A Raisin in the Sun REVERSE Escape Room! Break IN to the Play with Monopoly!

The explosive drama of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" meets the most contentious family board game of all time, AND students learn about the historical injustice of redlining and racial segregation while teams compete to break IN to a new unit of study in a REVERSE escape room, teaching themselves and one another by solving asynchronous BYOD puzzles in a race against their peers and the clock.

Interested?

I've had a ton of fun designing and implementing themed escape rooms in my HS classes, but for as AMAZING as class escape rooms and tools like Breakout EDU can be (for real, they're fantastic!) -- I've found the traditional escape room to be somewhat limited when it comes to its functionality in ensuring that all students receive access to all puzzles. This posed a real challenge when using escape rooms in place of traditional lectures to introduce new content that could be delivered in such a way that every student would get the same level of access to new materials.

So I wrote a new pedagogy for using a timed team-based competition model for classes to be introduced AT THE BEGINNING in a unit. Think of it as a REVERSE Escape Room (or a caffeinated update on old-school "centers") designed for simultaneously teaching eight different concepts simultaneously through asynchronous problem-solving by using devices in small groups. Capturing the fun and excitement of an escape room, while self-pacing and enriching content in a way that moves more efficiently through all of the material you'd otherwise have to cram into a "Death By PowerPoint" lecture.

Ready to enter the infinite loop-like "Lost Woods" world of shifting narrators? Check out the bonus puzzle liked here.

Welcome to #QRBreakIn!

No physical locks to set or boxes to keep track of. With a ticking countdown and an overhead leaderboard so EVERY student will complete EVERY activity -- and find themselves genuinely excited to do so! This REVERSE Escape Room is designed to help your students “Break IN” to the world of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" through a series of timed challenges, team puzzles, and self-paced unit pre-teaching and enrichment activities. It is designed to introduce students to key elements of setting, character, foreshadowing, and symbolism by creating an themed sense of suspense, intrigue, wonder and excitement at the conclusion of the first act of the play while student teams compete and self-pace their way through EIGHT separate learning center activities asynchronously, building background knowledge, exploring theme, annotating texts, deciphering symbolism, and checking with the teacher as each new challenge is completed to standard.

ABOUT THIS GAME:
This game is designed as a pre-teaching and enrichment activity AT THE START of a unit on A Raisin in the Sun. It can be completed at any time during the play, but it is intentionally designed to coincide with the end of the first act (without giving away any other spoilers). It likewise functions as an outstanding start-of-unit escape room to pre-teach major symbols, plot points, character connections, and thematic threads.

This high-energy "Monopoly" inspired activity is 100% spoiler free -- and can be set up in short order. Just read the rulebook, print the puzzles, and get your reverse escape room rolling! Student teams compete asynchronously in a looping three step process:
• SELECT a puzzle from the available choices by rolling a custom dice
• SOLVE the puzzle at your desk group with your teammates
• REDEEM the puzzle for the corresponding property deed

Player teams will collect new items as they solve different puzzles, with the goal of building as many houses as they can before time expires!


REQUIRED MATERIALS:
Students will need BYOD or one-to-one devices with free QR scanner apps installed. There are nine puzzles in this game, testing the following skills by using a mix of traditional handwritten notes and discussion, websites, and these free mobile apps:
• SOUTH SIDE: Character Analysis Google Forms
• RIVERDALE: Setting Sketchnoting
• FULLER PARK: First Act Quiz Quizizz
• ENGLEWOOD: Historical Context Webquest
• EDGEWATER: Character / Plot YouTube
• HYDE PARK: Movie Trailer / Pre-teaching EdPuzzle
• BRIDGEPORT: Theatrical Connections Flipgrid
• CLYBOURNE PARK: Act I Reflections Microlab Discussion


DOWNLOAD INCLUDES:
+ 6 page game instruction manual

+ 32 fully illustrated Google Slides with all printables and escape room activity scenario planning documents for 80 - 120 minute simulation

+ EIGHT themed puzzles that can serve as in-game activities or stand alone centers for asynchronous pre-teaching / assessment of unit content.

*(Note: Not ready for a full-class Escape Room? No problem. Teachers can use these same interactive puzzles as stand-alone activities to be completed in small groups across multiple days of the unit! Have groups solve one or two puzzles a day to keep chasing for Clues and collecting key objects as you continue to explore Chicago's South Side!) This activity is PERFECT to revisit time and again throghout your unit!

+ ONE Monopoly-Themed gameboard, designed to spark visual intrigue and echo the family drama of A Raisin in the Sun (because let's be honest, what family game of Monopoly *hasn't* ended up in a scene much like a shouting match from the Younger Family's living room?)

+ Complete instructions on how to create themed Google Forms and customized QR codes for all puzzles to serve as electronic locks

+Step-by-step teacher walk-through for all activity puzzles. (Included as speaker notes on each page of the Google Slides)

+ Two ready to go, plug-and-play quiz activities using Quizizz and EdPuzzle.

+ Step-by-step walkthrough of the pedagogical rationales and instructional strategies behind each of the game's puzzles, mixing high-energy hands-on problem-solving, kinesthetic learning, and app-based gamification. A sample: "Have all group members read the linked article here and take handwritten notes on the Cicero Race Riots and the Illinois bombings of 1951. What stands out to you in this article? Make note of at least 10 items. Show the success screen to The Narrator when you are done."

+Step-by-step teacher walkthrough with sample work products and to how to set up accounts and activate all game puzzles.

+ Fully customizable Google Slides download contains plug-and-play Escape Room scenario and review game that can be put in place TODAY if your students have device access and are just starting this high-stakes family drama. Likewise, includes instructions on how to modify any puzzles to your course needs (including strategies for classes using laptops) -- creating incredible versatility and flexible re-use.

High energy, visually stunning, and fully immersive -- this is a class escape room done right. Driven by student collaboration, competition, and communication skills: it's an immersive BREAK IN activity that your classes will NEVER forget.

Good luck with your REVERSE escape room!

- John

*PS: While I really cannot say enough great things about BreakoutEDU, please note that this product is in no way affiliated with, designed for, or endorsed by BreakoutEDU. Two totally separate products with two completely different instructional aims. BreakoutEDU is run by awesome people with an fantastic class-based Escape Room product, where students collaborate with classmates to divide & conquer and break out of a themed escape room scenario. #QRBreakIN games use the same timed spirit of competitive play to "break IN" to a new unit, which ensures that ALL students have the chance to work on ALL puzzles.

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Want more Escape Rooms?

Comprehensive End-of-Unit Escape Rooms designed for BreakoutEDU:
Escape Room: Emerson, Thoreau and American Romanticism
Escape Room: Hamilton
Escape Room: Poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson
Escape Room: To Kill a Mockingbird

Shakespeare Escape Rooms:
Hamlet's Mouse-Trap
The Merchant of Venice: Shylock's Revenge

Or Break IN to a Brand New Unit with a REVERSE Escape Room using QR Codes!
As I Lay Dying: The Legend of Bundren #QRBreakIN REVERSE Escape Room (Plays Like Zelda!)
As I Dying: Tull's River Crossing #QRBreakIN REVERSE Escape Room
Ethan Frome #QRBreakIN REVERSE Escape Room
The Great Gatsby #QRBreakIN REVERSE Escape Room
A Raisin in the Sun #QRBreakIN Redlining REVERSE Escape RoomTo Kill a Mockingbird REVERSE Escape Room: Break IN to Boo Radley's!