The Atlantic Slave Trade Escape Room - Task Cards - Reading Comprehension

The Atlantic Slave Trade Task Card Escape Room gives students a chance to practice reading comprehension skills and decode puzzles, all while actively learning! This reading comprehension activity covers the following topics: Atlantic Slave trade, Middle passage, plantations, conditions aboard slave ships, and how Africa was impacted. With their reading passage in hand, students will move around the classroom and visit 16 task cards. The task cards are broken down into 4 levels or puzzle types.

Students will revisit the non-fiction text multiple times, practicing reading comprehension and critical thinking skills as they rotate around the room decoding puzzles. To ensure understanding of the subject matter, students will answer questions that can be found directly in their reading passage. No prior knowledge is needed.

Students will work in pairs (or individually) and race to complete 16 questions. A friendly competition always increases engagement. Students will read the informational text, answer 16 multiple choice questions and decode 4 types of puzzles which ultimately lead to a final 4-digit code.

In addition to learning or reinforcing the subject matter, these escape rooms encourage teamwork and critical thinking. As a “timed” challenge, students will be engaged from beginning to end!

You do NOT need a lock! You do NOT need fancy envelopes (although if you want to, go right ahead )! This product is meant to make your life easy! This is a LOW PREP, print, cut & go escape room activity! The only thing you need to do is cut the task cards and hang or hide them around the room!

This is activity is so multi-functional – it can be used to front-load information for an upcoming lesson, for sub plans, early finishers, as partner work, a gallery walk, for scoot, as task cards – it does SO MUCH!

What’s Included?

✅ Reading Passage

✅ 16 Multiple Choice Questions

✅ 4 Puzzle Decoders

✅ Teacher Directions

✅ Answer Key

✅ Student Directions

✅ Puzzle Decoding Hints

Types of Puzzles

✅ Pigpen

✅ Pictogram

✅ Text Message

✅ Polybius

(Basic addition skills)

Skills Used:

✔️ Reading Comprehension

✔️ Critical Thinking

✔️ Peer Collaboration

✔️ Problem Solving

Options for Use in your Classroom

This activity is adaptable and can be done in three ways!

1. Hang the 16 cut-apart task cards around the room, scatter them on the floor, or place them on desks. Allow students to move around the classroom to visit (or find) each task card.
2. Hang the 4 task cards per sheet (not cut into 4) beside the decoder and use them as a gallery walk or stations activity.
3. Use the task cards with “scoot” where students pass the task cards to the next student while seated. However, to keep engagement high, I always recommend movement in the classroom!

Your students MIGHT struggle the first time they see the codes! That’s OK, this IS an escape room after all. Let them think it out for a bit before you help them. Some puzzles are more challenging (this is on purpose).

LESSON DURATION

Usually my students need around 1 class periods (mine are about an hour) to complete the activity. Any extension activity usually takes around 15 minutes or so.