SPACE RACE ESCAPE ROOM: USA vs RUSSIA 1961 - 2020, 10 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 5th Grade. This Escape Room supports the students enquiries within the Space Race between the United States of America and Russia from 1961 - 2020 through ten different challenges learning the names, dates and key "first" achievements during this period, as well as sequencing planets from our solar system and the distances between them and Earth.

The curriculum content of this Escape Room is linked to:

• History of Space Flight from 1961 – 2020
• Space Race accomplishments between USA and Russia
• Names and achievements of key astronauts and cosmonauts
• Development of achievements – moving on and further aspirations for Space Exploration
• Focus on the first achievements during the period, for example, first human in space, first man on the moon, first woman in space, first orbit of Earth, first spacewalk, first jetpack used, first privatised flight into space etc.
• Order of planets from the sun and distance of planets from Earth.

The aim of the Escape Room is to provide jeopardy for the children to work under pressure to solve 10 challenges to help develop their knowledge of the Space Race between Russia and USA from 1961 - 2020. The 10 Challenges within this Escape Room will support knowledge and understanding of the events, people and engineering developments during this period.

Included in this product:

• Opening and closing scripts to launch and complete the Escape Room
• Full instructions for running the Escape Room
• Team label/Table names
• Workbook for Students which includes the 10 challenges
• Answer Key for Teachers for all 10 challenges

Before beginning, you will need to prepare the following:

• A copy of the Pupil Workbook for each group
• A set of table team names for every group – prepared beforehand and given to each group to set up their own working space
• IT sources and research materials
• Initial Starting Script sharing the problem to the children
• Completion Script celebrating the completion of the challenge

Students do not need prior knowledge of the Space Race to complete this Escape Room so is suitable for a starter challenge to a new topic. The ability to have access to research resources will support the answers. This Escape Room is ideal as a review of learning to identify what the children have learnt and retained as a result of completing the study unit of The Space Race – or fun as a standalone activity to engage learners in their love of Space travel.

The activity begins by the teacher reader the Initial Message received. It clearly tells the children that they are required to help raise the understanding of the Space Race from 1961 - 2020. The way to do this is to successfully complete 10 Challenges – each one will provide a Code Key, enabling the children to move onto the next Challenge and so on until all 10 are completed.

After the 10th activity – the teacher can read the final script which reviews the learning the children have undertaken as they have completed each of the challenges – leading to an understanding of how the Space Race developed and how, with SpaceX it still continues. This script, together with team labels and the opening challenge script are contained within the Resource Pack.

Each activity focuses and builds the children’s knowledge of the Space Race from 1961 to 2020:

The 10 activities are based on the following outcomes:

• Word Search to introduce 28 key words related to The Space Race, introducing the students to the names of key astronauts, cosmonauts and space-based terminology.
• Crossword to complete which introduces further important information to the students – there are 12 clues to solve.
• Space Race timeline stretching from 1961 – 2020.
• Timeline of astronauts, cosmonauts and their ground-breaking “first” achievements.
• Matching activity linking astronauts and cosmonauts to their achievements.
• Space Race – which country achieved which “groundbreaking event” first?
• Ordering the planets in the solar system.
• True of False statements – students to correct the false statements with accurate information gained from previous Challenges within this Escape Room.
• Distance from Earth – Planets in the Solar System
• Space Race – which country achieved which “ground-breaking event” first?
• Eight facts and pieces of knowledge which the students have learnt as a result of completing this Escape Room.

When all 10 activities are completed, and the children have gained the correct Code Keys from each activity, the final celebratory script can be read which reviews the learning and informs the children that they have been successful and can 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 10 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.

As this is a growing bundle - you will save $$$ by buying the products together in this way, and any other resources we add will be FREE to you once you have purchased this bundle.

Thank you for visiting our store.

Best wishes

INSPIReducation