American Lit Students Escape 1692 Hysteria in 'Crucible' Escape Room

Often the words "engaging," "super cool," "amazing," and "so much fun!" are not the first that one would hear from high school sophomores as they describe Literature class lessons on Arthur Miller's novel The Crucible. However, Mrs. Porter's American Literature students had a great time this week - and dove deep into this classic work - as she held an engaging literary analysis/Escape Room activity for her students. This activity challenged the sophomores to see if they can escape the hysteria that erupted in Salem in 1692, where the novel was set.

 

This sequential escape room took small teams of students through five challenges in a blended format, using both hands-on and online tools. The challenges started simple, with comprehension questions and identification of literary devices, and then gradually progressed to more cognitively complex tasks involving close-reading, analysis, allegory, and theme.

To set the scene, Mrs. Porter transformed her room into a dark, cold Puritan environment, lit with candles by which the students read their clues. After collaborating to solve challenges, most of the student groups were able to successfully escape the 17th century hysteria!