Looking for more ways to use digital escape rooms with your ELA students. Here is a round-up of some of our best ideas from the last several years.
Digital escape rooms have become one of those tools that, once you start using them, you wonder how you ever taught without them.
They’re engaging, easy to set up, and students genuinely enjoy them, but what really makes escape rooms powerful is how flexible they are.
Digital escape rooms are not just a “fun activity.” They can actually become one of the most useful tools in your classroom when you use them with intention.
So, today we’re looking back on some of our blog posts from the past and pulling some of our best suggestions for using our digital escape rooms in your ELA classroom. Hopefully, these ideas will help you as you plan for your new school year!
One of the best ways to use digital escape rooms is during review.
Review is something we have to do, but it doesn’t always go the way we want it to. Worksheets get repetitive, students lose interest, and suddenly, you’re working harder to keep them engaged than they are working to learn.
Digital escape rooms flip that.
Instead of just answering questions, students are solving challenges and working toward a goal. They’re still practicing skills like figurative language and reading comprehension, but it doesn’t feel repetitive; it feels like a puzzle or challenge.
This is why they’ve become one of our favorite ways to use digital escape rooms during those key review moments in the classroom, and often a go-to activity the week of a holiday or break.
Test prep can feel long for everyone involved.
The more review and prep you do, the more students start to check out, and it becomes harder to keep the energy up.
One of the smartest ways to use digital escape rooms is to break up that routine. Instead of another practice test, students are still applying skills, but in a format that feels more like a game.
They’re thinking, solving, and staying engaged without feeling like they’re stuck in a test prep loop.
This pairs really well with strategies from your test prep posts and helps maintain momentum when you need it most.
We’ve got an escape room that is perfect for test prep! Check out our ELA Test Prep Escape Room!
Every teacher knows what I mean when I say “those days.”
Having go-to ways to use digital escape rooms for these moments is a game-changer.
You don’t have to completely rethink your lesson. Students can jump in quickly, stay focused, and still work on meaningful content, and because the escape rooms are digital, you can quickly share them with students by simply dropping the link into their learning management site. Easy peasy…crisis averted.
One of the most practical ways to use digital escape rooms is to keep them ready for when you’re out.
They’re self-paced, structured, and easy for students to follow. Instead of worrying about whether students will stay on task, you can feel confident that they’ll be engaged and practicing skills.
This is exactly the kind of flexible tool we talk about in your “prepare for the unexpected” posts.
Holidays bring a lot of energy into the classroom, and not always the kind that makes instruction easy.
One of our favorite ways to use digital escape rooms in middle school ELA is as an activity during the week before or after a holiday. They are interesting enough to keep students engaged,but they’re still working on standards-based skills.
Whether it’s Halloween, Valentine’s Day, or the weeks around spring break, this is one of those strategies that just works.
Another one of the most valuable ways to use digital escape rooms is for collaboration.
Even when students are allowed to work independently, they often end up talking through the challenges together. They explain their thinking, compare ideas, and help each other problem-solve.
And that’s exactly what we want.
It builds communication skills and deeper understanding without forcing it.
You can also easily assign the digital escape rooms as a pair or group activity as a way of encouraging these same conversations in a structured way!
Sometimes you just need time to step out of your role as large group instructor and into your role of small group or individual tutor.
This can look like a lot of things. Maybe you need to work with a small group who needs extra skill development, or you need to talk with another teacher, or maybe you just need some time to catch up on grading or planning.
Digital escape rooms create that space.
Students stay engaged and focused while you work with students who need extra support or on another task that requires your undivided attention. This is one of the most practical and underrated ways to use digital escape rooms in your classroom.
When you look at all of these ways to use digital escape rooms, you start to see a pattern.
They work because they combine engagement, structure, and accessibility.
Students are practicing real skills, staying motivated, and working independently or collaboratively. At the same time, you’re able to stay flexible, save time, and keep instruction meaningful.
At The Sparkly Notebook, our digital escape rooms are designed to align directly with middle school ELA standards, so you can feel confident that students are practicing the skills they actually need.
We offer escape rooms focused on figurative language, reading comprehension, and core ELA skills, and many are available in digital formats, making them easy to use in any classroom setting.
There are so many effective ways to use digital escape rooms, and once you start incorporating them intentionally, they quickly become one of your most reliable tools.
They’re not just something to use when you need a break.
They’re something you can use to reinforce skills, keep students engaged, and support your classroom flow.
