My Side of the Mountain is a classic novel read year after year in upper elementary and middle school classrooms worldwide. Originally published in the 1950s, My Side of the Mountain has become a timeless novel that has captivated the minds and hearts of students who long for adventure. Let’s explore 8 projects for My Side of the Mountain.
Centered around nature, survivorship, adversity, escapism, isolation, and adventure, this novel is about Sam Gribley, a boy who runs away to the Catskill Mountains to live on the land by himself. With only a handful of items, Sam overcomes the danger of the outdoors such as a blizzard, an ice storm, and animals raiding his storage food. He learns to use his resources carefully, befriend animals, and survive on wild plants and animals, all while showing his bravery and determination.
Interested in teaching My Side of the Mountain? Grab our Project-Based Learning: My Side of the Mountain Unit.
This novel is perfect for project-based learning. Sam Gribley spends a year living on the land and living out a project-based world himself. Learning from library books and some of the intelligent adults he encounters, Sam shows that education can be accomplished through using one’s hands. Learning by one’s hands is a crucial element for project-based learning.
Below are 8 project-based learning activities your students can complete for My Side of the Mountain.
Project 1: Shoebox Diorama
Sam Gribley successfully survives for a year largely due to his tree hollow. By digging out a cavity of a hemlock tree, he creates a cozy and safe environment to weather the elements of the mountains, stay warm, and protect himself from animals at night. Students can do a deep dive into the setting of the book by recreating Sam’s tree home by completing a shoebox diorama. Allow students to use a variety of materials including Lego blocks, real items from nature, art supplies, etc. to create their dioramas. Students must also reference the novel to make their diorama as accurate as possible.
Another alternative is for students to create a shoebox diorama of their very own tree home they would have if they were to live in the wild for a year like Sam. This allows students to deeply connect to the character of Sam. Perhaps they would do things completely different than Sam, like find a cave and create a moss bed instead. This would allow them to think about their very own survival setting.
Students and homeschoolers can utilize their backyard for this project. If students are in a traditional public school, they can document this journey through photos.
Project 2: Plant/Animal Journal
Sam keeps a journal of his various activities, recipes, hunting/trapping tips, and more in a journal. Students can create a journal to help them follow along with the various informative pieces of the novel. Students will learn a great deal about specific plants and animals as they read the novel, and they can record this valuable information in a journal.
After reading each section, students record each plant and animal mentioned as well as the various bits of information Sam mentions. This journal can then become a springboard for a deeper project later on, such as a posterboard report about an animal or an interesting plant from the book.
Project 3: Catskill Mountains Investigation
The Catskill Mountains, located in southeastern New York state, is the beautiful backdrop to Sam’s adventures. Students can delve into the novel’s setting by creating a presentation all about the Catskill Mountains.
Using Google Slides, Canva, or any other presentation platform, students can create an informative display featuring pertinent information about the mountains such as weather, climate, landscape features, animals, plants, and more. The best part? They can use the novel to find out most of the information for their presentation.
Project 4: Survival Backpack
Sam takes a handful of items with him when he runs away to the mountains. He takes a pen knife, $40, a ball of chord, and an ax. Sam wanted to rely on the land and his ingenuity to survive.
Survival Backpack Project here.
Challenge your students to think of 5-10 items they would take with them in a survival backpack. Students can create a posterboard with the items printed out or drawn with captions explaining each component of their survival backpack. Students could create this on Google Slides as well or bring in an actual backpack with the real items. Challenge students further by stating they must bring in items they find at home. (Fair warning: If a student wants to include something like an ax or matches in their backpack, have them draw or print out that item instead.)
Project 5: Recipe Challenge
Sam uses his resources creatively and with inventiveness to cook and prepare his meals solely from the land. From acorn pancakes smeared with blueberry jam to deer steak and wild strawberries, Sam becomes quite the foraging chef.
Ask students to prepare one of the recipes found in the novel or a variation of one. Some ideas include fish wrapped in grape leaves, wild salad, turtle soup, and venison stew. Prepare a meal together in class or encourage students to prepare one at home (with the help of an adult) as a project and bring it in for their classmates to try.
Project 6: Nature Art Project
Create a cross-curricular opportunity by allowing students to sketch the beauty of nature in a journal or on art paper. Sam’s journal includes amazing sketches of his surroundings.
Students can connect with Sam by drawing the nature they find outside the school building or in their backyards. Challenge them to write captions of their drawings to detail the pictures just like Sam did in the book.
Grab our FREE My Side of the Mountain Coloring Pages! (Students love to color these while listening to the story read aloud!)
FREE My Side of the Mountain Coloring Pages
Project 7: Newspaper Article/Video Report
Toward the end of the novel, Sam’s friend, Bando, brings him a variety of newspaper articles that feature a wild boy living in the mountains and living off the land. Sam was shocked that he was a local sensation. He also struggled because his privacy was violated. Students can pretend to be newspaper writers and create an article all about the “wild boy.” They can interview various people that he has encountered, and even featuring an interview with Sam himself.
Furthermore, students can write an article to read aloud like a news report and recorded for the class to see.
Project 8: Inside Sam’s Head
My Side of the Mountain is a great book to explore the various types of conflicts in literature. Sam experiences each type of conflict as he wrestles with how to survive on the land completely by himself. One of the biggest conflicts he faces is an internal struggle between Sam vs himself. He battles with himself on wanting to stay isolated but also needing some sort of socialization. He contends with himself because he misses his family. However, Sam recognizes that his family is the reason he had to get away in the first place.
Students can explore Sam’s internal struggles by creating a poster showing the outline of Sam’s head. Inside the head, students will draw and write the various inner conflicts Sam faces. Students will include how each conflict is resolved.
Interested in teaching My Side of the Mountain? Grab our Project-Based Learning: My Side of the Mountain Unit.
Conclusion
These various projects will engage your students. It will allow them to connect deeply to My Side of the Mountain in a hands-on, out-of-the-box way. I highly recommend My Side of the Mountain as a novel unit in your classroom. Students will be drawn to the adventures of Sam and the many active and intriguing learning opportunities.
