Ancient Rome Escape Room Scavenger Hunt – Reading Comprehension

Description

The Ancient Rome Escape Rooms is a winning combination of scavenger hunts and escape rooms all in one, with reading comprehension, puzzles, clues, cloze reading and questions. Give your students a chance to decode puzzles and read passages, all while actively learning!

This cross-curricular reading comprehension activity covers the following topics: Ancient Rome, Romulus and Remus, Julius Caesar, Pompeii, Colosseum, Augustus. Students will practice reading comprehension and critical thinking skills as they rotate around the room reading short passages, decoding puzzles (escape room) and citing text evidence (scavenger hunt). No prior knowledge is needed, so this engaging activity makes a great introduction to your Ancient Rome unit.

Students will revisit the non-fiction text multiple times. To ensure understanding of the subject matter, students will answer questions that can be found directly in their reading passage. This is a great front-loading activity that allows students to get some facts while previewing key vocabulary words, people, places or events that you will teach throughout your unit.

Students will work in pairs (or individually) and race to complete 6 types of puzzles, decode 18 words, and answer 12 multiple choice questions. Each of the 6 reading passages has three “missing words” to decode (cloze) either using the puzzle decoder or context clues. After decoding the missing words, students write their answers on their recording sheet and then unscramble a mystery word.

To ensure students don’t just solve the puzzles without reading, there is a second answer recording sheet that requires them to find and cite text evidence. On this page, students will answer 12 multiple choice questions AND indicate where they found the answer (which reading passage #). Students will use reading comprehension skills to read the 6 short passages, determine the missing words, and answer multiple choice questions (citing text evidence). In the end, there are two objectives: 1) Unscramble a mystery word and 2) Determine a 4-digit code.

Task 1: Escape room aspect of decoding puzzles

Task 2: Scavenger hunt aspect of revisiting the passages and citing text evidence

You do NOT need a lock! You do NOT need fancy envelopes! You do NOT have to cut out oddly shaped puzzle pieces! This product is meant to make your life easy! This is a NO PREP, print & go escape room style activity!

A friendly competition always increases engagement. In addition to learning or reinforcing the subject matter, these escape rooms encourage teamwork and critical thinking. As a “timed” challenge, students will be engaged from beginning to end!

What’s Included?

•  6 Half page reading passages
•  6 Puzzle decoders with “missing words”
•  18 “missing words” to decode
•  12 Multiple choice questions
•  Teacher directions
•  Answer key
•  Student directions
•  Hint cards
•  Props and signs

Types of Puzzles

•  Cryptogram
•  Qwerty
•  Atbash
•  Text Message
•  Pigpen
•  Polybius

Skills Used:

•  Reading Comprehension
•  Critical Thinking
•  Peer Collaboration
•  Problem Solving

Benefits of Use:

•  Super Low Prep
•  Print, Cut and Go
•  Cross-Curricular
•  Highly Engaging
•  No Locks Needed
•  No silly envelopes to stuff
•  No odd shapes to cut out

Options for Use:

•  Anticipatory Sets
•  Unit Review
•  Early Finishers
•  Gallery Walk
•  Stations
•  Sub Plans
•  Rewards

Click HERE to grab a FREE Boston Tea Party Color by Number Activity!

Click HERE for Digital 360 Escape Rooms

Click HERE for more NO PREP Escape Rooms

Click HERE for Digital Trivia Escapes

Click HERE for Text Marking Detective Reading Activities

Click HERE for Breakout Puzzle Stations

Click HERE for Code and Grid Reading Escapes

Copyright Information :
© Think Tank Teacher LLC. Please note – all material included in this resource belongs to Think Tank Teacher LLC. By purchasing, you have a license to use the material but you do not own the material. You may not upload any portion of this resource to the internet in any format, including school/personal websites or network drives unless the site is password protected and can only be accessed by students, not other teachers or anyone else on the internet.