Intro to Animal Farm Escape/Breakout Room

Through this riddle filled experience, students will learn about the following topics before diving into Animal Farm by George Orwell. Their are 4 major clues surrounding Allegory, George Orwell's Life, Propaganda, and The Russian Revolution. This engages students with the material in a highly interactive environment. They have to learn about these topics to clearly figure out the puzzles and challenges they will face as a team. This zip folder includes all you need to run your escape/breakout style experience for students beginning to read Animal Farm.

Note to teacher: This escape room, breakout style activity can be provided to students digitally or on paper or a combination of both. I describe how each lock is set up and the thinking around the lock. If you don’t have actual locks, students can write down the clues and you can “unlock” the box once they have discovered all of the clues. It is more exciting for students to open the box, but this is a way to get around extra costs if you don’t have locks. Print the provided student handout for students to organize their ideas as well as a place to reflect when the activity is over. Make sure students reflect on the activity, even if the reflection section is for homework.

Story Background: (To be read to students)

The author, George Orwell was an insightful individual. He empowered people to think rather than just to accept their reality. He said, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” We will seek to unlock the truth behind Orwell’s writing of Animal Farm and to challenge our own thinking as he said we must. You have 40 minutes to unlock the truth, are you up for the challenge?