Escape Room Bundle for Social Emotional Learning | SEL Activities

This bundle includes 7 escape room activities with interactive challenges related to coping strategies, executive functioning skills, growth mindset, managing emotions, and conflict resolution. Students work together in small groups to solve a variety of puzzles and challenges in order to discover the secret phrase to unlock the door and win the challenge in a specified amount of time. The first version is for small group scavenger hunts around the room while the second version allows you to have students work entirely at their desks in teams!

What is an Escape Room?

An escape room activity is a challenge that allows kids to work together solving a variety of puzzles in order to "break out" of a room. After each puzzle is solved, they will get a keyword to win or "escape" the room and a new puzzle. Escape rooms are great to have kids and young adults working collaboratively using their critical thinking skills. Keep reading for directions on three ways to use!

In this bundle, you will get:

{ Coping Strategies Escape Room }

Coping strategies are incorporated into every puzzle and challenge! Students will discuss deep breathing, coloring, yoga, listening to music, positive self-talk, and more. This version also includes resources to use this as a whole-class lesson.

{ Executive Functioning Escape Room 1 }

The executive functioning skills targeted within this resource include planning, organization, time management, task initiation, and working memory. Each of the challenges actually discusses and forces students to utilize these in order to solve each puzzle!

{ Executive Functioning Escape Room 2 }

The executive functioning skills targeted within this resource include self-control, attention, metacognition, flexibility, and perseverance. Each of the challenges actually discusses and forces students to utilize these in order to solve each puzzle!

{ Conflict Resolution Escape Room }

Conflict resolution skills are incorporated into every puzzle and challenge! Students will discuss learn how to become calm using coping strategies, develop ground rules, determine the problem, express their feelings, understand perspectives, and comprise.

{ Growth Mindset Escape Room }

Growth mindset skills are incorporated into every puzzle and challenge. Students will work on understanding the key elements to a growth mindset, what words to say that reflect a growth mindset vs. fixed mindset, how to learn from mistakes, understanding the power of yet, and developing goals for the future that are action-oriented.

{ Managing Emotions Escape Room }

Skills for managing emotions are incorporated into every puzzle and challenge! Students will discuss and learn to identify emotions, make a positive choice, express emotions using I statements, develop proactive strategies for emotions, use self control, and develop coping strategies for stress.

{ Positive Thinking Escape Room }

Skills for positive thinking are incorporated into every puzzle and challenge! Students will discuss and learn use positive self-talk, use positive thinking to take action and solve problems, read positive affirmations, reduce negative thinking, and more.

Three Ways to Use!

All escape rooms start out with a major challenge or problem (such as aliens taking over!) Students are instructed that they only way they can get out is to follow a series of challenges to uncover a special phrase to unlock and open the door.

Option #1: Small Group Scavenger Hunt

Use the small group version to set up your classroom or work area as a scavenger hunt. Students will work together in a small group to answer challenges and find the clues located around the room.

Your Prep:

• Print the challenges/puzzles.

• Use the visual guide to cut out puzzles and place in envelopes.

• Keep the introduction and student worksheet to give out to students right away.

• Hide all other envelopes in designated area around the room (some locations include under a chair or by the door). If you do not have access to a certain object (such as a window), you can use a printed image of that object and hide the envelope there.

Option #2: Groups at Seats

Use the whole class version to have students work at their desks/seats. Students will work in teams to answer challenges. When a group completes a challenge, they will raise their hands to show you the “answer” in order to get the next challenge and keyword. When all challenges are complete, you will give a group the final special code.

Your Prep:

• Print the challenges/puzzles.

• Arrange/choose your groups of students.

• Copy enough challenges/puzzles for every group. For example, if you have three groups, you will need three separate copies of each challenge and puzzle.

• Use the visual guide to cut out puzzles and place in envelopes. You can label the envelopes by challenge number.

• Keep the introduction and student worksheet to give out to all groups right away.

• Print the student checklist with answers for yourself. You will use this to monitor student answers and hand out challenges as students complete them.

Option #3: Groups at Centers

Use the whole class version to have students work at centers set up around the room with challenges. You will need to give students 5-10 minutes for each challenge and have students move to the next center when time is up. When students complete a challenge at a center, they should raise their hand to show you the answer and you will give them the special code. When all challenges are complete, you will give a group the final special code.

Your Prep:

• Print the challenges/puzzles.

• Arrange/choose your groups of students.

• Arrange each challenge at a different station around the room. It is important to remove the half-sheets that give the answers! These will be given to a group only when they show you they have solved a puzzle.

• Keep the introduction and student worksheet to give out to students right away.

• Choose how much time you will give each at each center. This might depend on your class or session time.

• Be prepared to disassemble puzzles before moving on to the next center.

Note: A separate version is included for you to write in your own key phrase. This is important if you are running multiple groups throughout the day and don't want any students to "spoil" the keyword for the challenge.

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