Description
Famous Failures Escape Room Activity
The Famous Failures Escape Room activity gives students a chance to get out of their seats and solve clues! This escape room activity covers the following topics: Michael Jordan, Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Blackwell and Mark Cuban. Perfect activity to instill a positive growth mindset. No prior knowledge is needed. I prefer to use this as an introduction activity but it could be used for review of a unit as well.
What’s Included?
✅ Four half page reading passages
✅ Four decoders
✅ Questions for each passage (multiple choice, fill in the blank and true/false)
✅ Teacher directions
✅ Answer key
✅ Student directions
✅ Hint cards
✅ How to decode puzzles
✅ How to save time if the activity is taking too long
✅ Words to know: A glossary of terms
Students will practice reading comprehension and critical thinking skills to solve puzzles. Each clue will reveal interesting facts about Famous Failures with a positive growth mindset.
You do NOT need a lock! You do NOT need envelopes! You do NOT have to cut out puzzle pieces! This product is meant to make your life easy! Just print and go!
Please look at the preview to determine if this resource/reading level works for your age group. Younger students may need some help with some of the more difficult clues (hint cards and how to). Students have to answer questions about each passage to ensure understanding.
Students may work individually, with a partner or in small groups to solve four puzzles in order to determine the final code. I prefer partner work for best results!
An answer key and easy to follow teacher directions are provided.
Time needed: 45-60 minutes (it really all depends on your students reading skills)
You can decide how much time your students have to complete the activity. Maybe some students don’t finish, but that’s OK! They still learned something new! I often stop once the first three students solve all the clues. Time management strategies are included.
Basic subtraction skills are needed, a calculator may be used if needed. Example: 1629-1624=5
Lauren Sexton Designs –
They really enjoyed the escape room and learned a lot about growth mindset.
HS SPED life –
Excited to use this resource in my classroom for end of the year activities. Some extra prep and to make sure I understand the clues and cipher’s before giving to students.
Abbey B. –
This was an interesting way to start our year and learn about famous failures!
Ashley Stidham –
I love this resource! I used it during our entrepreneurship unit to teach about important characteristics + famous failures.
abi shambo –
I liked using this as a first-week activity. It was fun and engaging while teaching students about growth mindset.
Megan W. –
This resource has been great for my gifted and talented students. Thank you!
Kimberly L. –
Really exciting actiities and loved the people selected. It was very relevant to social skills class and students connected with this really well. Made reference comments throughout the year
Laura G. –
Great resource for my study skills class at summer school
The Basic Classroom –
A great resource and I was able to integrate it easily into my grade 6/7 combined classroom.
Katherine Johnson –
The activity worked great for the beginning of the year. Students used in rotations.
Amy T. –
Printed and had on hand for Fun Friday. Students loved it!
Kids Chapter Check-Ins –
I found this resource to use as a sub plan. It tied in perfectly with my unit and I thought it looked engaging for the kids. As it turns out, this is EASILY one of the best resources I have purchased on TPT. My kids found it super engaging, and I loved that it was NO PREP! I loved it so much that I immediately bought another one. I love that each of the escape rooms follow the same format. This means that my kids will know exactly how to tackle the next one!
Whitney Turnmire –
We loved this activity! ? My students enjoyed this and thought it was very engaging!
Erin V. –
What a fun and interactive way to kick off the year for my class!
Beg Borrow TPT –
Fun back to school activity that goes well with establishing a growth mindset!
Rainbow Road –
I tested this with a small group and it was wonderful! They really enjoyed it and I loved the mix of skills it reviewed. The famous failures thing was really cool too – the kids actually liked learning about them!
Maghen C. –
Love it! It was exactly what I was looking for to help my students!
MMJoyce –
We really loved closing out our Growth Mindset unit with this escape room! Great fun!
Tiffany S. –
Great resource! Students loved the of the escape room as well as learning about the famous failures.
Jessica C. –
Even though this was designed for younger students, my high school ELs had fun with this as a supplementary activity in my growth mindset unit.