Saving Jamestown

This week in social studies, students were able to participate in an "escape room" learning experience, using teamwork and critical thinking to solve a series of challenges related to our study of the Jamestown colony.  

THE "TOP SECRET" MISSION: Captain John Smith's men are dying of famine and disease. Smith knows that if he doesn't do anything, his entire crew will die and the colony will be a failure.  He decides to make peace with the local Powhatan tribal chief. As a peacemaking token, Smith has decided to offer some glass beads and jewelry to the tribe in exchange for food and medicine. Smith meets with the chief and is about to make an exchange of goods when he forgets the combination to the safe where the beads and jewels are stored. The chief believes that Smith is trying to trick him and has pointed his weapons at Smith and his crew. Smith needs our help getting the safe open before it's too late! 

"Special ops teams" were each handed a file containing a series of challenges related to our study of Jamestown, decoders and clues to crack the code of the safe that would help Captain Smith save the colony. Shout-outs to special ops teams StormRacer88 (from my homeroom class), WindJet101 (from Mrs. Bouffard's homeroom class) and JetNinja25 (from Mrs. Cummings' homeroom class) for being the first teams to help save the colony!

"Escape Room" learning experiences motivate and engage all students and can be used to introduce a new lesson or concept, or to reinforce and strengthen learning. The games provide a student-centered learning experience where students use critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication to problem-solve and own their learning, apply their understanding of new content or even discover it.  One of the best aspects of these games is that they provide students with many opportunities to fail forward.  Every unsuccessful attempt to solve a puzzle and decipher a code forces the player to try again. These young historians were determined to solve all of the puzzles within the allotted 35-minute timeframe. It was just as thrilling for me to observe as it was for students to participate - it was wonderful to see them supporting one another as learners and persevering through the more difficult aspects of the challenges. Well PlayED, kids!

Jamestown Escape Room activity resource offered by ThinkTank.