Description
Includes NO-PREP digital escape room activity! This 1984 escape room game challenges students to solve 6 thrilling puzzles to review their knowledge and understanding of George Orwell’s novel. Use this escape room challenge as a final test review or to consolidate your 1984 novel study!
Included with this 1984 Escape Room Activity:
- 6 Interactive Puzzles – Virtual & Print
- Task 1: Truth or Doublethink
- Task 2: Words of Control
- Task 3: Timeline of Truth
- Task 4: Mystery Symbols
- Task 5: Voices of Oceania
- Task 6: The Escape Code
- Introduction Handout – Virtual & Print
- Escape Room Task Cards – Virtual & Print
- Cipher Sheet – Virtual & Print
- Student Answer Sheet
- Teacher Manual with Answer Key
How to use this 1984 Escape Room Activity:
This 1984 Escape Room offers a thrilling and immersive puzzle to engage students in reviewing George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece. Rather than traditional assessments, this interactive activity encourages students to actively demonstrate their understanding of 1984 while working collaboratively to break free from Room 101—the most terrifying place in Orwell’s world. This escape room challenges students to apply their knowledge of key events, symbols, characters, and themes from the novel, all while building critical thinking and problem-solving skills. By transforming review sessions into an exciting game, the 1984 Escape Room provides an unforgettable experience that reinforces comprehension in a meaningful and enjoyable way.
You can begin this game with the Introduction Handout, which serves as the perfect setup for the escape room experience. This handout sets the stage by immersing students in the dystopian world of 1984 and explaining their objective—to escape Room 101 before time runs out. It provides an engaging overview of the storyline and clear, step-by-step instructions for completing the escape room challenges. By distributing this handout at the start of the activity, you ensure that all students understand their mission and the rules of the game. This introductory document also serves to generate excitement, making students feel like they are stepping into Orwell’s oppressive world as they work to “resist” Big Brother through their knowledge of the novel.
In order to escape from Room 101, students must complete six interactive puzzles—each carefully crafted to reinforce their understanding of Orwell’s novel. These tasks cover a range of critical thinking skills, from recall and comprehension to analysis and synthesis. The puzzles include:
- True and False Statements – Students analyze key details of 1984, distinguishing between fact and misinformation.
- Newspeak Word Search – A puzzle that challenges students to recognize and understand Orwell’s invented language.
- Sequencing Events – Students arrange major events from the novel in the correct order, reinforcing their grasp of the plot.
- Symbol Riddles – A creative exercise where students interpret key symbols from 1984, such as the glass paperweight and the telescreen.
- Matching Quotes to Characters – A puzzle that requires students to attribute significant quotes to the correct characters, deepening their understanding of the novel’s themes and personalities.
- Decoding an Encrypted Message – Students apply problem-solving skills to decipher a coded message, reinforcing their comprehension of Orwell’s themes of surveillance and restricted knowledge.
Each of these puzzles is designed not just as a test of knowledge but as an engaging activity that fosters teamwork, collaboration, and deep critical thinking about the novel. The 1984 Escape Room ensures that students are actively engaged in the learning process rather than passively recalling information.
Each Escape Room Task Card contains detailed instructions for students to complete each puzzle. These task cards can be printed and placed at different stations if you choose to use a station-based approach, where students move from one puzzle to the next in a structured sequence. Alternatively, if working in smaller groups or in a single-class setting, the task cards can be distributed individually to each student or group. This flexibility allows teachers to tailor the escape room experience to their classroom setup and student needs. The task cards not only provide instructions but also offer hints that help students navigate each challenge, ensuring that the activity remains engaging without becoming frustrating.
To enhance the escape room experience, this resource also includes a Cipher Sheet, which students can use to break the secret codes embedded within the escape room challenge. This element adds an extra layer of intrigue and excitement, reinforcing the novel’s themes of secrecy, restricted knowledge, and government control. By working through ciphers, students get a hands-on experience of how Orwell’s dystopian world manipulates language and truth—a core concept in 1984.
As students progress through the 1984 Escape Room, they will record the codes they discover on the Answer Sheet. This sheet serves as both a tracking tool and a final compilation of the knowledge they’ve applied throughout the game. Once all tasks are completed and the correct codes are recorded, students can finally “escape” Room 101. This final moment of success not only serves as a culmination of their hard work but also solidifies their understanding of 1984 in a fun and memorable way.
By incorporating the 1984 Escape Room into your curriculum, you create a dynamic and interactive way for students to engage with Orwell’s novel. This escape room is more than just a review activity—it is an opportunity for students to think critically, collaborate with peers, and experience firsthand the tension and urgency that define 1984. Whether used as a culminating project, a formative assessment, or a fun review before an exam, this escape room transforms literary analysis into an adventure that students will not forget.
✨ Kindly note that due to copyright restrictions, this resource is not editable. This is a common practice within the online marketplace in order to protect the clipartists and software providers that have authorized their intellectual property for the development of this resource.
⭒ For classrooms utilizing Google Classroom® ⭒
To access the digital version of these worksheets, simply follow the instructions within the resource to copy the files directly to your Google Drive®. Please note that students must be able to access Google Drive® in order to complete this game.
