Planning engaging literacy activities that also reinforce key reading skills can feel like a constant balancing act. Whether you’re organizing a Family Literacy Night or looking for a way to keep students focused during classroom review, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why I created a reading escape room that works for both settings—giving teachers a fun, low-prep way to build literacy skills while keeping students excited and engaged.
It’s called Lost in Australia, and it’s become a popular go-to resources for both classroom use and school-wide events.
The reading escape room concept has proven to be highly effective in engaging students in literacy activities while sharpening their reading skills.
What This Reading Escape Room Looks Like in Action
In Lost in Australia, students step into a fun scenario: they’re stranded in the Australian outback and must solve five reading challenges to find their way home. Each task builds reading comprehension and vocabulary skills in an authentic, hands-on way.
Set up the stations around your classroom, library, or multipurpose room and invite families to rotate through them. Add the included signs, photo props, and flyers to make it feel like a real adventure!
Let’s take a look at what’s inside the 3rd grade reading escape room. While this version is designed at a 3rd grade reading level, there are unique Australia themed escape rooms available for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th/6th grade.
Every task in this reading escape room encourages students to think critically, apply reading skills, and work together to uncover a final code word.
Ways to Use this Reading Escape Room
What I love most about this activity is its flexibility. It was originally designed with Family Literacy Night in mind, but it works just as well for:
1. Family Literacy Night Event
Set up the stations around your classroom, library, or multipurpose room and invite families to rotate through them. The built-in storyline, signs, and photo props help create a fun, immersive experience for all ages.
2. Whole-Class Escape Challenge
Use the escape room as a whole-class reading review. Divide students into small teams and have them work together to solve each literacy task and unlock the final code word.
3. Literacy Centers or Rotations
Break the five challenges into separate stations and use them during literacy center time. Teachers can choose to run all stations in one session or spread them out across the week.
4. Small-Group Intervention or Enrichment
The activities work well for small groups who need focused practice—or for students ready to be challenged with something a little different.
5. Partner Work or Team Building
Students can work in pairs to encourage collaboration and discussion as they complete each task.
6. Sub Plans or Independent Work
With clear directions and ready-to-use printables, this resource can be a great option to leave in sub plans or to use during independent reading practice.
7. Review Before a Break or Test
This activity offers a fun way to review key reading skills while keeping students engaged, especially before holidays or standardized testing.
8. Themed Reading Day or Australia Unit Tie-In
It fits easily into a classroom theme about Australia, animals, or world geography—making cross-curricular connections easy and engaging.
9. Classroom Incentive or Reward Activity
Teachers can use the escape room as a reward after completing a reading unit or as a fun celebration of progress toward a class reading goal.
10. After-School Program or Club Activity
This resource is also a great fit for reading clubs or after-school enrichment programs. Teams can work together to complete the challenges and race the clock!
Why This Reading Escape Room Works
It taps into something powerful: students feel like they’re solving a mystery, but they’re actually practicing key literacy skills along the way. The structure provides purpose and engagement without sacrificing academic value.
And when it is used for Family Literacy Night? The excitement is contagious. Parents get to see their kids in action, students feel proud of their learning, and everyone leaves talking about how much fun they had “escaping.”
Teacher-Friendly from Start to Finish
If you’ve ever hesitated to try an escape room because of the prep, I get it. I’ve been there.
That’s why this one includes everything you need: clear directions, recording sheets, printable signs, and even editable flyers to invite families if you’re hosting a school event. Once it’s prepped, you can reuse it year after year.
Whether you’re looking for something new to spice up your reading block or want to make Family Literacy Night truly memorable, this reading escape room offer a fresh way to engage students with content that matters. Lost in Australia has been a classroom favorite for me, and I hope it brings the same excitement and learning to yours.
This escape room can be done with or without a lock and a box. If you choose to use a lock and box, read this post about how to make a lockabl box. You’ll need a 4-letter word lock also.
This reading escape room was designed with 3rd grade standards in mind, but it can be used with ANY grade level.
Turn your whole school into one big escape room with the “Lost in Australia” BUNDLE for grades Kindergarten – 5th/6th grade. You’ll have the best family literacy night EVER!
Pin this reading escape room to your favorite Pinterest board!
