History ESCAPE ROOM: The Mayans - 9 Challenges, Student Workbook, Resources and Answer Key

Using an Escape Room to develop curriculum knowledge is an exciting activity that will inspire learners from 2nd Grade to 6th Grade.

The curriculum content of this Escape Room is linked to:

• History of the World– The Mayans
• Mayan Society and Organisation
• Religious and Cultural Understanding
• Chronological understanding

Included within this Escape Room:

• Code Key Booklet including 9 Challenges for students to solve
• Answer Booklet for teachers
• Full Instructions for running the Escape Room
• Introductory Script to set the scene of the Escape Room
• Celebratory Script to end the Escape Room
• Table Labels for teams to make their own space more individualized

The aim of the Escape Room is to provide jeopardy for the students to work under pressure to solve 9 clues to help save the legacy of The Mayans from being forgotten – including reasons for their downfall. The only way to save the legacy of The Mayans is to solve the 9 Challenges within this Escape Room!

Before beginning, you will need to prepare the following:

• A copy of the Pupil Workbook for each group
• A set of table activities for every group – prepared beforehand and given to each group after they have all completed each Code Key activity
• IT sources and research materials
• Initial Starting Script sharing the problem to the children
• Completion Script celebrating the completion of the challenge

Children do not need prior knowledge of The Mayans to complete this Escape Room, as the research will support the answers and each Code Key is supported with several clues. This Escape Room is ideal as a review of learning.

The activity begins by the teacher reader the Initial Message received. It clearly tells the children that the legacy of The Mayans is being forgotten, and it is down to them to learn about them, share their knowledge and keep The Mayan legacy safe – the price being the successful completion of the 9 Challenges.

What follows are 9 challenges which the children must solve to discover the code to move onto the next activity.

Each activity focuses and builds the children’s knowledge on the life of The Aztecs:

The 9 activities are based on the following outcomes:

• Word Search to introduce 25 key words related to the life of The Mayans – as well as an extra secret hidden word which is the Code Key to move to Challenge 2.
• Crossword which introduces facts about the life of The Mayans
• Timeline of key events within The Mayans, including the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors.
• The role and importance of the most prominent Mayan Gods
• The roles of different people, men, women, children and priests within Mayan society
• The social pyramid of the Mayan Society
• The number system – and solving a growing complexity of ten math questions using the number system
• Sequencing the events which led to the downfall of The Mayans
• The invention of chocolate (within a drink) and the importance the cocoa bean had within Mayan society.

When all 9 activities are completed, and the children have gained the correct Code Keys from each activity, the teacher can read the final communication detailing how the children have been able to help to save the legacy of The Mayans – and are free to leave the Escape Room.

Setting up the Escape Room

1. Children should be split into groups of no more than four and be placed in their own workspace.

2. Access to IT and research materials should be provided to allow children to research answers to questions and review their own knowledge, as well as checking answers.

3. Each group should have a Code Key Booklet and decide on a team name

4. Read the Initial Message to the children to set the challenge in context. Discuss what this means, and what the activity entails.

5. Turn to Code Key 1. Agree with the children a set time to complete the problem in – this ensures that the children stay on task and maintains the Escape Room element of working under pressure.

6. At the end of the time, children should have filled in the Code Key in their booklet. The teacher can then check the accuracy of all the groups and talk through the responses the children should have.

7. Move on through the remaining challenges until all 10 have been completed.

8. For those groups who have been successful, they are then able to read the completed statement where they find out if they have escaped the Escape Room!

There are other ways of running Escape Room activities, for example, each activity could be set up on 9 tables and the children then move from table to table completing the activity. This would reduce the need for as many resources, and access to non-fiction sources and Internet Resources could then be targeted at specific Challenges.

The Escape Room should last for 2 hours.

We hope that your children enjoy this Escape Room.

Best wishes

INSPIReducation