Description
The Louisiana Purchase 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 Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Louisiana Purchase 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.
Gracie P. –
Great resource, worked well with my 8th grade social studies class
Jill G. –
My students enjoyed the twist of learning a familiar topic.
Kaitlyn W. –
I have never done an escape room activity like this in my classes and I dreaded the thought of trying to make my own. I liked the easiness of this because there wasn’t really any prep and my students loved it!
Jennifer L. –
I recently used this teacher resource in my classroom, and it exceeded my expectations. One of the standout features is how interactive it is. The activities are thoughtfully designed to engage students through hands-on learning, group work, and digital tools. My class responded really well, staying focused and actively participating throughout each lesson.
The resource also includes prompts and discussion questions that encourage critical thinking and collaboration, which added a lot of value to our sessions. As a teacher, I appreciated how easy it was to adapt to different learning styles and classroom needs.
Overall, this is an excellent resource that not only supports curriculum goals but also brings energy and engagement to the learning experience. Highly recommended!
Stacey L. –
My 5th graders were fully engaged with this Louisiana Purchase Escape Room! It was a fun and challenging way to reinforce reading comprehension and social studies content. Easy to set up and a great collaborative activity! I always appreciate how perfect Think Tank activities are for my fifth graders!
Kelly Blanchard –
I love these escape rooms. Great way to reinforce reading skills snd teach content.
Tami R. –
This allowed my students to learn about the Louisiana Purchase and get up and move around
Julia A. –
Kids absolutely loved this and were super engaged. I printed it out and put students in heterogeneous teams. I made multiple copies of the different puzzles available. One was a tad challenging, but that is part of the fun. My students learned a lot as well and did great on the Louisiana Purchase Exit Ticket afterwards.
Caleb U. –
My students loved being able to do something different to help continue to learn about Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency and the Louisiana Purchase. They loved being able to compete with and against each other!
Jennifer M. –
This was a extension activity on the Louisiana Purchase. I left it with a sub and the kids loved it.
Kelley Hively –
Excellent addition to our Westward Expansion unit.
Treasa B. –
great resource
Michelle W. –
Most students enjoyed this type of activity. It is an easy to set up type of activity and there is lots of valuable info to help them learn about the Louisana Purchase. I would like to buy a lock box so it is a bit more exciting. On a side note, with purchasing various escape rooms for Think Tank, I am finding the type of puzzles offered are becoming quite repetitive. I hope to see some different types of puzzles offered in new products besides the four that are presented in this escape room. Thanks.
Farmhousekansasteaching –
Such a fun and engaging activity for the students. It had them up and moving!
Tanya Boots –
My students loved doing this!
PATRICIA L. –
This activity provided more information about the Louisiana Purchase in a challenging and collaborative environment.
Chnita H. –
My students love completing your Escape Rooms. We use them as a review before a test and it has helped tremendously with recalling information.
Shannon Reber –
These are the best!
Michelle M. –
Great resource!
Mrs Bagley Science and Social Studies –
Great resource!