Description
The Famous Failures (Growth Mindset) Escape Room will take students on a secret mission around the classroom, reading comprehension passages, and answering questions! This escape room has students decode interesting facts about the success and failures of Katy Perry, George Lucas, Mark Cuban and Bill Gates.
Perfect Back to School activity to promote a positive mindset, talk about failures, determination and success, and start the year off on a good note.
The Famous Failures Escape Room is a great reading comprehension activity with a twist of fun that has students deciphering codes. The codes include ciphers, morse code, cryptograms, Polybius squares, 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.
Shannon M. –
This was a great resource for my students to use!
Samantha Curry –
A great, well-researched escape room! The information was really interesting. My 7th graders had a good time and a good challenge. This was perfect with my growth mindset lessons to start off the year. So easy to print and go.
Lindsay G. –
My 7th graders LOVED this escape room. They worked together and pushed through when the different ciphers tripped them up. It was an awesome way to start the year and set the tone for my room.
Jennifer Clay –
These are well-researched and fun but still challenging for my 7th graders. I used during those end of school year days where grades are already submitted but you still have classes.
Samantha E. –
Great escape room for ‘out of the box’ thinking! Kids loved it!
Kimberly L. –
easy to use and good content for students. Even my struggling learners disengaged population enjoyed this activity
Teaching for GA –
My 7th graders love puzzles and solving problems so this was perfect to end our week.
Kristie G. –
This was a great way to start the year with reading and problem solving.
HS SPED life –
Excited to try to use this in my classroom, all in one place, just going to take some preparation.
Colleen S. –
My students loved this! It was fun, informative, and engaging! It was a good challenge!
Tracy Chabot –
I use this at the beginning of the year with my students and they really enjoyed this activity, and was a great way to discuss growth mindset with my students.
Catherine R. –
We used this resource at our middle school literacy night and got so much positive feedback about the different ciphers, codes, etc.
Angela S. –
I use this in 7th and we do a famous failures week and project. I use this to wrap it up and the kids love it.
Natalie D. –
Very fun and engaging. Students had a great time working together to crack the codes
Nicole W. –
Excellent back to school activity for my resource room! It led to many good conversations!
Ashley S. –
This escape room is an awesome way to kick off the year with teamwork, problem-solving, and a positive mindset. The passages about famous failures are interesting and easy for students to connect with, and the mix of codes—morse, ciphers, cryptograms—keeps the activity exciting. It’s no prep, easy to run, and makes a great reading comprehension challenge with a fun twist. Perfect for back-to-school or any time you want to boost motivation!
DragonByte Math –
This did not disappoint. Students enjoyed the activity. It was a great end to out Growth Mindset unit.
Leanna Baker –
Great Resource for any time! Students really liked it.
Rachel Richards –
This resource was exactly what I needed for my elementary class! Easy to use, well-designed, and my students were engaged the entire time. Thank you for creating something so practical and classroom-ready!
Lauren M. –
This was a great addition to my growth mindset lessons at the beginning of the year.