I’m thrilled about this awesome bulletin board I made for our study of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Yes, I know it is a controversial novel, but I still choose to teach it for many reasons. If you have any qualms with the book or need someone to convince you to teach it, just read The Jim Dilemma: Reading Race in Huckleberry Finn by Jocelyn Chadwick-Joshua. You will not be disappointed.
I drew the map myself from a map I found online. It was a bit of a long process, but since I laminated it, I’ve been able to reuse it again and again each year.
Because I cannot draw that well, I thought it would be fun to have a class contest (for those who wanted to enter) to see who could draw the best “Huck & Jim on a Raft” that we could use to have them “travel” down the Mississippi. The class voted and this one won by just one vote!
This was the runner-up. But since they are both so cute, I decided we would switch them out every time they floated further down the river. I also gave these two students extra credit (they were the only two who submitted something).
Here’s an up-close look at some of my artwork. This is the Phelps’ Farm where Huck and Jim end up at the end of the novel.
This bulletin board has always been a fabulous resource for me to use throughout our study and has really helped the kids with a visual of what Huck and Jim’s journey looks like.
If you’re looking for a great way to review the chapters as you read, check out our Huckleberry Finn Discussion Based Questions here!
If you make your own, please take some pictures and share!