Which of the following can you survive without for the longest time: water, food, or a positive mental attitude? The answer may surprise you. Guide learners of all ages through games, activities, and discussions about surviving in the wilderness and prioritizing bodily needs. After working together as a team in a shipwreck role play, they create coffee can survival kits with ten important components.

Concepts

survival, the wilderness, camping, hypothermia, hydration, fire safety

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Additional Tags

physical education

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Instructional Ideas

• If you do not have access to the outdoors for the lesson, have learners write about the shelters they would create, or encourage them to use classroom materials for construction
• Incorporate into a camp curriculum or outdoor survival program
• Have your class create survival kits at home with parents, and encourage them to store them in a place that's easy to find

Classroom Considerations

• A few of the activities require adult supervision, such as building a fire and boiling water
• Survival kit calls for a lighter and pocket knife, which may not be permitted at your school or camp
• Does not include a handout or worksheet, but you could make your own with the information provided

Pros

• Activities are appealing and straightforward for campers of all reading levels
• Provides ample explanation for each element of surviving in the wild

Cons

• None