School's Page

 If you are looking at this page it is probably because you  are reading our story as part of your curriculum at School.  We have had so many responses from teachers and children who have discovered the website that we want to set up a page just for you, and we need your help!

Any ideas can be emailed to to us via the home page

Letters from Teachers

Hello, and Thank You. I teach a 7th grade Literature class in Ohio, USA, and we just completed reading an abridged version of the book. My students were stunned that any family could exist in the manner that the Robertsons did and survive the ordeal!! They vowed that they could never drink turtle's blood, for example, or spend so many days in such cramped quarters. If there are surviving family members that would correspond by e-mail with some of my students, it would truly be a wonderful
ending to the reading of the book. Thank you again for the acts of courage and the gift of sharing it with a young reading audience. The lessons that they have been left to ponder about their own
abilities is great and steeped with self reflection.

I have thoroughly enjoyed using this story as I teach Literature.
The information on this website will be a neat follow-up activity
with the children in our computer lab.

I ran across a short story version of your "Survive the Savage Sea" adventures several years ago in a literature book. I am a middle school English teacher in Wisconsin. I have used that story for years and it is always a hit with the students. One year a group of students believed that your survival was no big deal and surely they would survive easily if they were in a similar situation. My colleagues and I decided to put them to the test. We designed a simulation based on your short story. We replicate all the challenges you encountered. For an entire day our students must remain on a raft (blanket) with 6 members of their class. They are given only the supplies you had. They catch fish (snack food) using rulers, fishing line, and paper clips. They signal passing ships using one flashlight and six mirrors. They make and write in journals about their adventures. They bail water from one bucket into another for hours and one group always manages to spill their bucket and spend the day in dampness. They make up songs to pass the time and sing them in front of the other rafts. They catch and drink turtle blood (tomato juice). They may only have the food onboard that you had; but since there are only there for one day, they must do the math and bring only a tiny amount. They try to take a nap for 15 minutes and realize there's not room to lie down. They fight, argue, laugh and have a great time. Thank you for your story and the years of enjoyment and experience you've allowed me to bring to my students.