind was the Escape Room phenomenon that seems to be sweeping the nation. I first did an escape room in 2015 in New York City, and I had a blast! As someone who loves mysteries and puzzle solving, it was definitely my cup of tea. There are plenty of tutorials out there on how to create escape rooms for the classroom, so I decided to give it a try. I added a competition, because most high school students love that added edge.

The first step I took when developing my escape room was to decide my topic. I knew we had the Gilded Age coming up in United States History, and one of the most interesting topics from that era (at least in my mind) is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. I've noticed that even when delivering a lecture, students are really engaged in this topic. Something about death and the macabre fascinates teenagers, and what better way to add a sense of urgency and competition than escaping from a burning building?

I have to admit I may have gone a bit overboard in my decorating. I ordered tablecloths of brick and lined the walls of the room. I also used streamers as "flames". I had the sound of a sewing machine playing while the kids came in and worked on their warm-ups (no pun intended). We had a blast and it was fun to watch the competition. You can access my Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in my TpT store, or you can click on THIS LINK