Ziggurats ESCAPE ROOM – Reading Comprehension Activity – Ancient Mesopotamia

Description

This Print and Go Ziggurats of Ancient Mesopotamia Escape Room is a winning combination of reading comprehension, reading passages, movement, secret codes, citing evidence, deductive reasoning, puzzles, collaboration, close reading skills and critical thinking. Everything a teacher dreams of wrapped up into one FUN and engaging non-fiction activity that reinforces ELA skills.

Topics: Ziggurats, Ancient Mesopotamia, early civilizations, Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, deities, religion

With their informational text in hand, students will move around the classroom visiting 4 puzzle decoders. Give your students a chance to get out of their seats, decode puzzles and read passages, all while actively learning! Even reluctant learners will dive in!

No prior knowledge is needed, so this escape room activity makes a great introduction to your Ancient History lesson plans. This reading comprehension activity allows students to get some facts while previewing key vocabulary words, people, places or events that you will teach throughout your unit. To ensure understanding, students will answer questions that can be found directly in their reading passage.

No locks required! No fancy envelopes to stuff! No odd shapes to cut out. This NO PREP, PRINT & GO activity is meant to make your teacher life easy! The only thing you need to do is place the 4 puzzle decoders around the room! If you prefer, you can certainly add a programmable 4-digit lock to add an element of mystery (but not required).

HOW DOES IT WORK?

There are 4 clue cards and 4 puzzle decoders. Each clue card includes a short reading passage, questions to check for understanding, and a secret message to decode. Students will have to use deductive reasoning to determine which puzzle decoder corresponds with which clue. A set of labeled decoders is included for differentiation or younger grades.

Students will work in pairs (or individually) and race to complete all 4 clue cards. A friendly competition always increases engagement. As students progress through the escape room, they will earn clues to determine the final 4-digit code. The final code is also a puzzle! In order to escape students must present correct answers for EVERY question as well as the decoded secret messages and final 4-digit code.

What’s Included

• 4 Short Reading Passages
• 4 Puzzle Decoders (unlabeled)
• 4 Puzzle Decoders (labeled)
• 18 Comprehension Questions
• Teacher & Student Directions
• Hint Cards
• FAQs
• Answer Key
• Prop Signs

Skills Used

• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Peer Collaboration
• Problem Solving
• Deductive Reasoning
• Non-Fiction Text Evidence
• Making Inferences

Puzzle Types

• Cryptogram
• Text Message
• Cipher
• QWERTY

Benefits of Use

• Movement
• Print and Go
• Active Learning
• 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
• Individual Work
• Partner Activities
• Extension Activities