Bibliography for Teachers

Compiled by Jonathan Anscher

This is a bibliography of adventure activity resource books. It is aimed for teachers and school settings, thought many of these books can be useful in any Experiential Education setting. Most of these books can be found on www.amazon.com. Many can also be found on www.adventurehardware.com or www.fundoing.com (Chris Cavert's website).

General Activity Books
These three books are like the bibles of Experiential Education Activities. They have a ton of both common and uncommon activities. These books will provide you with a broad base of activities for any level of activity and a great range of goals.

Butler, Steve and Rohnke, Karl. Quicksilver: Adventure Games, Initiative Problems, Trust Activities and a Guide to Effective Leadership.

Rohnke, Karl. Cowstails and Cobras II: A Guide to Games, Initiatives, Ropes Courses, and Adventure Curriculum.

Rohnke, Karl. Silver bullets: A guide to initiative problems, adventure games, stunts, and trust activities.

Specific Purpose Books
Cavert, Chris and Friends. Affordable Portables: Revised and Expanded. Words 'N' Barnes Publishing & Distribution, Oklahoma City: 1999.

• This is an excellent source for inexpensive and easy to build low elements and initiatives. The complexity of design and materials varies from a single rope to PVC or wood constructions. It is a great source to start a basic set of low challenge course elements.

Jones, Alanna. 104 Activities That Build: Self-esteem, Teamwork, Communication, Anger Management, Self-discovery, and Coping Skills.

• These activities are specific to many different social issues. It is especially valuable for middle school and high school populations as social pressures start to build traits within adolescents.

Gass, Michael A., Ph.D. Book of Metaphors, Volume II. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubois:1995. (Has a good section for schools.)

• This book tailors activities to specific metaphors that can be used to relate learning to different life situations. It has a good section focused on school populations.

Cain, Jim and Jolliff, Barry. Teamwork & Teamplay.

• This is a great resource for activities as well as a hints and tips for better facilitation. It also has a long list of other resources for adventure practice and theory.

Teacher-Specific Books
These books are tailored towards the teacher and school settings. They fit within a classroom layout and utilize mostly resources that are readily available to teachers.

Cavert, Chris and Frank, Laurie and Friends. Games (& other stuff) for Teachers: Classroom Activities that Promote Pro-Social Learning. Words 'N' Barnes Publishing & Distribution, Oklahoma City: 1999.

Fank, Laurie. The Caring Classroom: Using Adventure to Create Community in the Classroom and Beyond.

Henton, Mary. In the Classroom: Using Adventure to Strengthen Learning and Build a Community of Life-long Learners.