Teaching with Travel
Literature
General Idea
Travel
books are a great way to learn about specific parts of the world. It isn’t possible for most of us to
travel all over the world, studying Spanish in Madrid, or cooking in Italy, but
we can certainly follow others in their journeys. These books entertain, they teach and they show us the
culture of the places visited through the eyes of the writers.
When
I was young I read My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead
George. In this book a young boy
named Sam runs away from his crowded family apartment in the city to live in
the wilderness. He burns out a
hollow tree for his home, catches fish and produces bread from acorns. I daydreamed of the same kind of
life. The greatest idea that the book
gave me was a feeling of self-sufficiency, in this case where one could live
with nature, survive and be happy.
I don’t know how realistic the book is, but I suppose the different
creative ways Sam finds food could be done, if the person were talented and
lucky, and patient. I dreamed of
living alone, on the side of a mountain, in a hollow tree sheltered from snow
and rain, until I discovered another book, Dove, by Robin Lee
Graham. Dove is the true
account of a 16-year-old boy who pilots a small sailboat around the world. Robin puts aside high school with the
permission of his parents and alone, partially funded by articles he wrote for
National Geographic Magazine, he sails from California around the globe to
return to California 3 years later.
Now my dreams changed, I dreamed of living alone on a sailboat, watching
the dolphins and enjoying beautiful sunsets on the sea. In the first book I learned how to
carve a fishhook and tame a hawk.
I learned that many useful items could be created from a deer
carcass. Dove taught me
about general geography and about the various islands and countries he
visited. After reading the book I
knew more about sailing and life at sea.
From both books I developed a feeling of independence, that people could
live without all the modern conveniences and that they could live in different
and interesting lifestyles. And my
desire to travel and discover the world was born. I have read many great, and not so great travel stories and
through these books I have experienced many cultures and different
countries. I have crossed the
United States with John Steinbeck, hiked the Appalachian Trail a couple of
times, walked across America and canoed the Mississippi, all through books. I believe a great and interesting
geography/cultures curriculum could be designed around these books,
supplemented with maps and atlases.
In the next couple of posts I will share some ideas, starting with My
Side of the Mountain.
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