In addition to the pleasure in reading the exciting, real-life adventures, the list of books offers a variety of sub-sets to use to develop specific skills. Teachers are encouraged to create their own sub-sets to suit their classroom needs.

Several books include maps tracing the paths of the explorers. Using classroom maps with a scale, students can locate the routes and cities, determine total miles covered, and in some cases, the miles per day.

• Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure
• Around the World in One Hundred Years
• I, Columbus Journeys in Time
• My Name Is York
• My Season With Penguins

Teachers can introduce a lesson on journal writing with another sub-set of books told all or in part through diaries.

• Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure
• Black Whiteness
• I, Columbus
• My Season With Penguins

Students might enjoy comparing the exploration of men and women, using a Venn diagram strategy.

Women
• Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure
• Coast to Coast with Alice
• Far Beyond the Garden Gate
• My Season With Penguins
• Uncommon Traveler

Men
• Around the World in One Hundred Years
• Black Whiteness
• Buried in Ice
• Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World
• Spirit of Endurance
• I, Columbus

There are several pairs of books that enable students of different reading levels to work collaboratively.

• Alice Ramsey's trip across America by car in 1909
• Climbers who have scaled Mt. Everest
• Sir Ernest Shackleton's attempt to cross Antarctica
• Columbus' discovery of the Americas

Exploration Matrix