The escape room as an educational tool to work with literature in secondary education: a practical proposal using Romeo and Juliet

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, gamification has become an important element of teaching in secondary education. This article discusses the use of educational escape rooms to help children study English-language literature in secondary education. Specifically, it describes an activity for fourth-year students that uses William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as an introduction to the field of literature. METHOD: The activity started with a screening of John Madden’s film Shakespeare in Love, which illustrates the life of the playwright and describes the process of creating Romeo and Juliet as well as aspects of society and of drama as a genre. Working together, the students then had to apply what they had learned to solve a series of enigmas related to Romeo and Juliet. RESULTS: The students acquired new knowledge about Shakespeare and responded to the escape room activity very positively. DISCUSSION: Considering that the students to whom this activity was addressed were unfamiliar with the life and work of Shakespeare, the escape room offered the teacher an opportunity to help students acquire competences in the study of literature in an active and motivating way.