Digital Escape Room: Escape the Misinformation Newsroom, Real News vs Fake News

Want to help your middle and high school ELA students learn how to avoid bias, consipiracies, and misinformation online? Escape the Newsroom is a FUN and meaningful activity that helps students to apply two methods of evaluating online sources in a hands-on way. Students learn the SIFT method (Stop, Investigate, Find trusted coverage, Trace to the original) and the CRAP method (Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose). They apply the methods to various websites--some which are completely ridiculous (for example, a website advertising a FAKE dog island off the coast of Florida) and some that are actual news sources for students to examine.

This is the task students are presented with as they enter the Escape the Newsroom site: "Our newsroom prides itself on sharing factual information with as little bias as possible. Unfortunately, our newsroom was recently infiltrated by misinformation. We need your help to clean out the extreme bias, conspiracies, and misinformation before it's too late! Click on the button below to open the Fact or Misinformation Guide. Use it as you sort through the news and work to unlock four clues. You must unlock four different clues before you can unlock the newsroom door and escape towards a land of beautiful facts and freedom!"

This escape room is an interactive Google Site. The escape room is not editable (Google Sites cannot be made editable with a wide audience), but does include an editable checklist and reflection tool. BEFORE PURCHASING: Check that your students have access to Google Sites OR that your school will allow access to the linked Google Site provided.

This escape room includes:

• Google Site escape room with links and Google Forms embedded
• A full answer key
• Student reflection
• Fact or Misinformation student checklist that can be used all year long!
• Teacher directions

If you love escape rooms, check out some of my other escape rooms.

The Tell Tale Heart Escape Room (print and digital versions included)

Pandora's Box Escape Room (print only)