Back to School Music Escape Room Game - Printable Activity for Music Class, Homeschool, Music Camp, or Piano Lessons in August or September

Students love escape room games! Use this back to school music escape room activity to review rhythms and note names for one of your most engaging back-to-school music lessons yet!

No extra materials are needed (only pencil, crayons, and scissors), and limited prep (printing, cutting decoder page in half, and reading directions) is required. 2 different levels are included to allow you to use this with multiple grade levels!

Suggested time for the escape room is 30 minutes if students know the included concepts well. 45 minutes may be needed if students are less confident in their knowledge.

Recommended for grades 4-7 (although I have used them with students grades 2-10 depending on the student). Students will need to apply logic skills to solve the puzzles in addition to using their musical knowledge. Please see the preview images and video for examples of the types of puzzles included.

Level 1 knowledge:
Notes on the treble staff (lines and spaces, but no ledger lines)
Rhythms: eighth notes, quarter note, quarter rest, half note, dotted half note, whole note (a separate version with British rhythm terms – quavers, crotchet, etc. is also included)


Level 2 knowledge:
Notes on the treble staff and the bass staff (no ledger lines)
Rhythms: level 1 rhythms + sixteenth notes, half rest, whole rest, dotted quarter note, single eighth note (separate version with British rhythm terms is included).


Puzzles can be mix and matched between levels should you wish.


Contents:
- teacher directions
- clue sheet (cheat sheet containing all the information required to complete the puzzles – helpful if leaving with a substitute)
- story (both color and black & white versions included)
- student answer/recording sheet
- 2 decoders using musical skills (note reading & music math)
- Puzzle #1 – involves note values
- Puzzle #2 – cryptogram with music symbols
- Puzzle #3 – color by rhythm
- Puzzle #4 – involves note reading and music math
- ‘I escaped’ cards for students
- ‘We escaped’ full page coloring page


Please note: This is a printable escape room in PDF format, and the puzzles are not editable. No physical item will be shipped.

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