Distribute an outline of a world map. Review the principles of map reading including directions and symbols in the legend especially for younger students. Have students label major mountains, rivers and oceans as they read stories in these settings. Instruct students to enter on the map any of the routes mentioned or places indicated in their readings.
Motivate the class by relating the adventurous story of Thor Heyerdahl's book, "The Kon-Tiki Expedition," where the author, a Norwegian explorer, set out from Peru on a balsa-wood raft. Tell how he and six others journeyed in 1947 across the Pacific to prove a theory that people years ago could cross the South Seas taking only materials available at that time. Discuss how geography played a part in this adventure. Have students trace the route on their individual maps. Also assign a student to read to the class the first stanza of Mathew Arnold's poem, "Dover Beach" which offers a detailed description of the beach located on the English coast near the cliffs of Dover.
Distribute a work sheet containing questions of what to look for in reading a book that teaches geography. Use "The Grapes of Wrath" as a model and assign this book to the class. Discuss items such as how Americans perceived "Oklahoma" and "California" in the 1930s. Talk about how irrigation shaped the development of these states. Ask why people left their land in Oklahoma and migrated to California. Question how the routes from Oklahoma to California have changed today. Suggest that students think about the geographical features that surrounded these occurrences.
Create a library corner in the classroom. Collect literary works such as "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. Relate how the story takes place in a small Cuban fishing village and chronicles the experiences of an old fisherman with sharks, marlins and other sea creatures. Add to this "Out of Africa" by Isak Dinesen which describes life in Africa. Consider "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott telling of King Richard the Lionheart and his crusade to the holy land and return to Northern England.
Assign students to read another literary work and then write a report on their findings. In addition to the library corner possibilities, recommend works such as "Cry the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton. Tell the students that this book covers lives of poor Blacks in a South African village near Johannesberg as well as the influence of the discovery of diamonds and gold in the 1940s in the area.
Suggest that students read "Heidi" by Johanna Spryri which takes place in the Alps of Switzerland near Germany and describes life surrounded with mountains and wilderness. Also include Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn." Mention that this book deals with life on a raft along the Mississippi River. Instruct students to analyze the type of geographical conditions upon which the story selected revolved, how people made a living and how living on a river valley has changed throughout the years.
Ask students to put material discussed into scrapbook form with pictures illustrating the geographical aspects and display these in the classroom. Finally, have the students give an oral presentation to the class based on their findings.
Show a film, if possible, of any of the works studied and discuss it with the class.