As an educator embarking on a trip with your students, your role will likely not just be limited to planning the trip. You likely will be the one to inspire the joy of travel and wanderlust in your students! This joy and anticipation can and should be built well in advance of departure! Just like with most things in the classroom, the more resources you have available to you, the more successful you’ll be.
Consider:
Books about travel. Books that feature a protagonist who embarks on a journey or sees exciting sites can inspire students to travel themselves, even if the books are fiction. Books can help both teachers and students get inspired to travel. Some favorites include:
● The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
● The Size of the World by Jeff Greenwald
● On the Road by Jack Kerouac
● Wild by Cheryl Strayed
These are just a few of the hundreds of travel-inspiring books your students can read.
Travel blogs and websites. Giving students the opportunity to read first-hand accounts of travel and tips and tricks for traveling all in one resource can be very inspiring. Student travel blogs do a great job of that, and can prove to be a great classroom resource. Have students follow a few of the following blogs:
● Travel Beyond Excuses
● Wandering Educators
● Go Abroad
These blogs, and similar ones, will inspire students to travel by showing them what it’s really like.
Past travelers. Students respond very well to, and trust the advice of, peers. Invite students that have previously traveled (either on a school trip or with their family) into your classroom and have them speak about their experience. While you should give them the ability to tell their story however they choose, be sure that they explain the long term positive impacts that their trip made on them.
By having a few key resources on hand, educators can excite students about traveling and inspire them to participate in any upcoming school trips. Since travel is one of the best ways to enhance the educational experience, these inspirational resources will have a lasting impact on your students’ educations.
