The Time Capsule: escape room de año nuevo en inglés (3º-4º ESO)
Escape room de papel para 3º y 4º de ESO (nivel B1). Tema: el año nuevo. Hace diez años, una clase de este instituto enterró una cápsula del tiempo con sus propósitos de año nuevo. La han encontrado tus alumnos, pero tiene cuatro candados. Cada prueba da un número; con los cuatro abren la cápsula, leen el mensaje del pasado y escriben sus propios propósitos.
Practican going to y will, la hora, los días de la semana y vocabulario de propósitos. Grupos de 3 o 4, unos 50 minutos. Solo hay que imprimir y meter cada candado en un sobre. Gratis.
The Time Capsule · The story
Ten years ago, on the first day of January, a class at this school wrote their New Year’s resolutions, put them in a box and buried it. Today, you found the box. But there’s a problem: it has four locks, and each lock needs one number. Solve the four puzzles, find the code and open the time capsule. You’ve got 40 minutes.
| RULE | WHAT IT MEANS |
|---|---|
| Teams | Work in teams of three or four. Speak English — always. |
| Envelopes | Open Lock 1 first. When you find the number, tell the teacher. If it’s correct, you get the next envelope. |
| Hints | Your team has two hint cards for the whole game. Use them well! |
| The code | Write the four numbers in order. The first team with the correct code opens the capsule. |
Lock 1 · The broken resolutions
These are eight resolutions from the box. Some of them have a mistake. How many sentences are correct? That’s your number. To get the next envelope, show the teacher the wrong sentences — corrected.
| RESOLUTION | |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m going to do more exercise. |
| 2 | I will to learn to play the guitar. |
| 3 | I’m going to spend less time on my phone. |
| 4 | I’m going stop eating sweets. |
| 5 | This year I won’t argue with my brother. |
| 6 | I promise I will be more organised. |
| 7 | I’m going to reading a book every month. |
| 8 | My sister and I is going to save money. |
Number 1: ☐
Lock 2 · Midnight around the world
One of the resolutions says: “Next New Year, I’m going to call my cousins all over the world at midnight.” But midnight isn’t at the same time everywhere! Read the information.
| CITY | TIME DIFFERENCE IN JANUARY |
|---|---|
| London | one hour behind Madrid |
| New York | six hours behind Madrid |
| Tokyo | eight hours ahead of Madrid |
| Sydney | ten hours ahead of Madrid |
It’s midnight in Madrid: 31 December is ending and the new year is starting. Write the time in each city in words (In London it’s eleven o’clock at night.). Then answer: in how many of these four cities is it already 1 January? That’s your number.
Number 2: ☐
Lock 3 · The secret word
Find the five words. Write the first letter of each word in order. They make a number — in English!
| CLUE | WORD | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frozen water that falls from the sky in winter. | |
| 2 | Running, swimming or going to the gym. Many people promise to do more of it in January. | |
| 3 | Healthy food, like carrots and broccoli. | |
| 4 | The opposite of late. | |
| 5 | “Happy ___ Year!” |
Number 3: ☐
Lock 4 · Lena’s resolution
Lena wrote: “In January, I’m going to go swimming every Wednesday.” Imagine that this year, the first of January is a Monday. January has 31 days. How many times is Lena going to go swimming in January? That’s your number.
Number 4: ☐
The code
| LOCK 1 | LOCK 2 | LOCK 3 | LOCK 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
Inside the capsule — give this to the team that opens it
Hello from the past! Ten years ago we sat in your classroom and made these promises. Some of us kept them. Most of us didn’t! Now it’s your turn. As a team, write three resolutions for this year (two with going to, one with will) and one prediction about the world in ten years’ time. Put them in an envelope. Don’t open it until the last day of the school year. Good luck! — The class of ten years ago.
Practive English · The Time Capsule
Hint cards — two per team
| HINT CARD Use it for one lock. The teacher gives you one clue. Practive English · The Time Capsule | HINT CARD Use it for one lock. The teacher gives you one clue. Practive English · The Time Capsule |
B1 language support
| FUNCTION | USEFUL LANGUAGE |
|---|---|
| Plans and resolutions | I’m going to + verb: I’m going to read more. · I’m not going to… |
| Promises and decisions | I will + verb: I’ll be more organised. · I won’t… |
| Predictions | In ten years, people will… · I think we’ll… · I don’t think we’ll… |
| Telling the time | It’s eleven o’clock at night. · It’s six in the evening. · It’s eight in the morning. |
| Working as a team | What do you think? · Let’s check it again. · Are you sure? · I think it’s… because… · We’ve got it! |
Para el profe
Soluciones
| CANDADO | SOLUCIÓN | NÚMERO |
|---|---|---|
| Lock 1 | Correctas: 1, 3, 5 y 6. Las otras: I will learn to play the guitar · I’m going to stop eating sweets · I’m going to read a book every month · My sister and I are going to save money. | 4 |
| Lock 2 | London 11 pm (31 dic) · New York 6 pm (31 dic) · Tokyo 8 am (1 ene) · Sydney 10 am (1 ene). Ya es 1 de enero en Tokio y Sídney. | 2 |
| Lock 3 | SNOW · EXERCISE · VEGETABLES · EARLY · NEW → SEVEN | 7 |
| Lock 4 | Si el 1 es lunes, los miércoles son el 3, 10, 17, 24 y 31. | 5 |
El código es 4275.
Pistas para las tarjetas
Lock 1: «Look at the verb after will and after going to. And look at the subject in number 8.» · Lock 2: «If a city is ahead of Madrid, the new year arrives there first.» · Lock 3: «Number 4 starts with E. The answer is a number from one to ten.» · Lock 4: «Write the dates: Monday 1, Tuesday 2, Wednesday…»
Cómo montarlo
Para cada equipo, cuatro sobres numerados (uno por candado), dos tarjetas de pista y una copia del código. Tú te quedas con el mensaje de la cápsula; si quieres, mételo en una caja o en una lata con un candado de verdad de cuatro cifras (4275). Pon un temporizador de 40 minutos a la vista de todos.
Solo das el sobre siguiente cuando el número es correcto, y en el primer candado, cuando además han corregido las frases. Así nadie se salta la parte de gramática.
Después de abrirla
Cada equipo lee en voz alta sus tres propósitos y su predicción, y la clase vota el propósito más realista y el más loco. Guarda los sobres de verdad y ábrelos en junio: es una de esas cosas que los alumnos recuerdan.
Por cursos
3º ESO: tal cual. 4º ESO: quita las tarjetas de pista y baja el tiempo a 30 minutos; en la cápsula, pide dos predicciones con will y might.
Qué evaluar
El contraste entre going to y will, la corrección de errores típicos (will to, going stop, sujeto y verbo), decir la hora y la colaboración en inglés. Los propósitos de la cápsula son un writing corto perfecto para corregir.