Class Project: Create a Travel Reading Guide for a Chosen 2026 Destination

Hook: Turn a classroom assignment into a travel-ready reading kit

Students and teachers often struggle to find high-quality, discussion-ready reading lists that connect literature, history, and practical travel knowledge. Create a project that does all three: a travel reading guide for one of The Points Guy’s 17 top destinations for 2026 that blends context, story, and usable trip planning. This brief gives teachers a ready-to-run assignment, students a clear roadmap, and book clubs a template to run destination-focused discussions or virtual events.

Quick overview: What this project teaches (most important first)

Learning outcomes: Cultural literacy, multi-source research, annotated bibliography skills, public presentation, and travel planning basics (including points & miles fundamentals). By the end students will produce a polished, annotated travel reading guide that pairs historical context, fiction and memoir, travel tips, and community-based resources for a chosen 2026 destination from The Points Guy list.

Why this matters in 2026

As travel rebounds and evolves in 2026, students need frameworks that teach ethical, climate-aware, and practically safe travel planning. The Points Guy’s early-2026 selections reflect destinations with changing routes, travel policies, and renewed cultural calendars. This project trains students to evaluate timely sources (late 2025 to early 2026) and synthesize them into discussion-ready reading guides.

Project brief: Create a Travel Reading Guide

Audience: high-school and university classes, community learning groups, and student book clubs.

Timeframe: 6 weeks (flexible: 4–8 weeks depending on class schedule).

Group size: individual or small groups (2–4 students). Small groups encourage role division—researcher, annotator, mapmaker, and presenter.

Deliverables

• Annotated reading guide (6–12 entries) categorized by history, fiction/memoir, practical travel guides, and local voices & media.
• Two-page contextual brief summarizing the destination’s recent 2025–2026 developments that affect travelers (policy, climate, routes).
• One multimedia presentation (10–15 minutes) to share highlights, a sample walking/driving day, and discussion questions.
• Optional: digital kit (map, reading schedule, local phrase sheet, budget planning using points & miles basics from The Points Guy).

Step-by-step instructions for students

1. Choose your destination (week 1)

Select one of The Points Guy’s 17 destinations for 2026. Confirm your choice with the teacher and state why that destination is academically interesting—history, diaspora, literature, or contemporary events.

2. Build a research scaffold (week 1–2)

Set up a shared research folder (Google Drive, Dropbox, or a class LMS). Create tabs or folders for:

• Scholarly sources and local histories
• Fiction and memoir
• Travel guides, blogs, and official tourism pages
• Media: podcasts, films, virtual museum tours

Use Zotero or a simple bibliography doc to track citations. In 2026, students should also log any AI tools used (prompts and outputs) to keep processes transparent.

3. Curate and categorize books (week 2–3)

For a balanced guide include:

• One or two historical works that explain political and cultural context.
• Two to four works of fiction or memoir that offer lived perspective and language of place.
• One practical travel guide (recent edition, 2024–2026 preferred) and local guides/blogs for up-to-date tips.
• Two local voices: authors, journalists, podcasts, food writers, or community organizations.

4. Write annotations (week 3–4)

Each entry needs a concise annotation (80–200 words) that covers:

• Why this work matters for the destination
• Key themes and useful passages
• Reading level and recommended chapters/pages for short timelines
• How to use it on a trip—specific sites, neighborhoods, or rituals to connect the text to place

5. Add practical trip tie-ins (week 4)

Turn literary insight into travel actions: suggested walks, museums, neighborhood food stops, and ethical reminders about local customs or fragile sites. Include a one-day literary itinerary pairing a book excerpt with a walking route or museum visit.

6. Build discussion questions and activities (week 4–5)

Create 6–10 discussion prompts that connect text to history and travel choices. Add one community-based activity—e.g., a local guest speaker, virtual exchange with a student from the destination, or a cooking demo featuring a regional recipe.

7. Present and publish (week 6)

Present the guide in class or a school forum. Publish as a one-page PDF, a blog post, or a Readymag/Notion page for broader access. Encourage peer reviews and comments.

Assessment rubric (sample)

• Research quality (30%): diversity of sources, currency (2024–2026), citation accuracy.
• Annotations & insight (30%): clarity, depth, and connection to place.
• Practicality (20%): clear trip tie-ins, up-to-date tips, and accessibility considerations.
• Presentation & creativity (10%): engagement, multimedia, and pedagogical utility.
• Collaboration & transparency (10%): clear roles, tool logs, and AI usage disclosure.

Tools, sources, and 2026 trends to integrate

Incorporate modern research tools and travel trends to keep guides relevant:

• Zotero or Mendeley for references.
• Local archives and digital libraries (many made new digitization pushes in 2025).
• Google Arts & Culture and museum virtual tours for immersive context.
• The Points Guy and destination airline news for points & miles guidance—TPG’s Jan 2026 overview of the 17 destinations is a timely resource for route and timing insights.
• Climate-aware travel frameworks: carbon calculators, slow travel options, and community-based tourism organizations.
• AI for brainstorming (ChatGPT, Bard) but require prompt logs and verification of generated facts.

“Make 2026 the year you stop hoarding points for ‘someday’ and book that trip.” — paraphrase of The Points Guy’s 2026 call to travel purposefully and pragmatically

Accessibility, ethics, and cultural sensitivity

Strong guides foreground local voices, avoid romanticizing trauma, and respect cultural property. Provide translations for non-English titles, indicate reading accessibility (audiobooks, large-print, translated editions), and flag content warnings when relevant. In 2026, classrooms are especially asked to center indigenous and local perspectives, not just outsider narratives. Include an accessibility pass: ensure text alternatives for multimedia, readable fonts for PDFs, and language supports for multilingual learners.

Sample project: A Travel Reading Guide for Lisbon (example)

The following is a compact, classroom-ready annotated guide for Lisbon to show structure and level of detail expected. Use this as a template; your final guide should reflect your destination’s unique sources and voices.

History

• A Concise History of Portugal — David Birmingham (annotation): A readable overview of Portugal’s formation, empire, and 20th-century politics. Useful chapters: the Age of Exploration, the Estado Novo, and the Carnation Revolution. Trip tie-in: visit the Jerónimos Monastery and the Maritime Museum with this chapter open for context. Discussion prompt: How do historic trade routes shape modern Lisbon’s neighborhoods?
• The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon — Richard Zimler (annotation): Historical novel that drops readers into 16th-century Lisbon and the Jewish community’s trials. Use selected excerpts for discussions about memory, identity, and religious coexistence. Trip tie-in: explore Lisbon’s Alfama and the Museu Judaico de Lisboa with a focus on layered histories.

Fiction & Memoir

• The Book of Disquiet — Fernando Pessoa (annotation): A fragmentary, poetic account of urban introspection rooted in Lisbon’s streets. Assign short passages for voice study and mapping exercises—students match passages to real streets and cafés that still exist. Activity: create a short walking audio piece inspired by Pessoa’s descriptions.
• Night Train to Lisbon — Pascal Mercier (annotation): A philosophical novel that foregrounds Lisbon’s intellectual life and recent history. Use it to talk about narrative voice and how novels can drive travel curiosity. Trip tie-in: itinerary pairing—Chiado bookshops and a morning at the National Museum of Contemporary Art.

Travel & Practical Guides

• Lonely Planet Portugal (2024/2025 edition recommended) — annotation: Practical arrival tips, public transit maps, and seasonal notes (important for 2026 festival calendars). Include a short summary of current public transit payment systems and low-emission zones as of early 2026.
• The Points Guy: Lisbon tips & points planning — annotation: Use TPG’s advice for timing redemptions and picking flights. Students should summarize best-value months and note any new routes announced up to Jan 2026.

Local voices & media

• Local food blog or podcast — choose a Lisbon-based food writer and summarize a story about traditional markets (e.g., Time Out Lisboa or independent writers). Tie to a market visit: Mercado da Ribeira for tastings and local vendors.
• Documentary or short film — pick a short film about Lisbon’s neighborhoods and use for a 20-minute in-class clip with discussion prompts about gentrification and tourism.

One-day literary itinerary (sample)

1. Morning: Start with Pessoa passages at Miradouro de Santa Catarina for panorama and reflection.
2. Noon: Mercado da Ribeira lunch paired with a chapter on food culture.
3. Afternoon: Jerónimos Monastery and Maritime Museum, reading a chapter from Birmingham on maritime history.
4. Evening: Bookshop crawl in Chiado and a short reflection session—students pair an excerpt to a shop.

Discussion prompts (sample)

• How does Pessoa’s fragmented voice change the way we perceive urban space?
• What are the ethical responsibilities of travelers to neighborhoods experiencing overtourism?
• How do Lisbon’s maritime legacies influence contemporary cultural identity?

Classroom activities & extensions

Turn the guide into an event:

• Host a small exhibit or podcast episode featuring interviews with local residents or diaspora voices (check time zones and platform accessibility).
• Run a two-week reading challenge paired with Instagram or Mastodon micro-reviews using a project hashtag.
• Create a small exhibit or podcast episode featuring interviews with local residents or diaspora voices.

Practical advice for teachers

• Set clear checkpoints (topic approval, annotated draft, final guide, presentation) and give feedback at each stage.
• Provide a list of vetted starting sources: library catalog, TPG’s 2026 destinations roundup, national libraries, and academic journals.
• Require citation transparency for any AI-generated text; encourage verification against primary sources.
• Include an accessibility pass: ensure text alternatives for multimedia, readable fonts for PDFs, and language supports for multilingual learners.

Classroom case study: Hybrid book club + travel planning

One cohort ran this project as a hybrid module in fall 2025: half the students were remote. They used a Notion workspace to publish guides and hosted a livestreamed presentation with a Portuguese chef who did a short cooking demo. Students reported improved research confidence and stronger interdisciplinary thinking—connecting literature to logistics and ethics.

Final tips and 2026 predictions to keep your guide fresh

• Expect dynamic route and airline changes in 2026; always timestamp your travel tips.
• Center climate and community impact: include low-carbon options and community-based tourism partners.
• Use virtual reality or 360° tours where possible to supplement physical travel limitations—a growing classroom trend in early 2026.
• Keep an eye on The Points Guy for evolving points strategies; integrate short primers for students on frequent flyer basics.

Actionable takeaway checklist (for students)

1. Pick a destination from TPG’s 17 list and get teacher approval.
2. Create a research binder and log all sources (include AI prompt logs).
3. Choose 6–12 texts across the recommended categories.
4. Write concise annotations and trip tie-ins for each text.
5. Build one day-long literary itinerary and three discussion questions per major text.
6. Publish and present the guide; collect peer feedback and revise.

Call to action

Ready to run this project in your classroom or club? Download our free project kit (reading templates, rubric, presentation slides, and a sample bibliography) and join The Books Club’s destination reading cohort for 2026. Share your finished guides and we’ll feature standout student work in our virtual book club and teacher resource hub.

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