Looking for an exciting way to teach your students about soils and weathering? This Aztec, Inca & Maya Escape Room is the perfect blend of social studies content, close reading, and gamified learning! In this activity, students will explore all three of the civilizations through an engaging close reading article and four unique challenges.

Overview of the Activity: Students begin by reading a two-page informational passage that explains different aspects of each of the civilizations, (where they were located, when they flourished, achievements, etc.). The article includes essential vocabulary like terrace farming, irrigation, chinampas, aqueducts, astronomy and hieroglyphics, providing a solid foundation for students before they tackle the four interactive challenges.

Each challenge targets a different skill:

• Challenge 1: Matching vocabulary terms to their definitions (reinforcing social studies concepts).
• Challenge 2: True/false questions based on key facts from the reading (to build comprehension).
• Challenge 3: Multiple-choice questions (testing understanding of key concepts about the various civilizations).
• Challenge 4: Identifying the paragraph where certain information is found (developing close reading skills).

For each correct answer, students receive a clue—a one-digit number. After completing all four challenges, students use their numbers to solve a final puzzle and “escape” the room.

**Why Use Close Reading?:**Close reading is an instructional approach that encourages students to carefully analyze and interpret a text. In this escape room, students must return to the passage multiple times to find the answers to the questions, helping them:

• Improve their reading comprehension.
• Strengthen critical thinking skills.
• Become more independent readers who can tackle complex information.

Benefits of Gamified Learning: Using an escape room format transforms a traditional lesson into an adventure! Students love the thrill of solving puzzles, working together, and completing challenges, which boosts their engagement and motivation. Here’s why gamified learning is a hit in the classroom:

• Increases engagement: Students are naturally motivated by challenges and competition, making learning more interactive and exciting.
• Enhances problem-solving skills: Escape rooms require students to use logic and critical thinking to solve clues and progress through tasks.
• Encourages teamwork: As students collaborate, they practice communication and teamwork, skills essential for success in group settings.

**Perfect for Social Studies and Literacy Integration:**This escape room seamlessly integrates social studies content with reading comprehension, making it a powerful resource for interdisciplinary learning. While students strengthen their understanding of the Aztec, Inca, and Maya ancient civilizations, they’re also developing literacy skills by interpreting information, analyzing key details, and practicing vocabulary.

This is a escape room uses gamified challenges and is based on the Inca, Mayan & Aztec civilizations which is studied in the 5th grade curriculum under the following standards:

• 5.1 The first humans in the Western Hemisphere modified their physical environment as well as adapted to their environment. Their interactions with their environment led to various innovations and to the development of unique cultures.
• 5.1a Various forms of scientific evidence suggest that humans came to North America approximately 25,000 to 14,000 years ago and spread southward to South America.
• 5.1b Human populations that settled along rivers, in rainforests, along oceans, in deserts, on plains, in mountains, and in cold climates adapted to and made use of the resources and environment around them in developing distinct ways of life.
• 5.1c Early peoples living together in settlements developed shared cultures with customs, beliefs, values, and languages that give identity to the group. These early peoples also developed patterns of organization and governance to manage their societies.

If you want a fun, engaging way to challenge your students, this Aztec, Inca & Maya Escape Room is sure to captivate their attention while reinforcing key learning objectives.