Sailing Alone Around the World book question

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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • May 17, 2011 at 8:49 pm
    amama5
    Participant

    I just got this book in the mail and skimmed it for Module 5 which we will be starting in June.  It seemed extremely over my children’s heads (my oldest will be 7 in June) and way too many details for them right now, but maybe I’m just not used to CM books yet?  We finished a mini-SCM Greece unit, and those books seemed appropriate, as well as the literature recommendations.  Has anyone used this book before and if so, at all ages or do you wait until they are a bit older? 

    If I shouldn’t use it now, what would be a good geography substitute?

    Thanks! Adrienne

    May 17, 2011 at 9:32 pm
    suzukimom
    Participant

    Don’t know the book – but if you want a good geography book with sailing, I reccommend Seabird by Holling C. Holling.

    My son (7) loved it.

     

    Another book we did for geography (very light on it) was 33 Multicultural Tales to Tell.  It has a folk story from various places.  We’d read the story, and look at a map and find the place it was from.  It wasn’t a geography book per-se, but my kids did learn a lot about geography looking up the places.

    There are other good Holling C Holling books that are great for portions of the U.S. geography.  We read Paddle to the Sea last year – my son loved that one too. It is around the Great Lake Region (which was nice for us in Canada) – and there is Tree in the Trail and Minn of the Mississippi that we are planning to read in the future.

    May 18, 2011 at 4:43 am
    Sue
    Participant

    We are finishing up module 5 this month, and we’ve been reading “Stowaway” by Karen Hesse.  We tried “Sailing Alone….” for a bit at the beginning of the year and it wasn’t working well for us.  It simply did not hold the interest of any of the kids (10yo, 11yo, 12yo) and, I have to admit, I had a hard time loving it.

    “Stowaway” is written as a journal of Nicholas Young, age 11, who runs away from his apprenticeship with a butcher in London in 1768 and stows away on Captain James Cook’s ship, the H.M.S. Endeavour.  It is based on research into Captain Cook’s first voyage to discover new land for the King of England.  The journey takes them along the eastern coast of South America, around Cape Horn, and on to New Zealand and Australia.  It is an enjoyable read, and the journal entries often include latitudinal and longitudinal readings.  The author gives a note that tells how to adjust these readings to reflect how longitude is recorded in modern times so the reader may locate and track the ship’s route on a map.  It’s fascinating and fun.

    May 18, 2011 at 4:48 am
    suzukimom
    Participant

    Wow that sounds like a great book, and would make a fantastic Google Lit Trip.

    May 18, 2011 at 5:16 am
    Sue
    Participant

    Okay, I was very, very curious….so I searched (sorry, not Googled) Google Lit Trip to see what that was.  It looks really cool–a virtual field trip to places in the book you’re reading!

    Where have you “gone” and what books have you used with this?

    May 18, 2011 at 2:26 pm
    amama5
    Participant

    Thanks for the input, we had actually listened to Stowaway a year ago in the van before I found CM, so I’ll revisit it since my children enjoyed it, thanks!

    May 18, 2011 at 7:15 pm
    Tristan
    Participant

    I’ve not read either book mentioned in the thread (but they are on my summer reading list…LOL).  I wanted to share a page at Scholastic about the book Stowaway with some lesson ideas and discussion questions. 

    http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=779_type=Book_typeId=2626

    May 18, 2011 at 8:35 pm
    suzukimom
    Participant

    As for the Google Lit Trips, I discovered them after doing Paddle to the Sea (right when we finished it…) – but we did look at that one.  At the moment there aren’t any Google Lit Trips for any of the books we are doing, but I’ll definitely keep checking.

    I’ve considered making a couple, but just don’t have the time….

     

    May 18, 2011 at 8:56 pm
    Sue
    Participant

    @suzukimom….and they are free, correct?  You just have to sign up?

    May 18, 2011 at 9:21 pm
    suzukimom
    Participant

    Yes, they are totally free.  You have to download Google Earth (which is free), and you download the Lit Trips for whichever book you are doing – also totally free.

    The Lit Trips have been made by various teachers and students.  They vary in quality (as to be expected with various contributors) 

    April 22, 2012 at 9:16 am
    Wings2fly
    Participant

    I printed the lesson plan from Tristan’s link and I found the audiobook mp3 download of STOWAWAY at B&N. Do I also need to have the printed book for reference?

    My children are grades 3 and 1. Is this age appropriate?

    Thanks.

    April 22, 2012 at 10:07 pm
    Sue
    Participant

    I wouldn’t think you’d need the printed copy, as long as you can easily find the pages you need in the audio. I would say the 1st grader will enjoy it but maybe not as much as the 3rd grader, especially if you keep each session short.

    April 22, 2012 at 10:52 pm
    Monica
    Participant

    THANKS for the recommendation for Stowaway. My oldest really wanted to dig more into James Cook. This will be a great addition to our studies!

    April 24, 2012 at 1:10 am
    Wings2fly
    Participant

    FYI: the audiobook for Stowaway mp3 at B&N has 7 parts. Each part ranges from 61 minutes to 77 minutes, totaling 8 hours. If I leave the disc in my player in the van, it will remember my place.

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