Description
The Day of the Dead Escape Room will take students on a secret mission around the classroom! This escape room has students decode interesting facts about Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, sugar skulls, La Catrina, traditions and history.
This Escape Room has students walking around the classroom breaking codes. The codes include ciphers, Morse code, cryptograms and a final 4 digit code based on the decoders/clues.
What’s Included?
- 4 Reading Passages
- 4 Puzzle Phrases to Decode
- 4 Decoders
- 4 Differentiated Decoders
- 10 Multiple Choice Questions
- Teacher Instructions
- Answer Key
- Hint Guides – How To Decode
- Completion Signs
Watch the video or click on the preview button to take a closer look at everything included!
Skills Used:
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Peer Collaboration
- Problem Solving
To prevent students from simply decoding the puzzles, ALL questions need to be answered correctly in order to solve the final code. This ensures understanding!
Benefits of Use:
- No Prep
- Print and Go
- Cross-Curricular
- Highly Engaging
- No Locks Needed
- No silly envelopes to stuff
- No fancy shapes to cut out
Give students a chance to decode puzzles, move around the room, and read passages, all while actively learning! Students will work in pairs (or individually) and race against the clock. A friendly competition always increases engagement. No prior knowledge is needed. Each code will reveal interesting facts about the topic.
Puzzle Types:
- Cryptogram
- Morse Code
- PigPen Cipher
- Polybius Square
Options for Use:
- Anticipatory Sets
- Unit Review
- Early Finishers
- Gallery Walk
- Stations
- Sub Plans
- Rewards
Click HERE to grab a F-R-E-E Color by Number Activity!
»»» Thinktivity™ Reading Passages : Click HERE
»»» Comprehension Challenge and CSI Spy Mystery: Click HERE
»»» Printable ESCAPE ROOMS: Click HERE
»»» Text Marking Detective: Click HERE
»»» Scavenger Hunts: Click HERE
»»» Digital Secret Message Activities: Click HERE
»»» Puzzle Breakouts: Click HERE
»»» Interactive Google Slides™: Click HERE
»»» Digital ESCAPE ROOMS: Click HERE
»»» Color by Number – Text Marking: Click HERE
»»» Digital Reading Passages: Click HERE
»»» Task Card Review Games: Click HERE
»»» Interactive Game Boards: Click HERE
»»» Reading Passages and Text Marking: Click HERE
»»» Back to School: Click HERE
»»» Collaborative Posters: Click HERE
»»» Digital Interactive Notebooks: Click HERE
»»» Grades 3 and 4 Escape Rooms: Click HERE
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.
Sarah G. –
My students really loved this activity and it was actually really challenging too! Perfect for our celebration!
Christa’s Creative Classroom –
Great escape room that goes with the holiday. Really engaging for my fifth graders, took most students about an hour
Holly L. –
So much fun! The clues were challenging but NOT impossible which kept everyone engaged in the activity!
Katharine R. –
My 3rd grade gifted students really enjoyed this escape room as part of our Day of the Dead unit! They were able to complete with little help! Such a fun way of learning additional facts about the holiday!
Kristin K. –
I teach a mixed age group of students at a park once a week (Spanish). The students are grades 2-6. I used this resource and the students really enjoyed it. I had the groups work with similar ability students so no one person dominated the activity and then had a back up activity for those who finished faster. The second graders took two class periods (35 minutes each) to finish but were so glad they had time to process the information at their own pace. The 4-6th graders raced to finish in 40 minutes and were very proud of themselves. They also commented that they learned a lot. We celebrated with jugo de mango, pan de muerto, pan dulce y musica. We will do a lesson in Spanish next class but this was a good intro to the background and culture and really engaged every student. Gracias! Also, since our class is at the park, I especially appreciated that everything was printable and no technology was needed!!!!!
Helen’s Ela Haven –
This escape room was so much fun, my students loved participating in it at the end of our Day of the Dead unit.
Angela G. –
The students loved this escape room! I did let them work with a partner to crack the codes. I had one student who worked through it very quickly so I needed to have early finisher work ready to go. I did not anticipate anyone getting done so quickly so I learned a lesson with this activity. I had her go around and assist the students who were struggling without giving them the answers.
Victoria L. –
This was great for our Dia de los Muertos unit! We used it for a couple of weeks.
Carolina E. –
This activity was a hit with my students! They definitely enjoyed the challenge and were extremely engaged. This was one of my favorite activities of the year, thanks!
Middle School Minds Marketplace –
My students enjoyed this resource and I highly recommend it!
Nina N. –
All my students were engaged and really enjoyed understanding culture more deeply and in a fun way.
Lori K. –
Great engaging activity. The students loved learning about the day of the dead.
Rachel M. –
This was FANATASTIC for group work and fantastic for some class room engagement and management.
John S. –
My students loved learning about day of the dead with this escape room activity.