Sometimes you just need a fun activity that doesn’t revolve around a Chromebook. Let students unplug with an escape room. Not quite brave enough for all that? Don’t worry, I can help.

Here are 6 tips that will help you run a fun (yes, even for you) escape room!

Reference Sheet

Quick, printable version of the blog post.

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Group Sizes

I recommend groups of 3 or 4. Groups too large can lead to students who don’t participate, and groups too small may be harder to manage.

Stations

Display duplicate stations, so students can spread out. This is especially helpful for your larger classes, but I find it’s useful for all class sizes. This will avoid overcrowding. You don’t want more than one group at a station at one time. If you have enough stations available, it will cut down on the inevitable arguing about who got there first.

Explicit Expectations

Setting explicit expectations is crucial to a smooth escape room activity. Before beginning, review your expectations and the consequences of not meeting them.

My recommended expectations:

Whisper

Stay with your group - you cannot “divide and conquer” and don’t wander off

No running

Be nice

Participate at every station

Don’t crowd a station - if a group is already there, give them space

Consequences

Consequences are equally important for a smooth escape room. Use your regular classroom consequences as you normally would. I recommend adding a “jail time” or “time out” for groups that aren’t following the rules. This could be a 30-second delay before they can resume the game. Have the group “freeze” or go to a special spot in the room. They’ll wait in silence until their 30 seconds are up. Then, they can continue where they left off.

Don’t hog the breakout computer

If a group gets the answers incorrect, the entire group must go back and rework the station. This will avoid one student waiting at the breakout computer for the group to get the answers, preventing other groups from putting their answers in.

Add some FUN!

Set up your escape room with a fun scenario. Sometimes, the cheesier, the better!

If you want to go all out, grab some blacklights and highlighters! Students absolutely love this because it’s a full transformation! You can use neon paper and white string to really make it pop.

Grab the Printable teacher tips sheet here.

Shop Escape Rooms here.