Using Travel Guide Books as Enrichment
I LOVE using travel guide books in my classroom. Travel guide books are those books you buy for a certain place you plan on going to, look at for the few days leading up to your trip, and then never look at again. I can always find them at thrift stores and Goodwill for under $5. It dawned on me one day that they would be perfect for the classroom. I started collecting them and bringing them to live on a shelf in my classroom library. You’d also be surprised by how many people are willing to donate these after they’ve gone on their trips. Once you build up a collection of travel books, there are so many ways you can use them in the classroom.
First of all, travel guidebooks are usually very colorful and visually pleasing. The whole point of them is to entice the readers to visit the place. Just having them on display in your classroom library can attract different types of readers. I found lots of my students who didn’t love reading chapter books would be attracted to these guidebooks. They can look at the pictures, read the captions, and trace a route along with the maps. To me, any reading is great reading. I am a big fan of graphic novels. These travel guidebooks are no different! They can be high engagement for so many kids!
Plus, I always thought part of my role as a teacher was to foster curiosity. Using travel guide books in the classroom can allow your students to grow their curiosity about the world. Global competency is a big part of being competitive in an increasingly interconnected workforce. It is important for students to be curious and excited about the world around them. These books can be a great way to let students dream of places they may have never heard of.
You can also use these types of books for content learning! There are endless ways to engage students in reading about travel. Almost every subject area could use these books! I feel like I am a salesperson for these books, but I’m not! I just love how creative you can get with them and to buy them so cheap at a thrift store!
Once you’ve built up your collection of travel guide books, entice students to read them with a choice board of different activities. The choice board I created includes six different activities and a response worksheet. Find this choice board on my Teachers Pay Teachers page. It comes with a FREE guide on how to use travel guide books in the classroom!
Leave a comment about how you use these in your classroom! TAG me on Instagram to continue the conversation.
