Could a book on time travel be useful for English teachers?
Well, I think so, otherwise I wouldn’t be publishing the following book review here!
Review of Destination Time Travel, by Steve Nallon
Click the image to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
A book on temporal adventures may seem like an odd inclusion here, but it can actually be used in many ways. The physics of time travel, for example, can provide glimpses into relativity and related topics. In any case, the science programme of study aims to cultivate in students ‘a sense of excitement and curiosity’ – which Destination Time Travel certainly does.
English teachers could use some of the ideas it presents as writing prompts, while RE teachers may be interested in pursuing class discussions around the implications time travel might have for the ‘fate versus free will debate’.
History teachers could even use it as a gateway into the alternative history genre.
If you’ve ever entertained the prospect of using time travel somewhere in your scheme of work, then I doubt that you’ll find a more comprehensive resource on which to draw than this.
This book was first reviewed in Teach Secondary magazine, minus the introductory sentence at the top of this article.
If you're reading this before 8th June 2024, you may be interested to know that I'm running a course called Creative Writing with Constraints at the City Lit Adult Education Institute in London on 8th June. One of the techniques we'll be trying out is rewriting a short story in a completely different style. This proved hugely popular when I did this the last time I taught the course. Find out more by clicking on that link. Hope to see you there!