Hamlet Escape Room

Students work through Hamlet plot, quotation and close-reading puzzles to decode a final message. Teacher directions and answer keys support the escape-room sequence.
Grades
Grades 9–11, High School
Pages
22
File type
PDF
Answer key
Included

Updated Jun 23, 2022

Subject
ELA, Reading Comprehension, Reading, Language Development
Topic
Hamlet, Escape Room
Resource types
Games, Activities
Answer key
Included
Standards
RL.9.1

Product description

From the author

Looking for a fun way to get your students talking, moving, and collaborating? Look no further!

The focus of this breakout is Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The activities in this breakout game are designed to help students review what they have read in the play. A great review game before a test or quiz. Comes complete with answer key.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Sequence key plot events of Hamlet by selecting the seven points that belong on a plot diagram from a larger set of twelve.

  • Match character quotations from the play to the character who speaks them.

  • Answer multiple-choice questions about character, conflict, and figurative language in a close reading passage from Act II.

Teaching tips

  • Use the 'Oops!' cards sparingly and strategically: the file's own guidance suggests tossing one at a team that is relying too heavily on a single member, since it benches that student for five minutes.

  • Review the teacher's solving guide on page 21 before running the activity, since it explains exactly which letters each task yields toward the final encrypted message.

  • Close with the two reflection questions (strategy going in, and how the team worked together) as a short debrief rather than skipping straight from the final code to the next activity.

Skills covered

  • Plot sequencing — students select and order the seven plot points (from twelve provided) that belong on a plot diagram of Hamlet.

  • Character identification — students match quoted lines to the Hamlet character who speaks them.

  • Close reading and figurative language — students answer multiple-choice questions on character, conflict, and figurative language in the Hamlet/Polonius 'fishmonger' passage.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Do all twelve plot cards belong on the final diagram?

No. Students must find all twelve plot cards but then choose only the seven that actually belong on the Plot Diagram and put those in order; the remaining cards are intentional distractors.

What happens if a student is hit with an 'Oops!' card?

That student sits out of the game for five minutes, which the file's own guidance recommends using when one team member is doing all the work rather than the group collaborating.

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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

  • RL.9.1

Core concepts

  • Hamlet plot and characters

  • Close reading

  • Figurative language

  • Escape room puzzle format

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