Take a Reading Journey

Here is a fun way to encourage your child to read more, and to "sneak in" a little geography at the same time. Start your child on a fun reading "journey"across the USA.

To begin, get a map of the United States. This can be a large wall map, or a smaller map from an atlas or library book. Preferably it should be one that your child can draw on or mark with thumbtacks or pins. You can find some good maps at these sites:

National Geographic Map Machine

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Center Outline Maps

Your child will read to collect the miles needed to make this "journey". Decide on a number of pages which need to be read in order to earn a certain number of miles. This should be determined by your child's reading level, and the size of the map you are working with. For example, you might say that 20 pages read equals 100 miles of travel on the map. Make this requirement one which is easily reached by your child. Your goal is to have your child gather miles easily so that he can consistently mark his progress on the map. You may want to make this a family project, with each family member taking his or her own trip.

Have your child begin his journey in your hometown. Help your child to choose a destination, or a direction in which to travel. As your child reads each day, help him mark his progress on the map by moving a thumbtack, sticker, or other marker the number of miles earned by his reading. Or you may wish to have him color in the parts of the map as he travels. ( This provides practice in map reading skills and use of mileage charts in addition to encouraging reading). Have your child plan his trip as he reads. He may want to take a tour of a certain part of the country, take a trip to Grandma's, or travel across the USA to the Pacific. If others in the family are joining in, have each plan his or her own itinerary.

While you are "traveling", you may wish to have your child do a little work with maps. Check out these links for some great information about geography and kids:

Helping Your Child Learn Geography

Working with Maps

Finding Your Way with a Map and Compass

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