Teaching Looking for Alaska

Instructions for You

Objective: Cartography is a great way for students to track the elusive North American Teenager. The North American Teenager is a feisty creature that moves in herds, smokes cigarettes (in this novel, anyway), and constantly looks for love in all the wrong places. For this reason, we want to map out the territory that Alaska and her herd travel in. In doing so, we hope to provide your kiddos with a deeper level understanding of John Green's characters.

To get the mapping going, you'll want your students to start working on this activity right from the beginning by paying close attention to where characters are going and where they're hanging out. We want a basic map, nothing overly detailed, but something that incorporates the campus, the smoking spot, and all the other key areas where the plot heats up.

This activity can probably be kept to a time allotment of 45 minutes. Students can do a lot of the legwork for homework, too (key maniacal laughter).

Materials Needed: the text, butcher paper, colored pencils, regular pencils, erasers, computers, and this handy Shmoop resource about setting

Step 1: Place is really important. It defines people, cultures, and even language (if you don't have bears in your area, you may not even have a word for "bear"; if you don't have mountains, why have a word for "mountain"?).

Things aren't any different here with Looking for Alaska. A lot happens at the Creek, and it defines Miles's and Alaska's experiences. Have students begin by reading our entry on setting for the novel. This will give them a nice little heads-up about the importance of place.

[Please note: There are spoilers in this entry, so you can bump this back until after Alaska dies if you want.]

Step 2: When your class starts reading the novel, tell students to keep an eye out for places and spaces that can go on their maps. It's important for them to think about this from the outset, so they don't miss something important. Have them think about these questions:

• Where is the school located?
• Where are the dorms? The cafeteria?
• Where is the lake, the Smoking Hole, and the barn?
• What other noteworthy places should they include?

Step 3: Once you've gotten through about 10 chapters, have students take their list of places and start their map. You have a few options here, but we recommend you have them work in pairs. Pairing them will accomplish a few things: it'll cut down on grading for you and it'll hit those much needed speaking Common Core Standards. Bonuses all around.

OK, so what should the map look like? Well, the biggie is to have them draw what they see in their heads. They should be constructing mental images of the setting, and if they aren't, this is the time to help them start doing so. This step is all about creating a quick sketch of where everything is.

Step 4: Once they have key settings marked on their map and have at least started constructing images, it's time to start reading again. As they continue on their reading journey, they should continue to jot down new places that crop up. Read until Chapter 50.

Step 5: Now it's time for students to add the extra bits to their maps, all the new places (like the convenience store and the scene of Alaska's death) that have cropped up in the ensuing chapters.

Step 6: Once the overall map is, well, mapped out, we want to add labels and color that puppy. So have your kiddos label everything—easy-peasy. Then have them color in the map.

Step 7: Last step, we promise. In a single paragraph, students respond to this prompt:

How important is setting in this story? Could this story have taken place somewhere else, like a college, or work environment? Explain why the Creek is such a primary focus and how it affects the story.

Instructions for Your Students

We're going to get out our colored pencils and create a map of the world...well, of Alaska's world, anyhoo. In this assignment, you'll be sleuthing it up, collecting data of all the places mentioned in this novel and then making a map. So warm up your artistic side and let's get started.

Step 1: Place is really important. It defines people, cultures, and even language (if you don't have bears in your area, you may not even have a word for "bear"; if you don't have mountains, why have a word for "mountain"?).

Things aren't any different here with Looking for Alaska. A lot happens at the Creek, and it defines Miles's and Alaska's experience. Start out by reading our entry on setting for this novel here. It'll give you a heads-up about the importance of place.

[Please note: There are spoilers in this entry, so your teacher may bump this back until a later time.]

Step 2: From the beginning, you'll need to keep an eye out for places and spaces that can go on your map. It's important to think about this from the outset, so you don't miss something big. Make a list of the key places in Miles and Alaska-land as you go. In fact, think about these questions too:

• Where is the school located?
• Where are the dorms? The cafeteria?
• Where is the lake and the Smoking Hole?
• What other noteworthy places are mentioned?

Step 3: Once you've gotten through about 10 chapters, take your list of places and start working on your map. Your teacher has a few options here, but we recommend you work in pairs. Your teacher will determine what fits your needs best, though.

OK, so what should this map look like? Well, the biggie is to draw what you see in your head. You know that good readers see movies in their heads, right? If you aren't already constructing mental images, this is a great place to start doing so. Just give us a quick sketch of where everything is and then use that as your primary image as you read.

Step 4: Once you have important places marked on you map and have at least started constructing images in your mind, it's time to go back to reading again. As you continue on your reading journey, continue to jot down new places that crop up until you hit Chapter 50.

Step 5: Got there already? Great, now it's time to add extra bits to your maps. What new places have cropped up since last time?
A convenience store? The scene of Alaska's death? Add them now.

Step 6: Once the overall map is, well, mapped out, we want you to add labels and color that puppy. Label everything—easy-peasy. Then color in the map. Equally easy.

Step 7: Last step, we promise! In a single paragraph, we want you to respond to this prompt:

How important is setting in this story? Could this story have taken place somewhere else, like a college, or work environment? Explain why the Creek is such a primary focus and how it affects the story.

Once you turn all of this in, you're all good in the 'hood.