Books can certainly take you places in your imagination, but how about letting them take you to real places, too? Combine your family read-alouds with hands on activities by going on a literacy field trip.
Literacy field trips start with discussion:
Talk about the setting. What do you imagine this place looks like? What things would you hear? See? Smell?
Talk about the time period. When does the story take place? What is that time period like? How would it affect the setting? The characters?
Talk about the characters. What might they eat? What do they do? Where do they go? What do they like? What do they look like? How do they dress?
Once you’ve explored these ideas, take action:
Map it out. Create your own version of the setting on paper. Find similar locations close by if you can, or determine what you need to recreate it close to home. Take a picnic, plan a hike, or stage some book-based photos. Use your answers to the questions above as a guide for finding your perfect location.
Take a trip. In some cases, books are set in locations you can actually visit. If that’s the case, go! Visit a Civil War battlefield or colonial site. Take a trip to a relevant museum. Plan a daytrip or a weekend away.
Be creative. In other cases, a place to visit might not be immediately obvious. You might not live anywhere near the Eastern shore of Maryland if you’re reading Misty of Chincoteague, is there a horse farm close by? A trip to Oz is impossible, but what about a local science center to learn about tornadoes? If you’ve read the Boxcar Children, why not visit a train station? The only limit is your ingenuity.
Suggested titles and possible activities:
Frog and Toad series – expedition to a local creek or nature center
Number the Stars – trip to a local holocaust or World War II history museum
Alice in Wonderland – visit a local tea room for tea
The View at the Zoo – visit the zoo or nature center
Carlen says
We’ve read some of these, most recently Number the Stars. Thanks for the ideas and encouragement to go and do this! – Carlen
Ginny Kochis says
I hope you’ll give it a try. Let me know if you do.
KT says
Totally crushing on this post. Fabulous idea!!
Ginny Kochis says
I’m glad you like it.
Amanda says
HOW FUN!! While my mind takes me there…it is a wonderful idea to “take” the kids there! I love, love, love this post!!
Ginny Kochis says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks 🙂
Rebecca Reid says
My son and I so did this! We both read the same book (his choice) and then we went to the place where the climax took place, which is only a 2 hour drive from us. It was a great day to strengthen our relationship and while I don’t think it was a fantastic book it was a great idea all together. Definitely I’ll do it again! Thanks for the ideas.
Ginny Kochis says
That’s wonderful. I’m glad it was such a positive experience for you.
Amy says
Some really good ideas here. I love making a deeper connection with a book by visiting a related museum or outing.
Diane says
Great idea, Ginny! I wrote a post called “94 Field Trips from A to Z” using the alphabet (https://classicalscholar.com/homeschool-field-trips/), but now you’ve got my brain ticking off all the literary field trips (literal and imagined) we could go on! For some reason, the first fantasy trip that comes to mind is Gwyntystorm in The Princess and Curdie (George MacDonald). Thanks for inspiring me!