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Reading Treks: Adventure Awaits

Bring stories to life for your students with TeachersFirst's Reading Treks — a growing collection of custom-built interactive maps that trace the settings and events from each story. By grounding students in the actual places behind the book, Reading Treks build the background knowledge readers need to fully understand and connect with a text. Every Reading Trek comes with a complete teacher guide aligned to standards and packed with ready-to-use lesson ideas that help you weave geography, literacy, and critical thinking into a single engaging experience.

Grades K-2

Reading Trek: Pete the Cat's Family Road Trip

Perfect for elementary readers, follow Pete on a fun cross-country adventure that explores family, landmarks, and geography, complete with a map and lesson ideas for hands-on learning.

Grades K-5

Reading Trek: Mr. Ferris and His Wheel

Discover the inspiring story of George Ferris and his iconic creation for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Explore his innovative engineering journey using an interactive map packed with activities and adaptable lesson stems for educators.

Grades 3-8

Reading Trek: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Follow Cassie Logan and her family as they fight to keep their land and dignity in 1930s Mississippi. Experience her powerful story through an interactive map filled with engaging learning activities and flexible lesson ideas for educators.

Grades 4-7

Reading Trek: Lexi Magill and the Teleportation Tournament

Join twelve-year-old physics whiz Lexi Magill as her team teleports around the globe solving science puzzles in high-stakes competitions. Track her global race using an interactive map complete with engaging learning activities and adaptable lesson ideas.

Grades 4-7

Reading Trek: Enrique’s Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother

"Enrique’s Journey" tracks a Honduran boy’s brave trek atop freight trains to find his mother in the US. Follow his harrowing journey across Central America using interactive learning activities, extension activities, and standards correlation.

Grades 5-8

Reading Trek: A Long Walk to Water

Follow Nya and Salva as two parallel lives intersect across Sudan in a gripping search for survival, clean water, and hope. Trace their dual paths with a dynamic digital map featuring hands-on classroom activities and flexible teaching suggestions.

Grades 5-8

Reading Trek: Prairie Lotus

Step onto the 1880s Dakota territory frontier with Chinese American Hanna as she pursues her dream of becoming a dressmaker despite intense prejudice. Track her town-to-town trek alongside the custom map, find class ideas and standards correlations.

Grades 5-8

Reading Trek: The Captain's Dog - My Journey with the Lewis & Clark Tribe

"The Captain's Dog" retells the Lewis & Clark expedition through the eyes of Seaman, their loyal Newfoundland dog. A companion map and lesson guide help students trace the historic journey while building geography and history knowledge.

Grades 5-8

Reading Trek: Uprising

Experience sweatshop labor and the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire through three young women in NYC. Uncover their interconnected journeys using detailed route waypoints on the map, primary source connections, and lesson planning resources.

Grades 7-9

Reading Trek: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Trace the real-life journey of Nathaniel Bowditch, a self-taught 18th-century navigator and mathematician, in this middle-grade historical novel. The included maps and teacher guide bring his voyages and perseverance to life for students.

Grades 7-12

Reading Trek: They Called Us Enemy

George Takei's graphic memoir recounts his family's imprisonment in Japanese American internment camps during WWII. Suited for middle and high school students, it pairs a moving personal history with mapped locations and classroom-ready resources.

Grades 8-12

Reading Trek: Paper Towns

"Paper Towns" follows Quentin, a high school senior in Orlando, who is infatuated with his mysterious neighbor, Margo. Ideal for high school readers, this story explores identity, perception, and the complexities of growing up.

Grades 8-12

Reading Trek: Pride

Set in Bushwick, Brooklyn, this high school novel reimagines "Pride and Prejudice" through Zuri, an Afro-Latina teen defending her neighborhood amid gentrification. The companion maps and teacher guide explore identity, community, and change.

Grades 9-12

Reading Trek: So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

Bethany C. Morrow's "So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix" reimagines Louisa May Alcott's classic, following four African-American sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—as they navigate love, hope, and freedom in 1863 on North Carolina's Roanoke Island.

This Week at TeachersFirst

Join us for a virtual workshop (or two) this week. We also have a reading-related blog post and an on-demand session to learn more about our Reading Treks. Finally, we invite you to check out a paid opportunity to join our team as a part-time contributor. Read the details below!