Books Will Take You There!

Activity Description

Why This Is Helpful

 

Activity Description

Traveling is a wonderful way to expose children to new experiences; however, the opportunity for travel is not always readily available.  In this activity, children take a journey without leaving the comforts of home through reading nonfiction or fiction books.  While enjoying the books, they create postcards from the point of view of the main character(s) for each pit stop of the journey. By putting themselves “in the shoes” of the main character(s), children can be vicariously introduced to new places, experiences, and situations.

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Why This Is Helpful

Writing postcards to friends back home during a vacation is a common letter writing practice that requires knowing the parts of a postcard.  After examining the parts of a postcard, children “become” the characters in novels and think about details of the plot and setting.  When writing from the point of view of a character, the child must analyze the character to understand his/her personality traits and actions.  They must write about what happens in the plot in a concise manner because of the limiting size of a postcard.  Additionally, the children might need to use the Internet or print materials to research the setting for images displayed on their postcards.

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