Let history come to life with an escape room lesson! New version: no preparation, self marking, remote learning ready. Get students to puzzle their way through the history of the Berlin Wall, trying to stay in touch with their long lost friend Thomas on the other side of the wall. Engage students with a story website that will require them to work through a mix of text, video, jigsaw puzzles and codes to be the first one to win. This resource can be used as a revision lesson on the topic of the Berlin Wall or, with some internet research by the students, as a first introduction to the topic. It should take between 45 min and 2 hours, depending on age and prior knowledge. The new digital version is longer. As a native of Berlin I have been teaching this topic as part of my German lessons for about 10 years now. On the 3rd October, German national day, all my classes (aged 13-18) get a one lesson run through of the history of the wall and students are always fascinated by it. The topics covered here are: • the situation of Germany under the occupation of the allies after the war • the differences between East and West • why people escaped to the West • the building of the wall • what is the Stasi • what led to the fall of the wall • what happened on the 9th of November 1989 Includes: • link to dedicated story website (2 versions) • documents, excel and powerpoint files • puzzles • lesson plan • answers I have also included a powerpoint presentation of statistics showing the present-day differences between former East and West Germany and a collection of my favourite youtube videos on the topic.

A fun plenary or starter game for any subject or topic that doesn't need any preparation. On each slide there are 16 squares with five treasures hidden behind them. Students answer a question and if they get it right they choose a square and get a point/sweet/sticker if they find a treasure. There are 11 slides with treasures hidden in different places and the slide to be used can be chosen randomly by clicking the spinning wheel on the first slide. This activity is based on the gamification theory that random rewards make games more addictive and fun. Note: In presentation mode click on squares to make them disappear and reveal the treasures.