Using the News:

Graham Hughes, of Great Britain, has accomplished something no one has ever done. He has visited all 201 countries of the world AND without taking an airplane!  It took Hughes four years to complete his journey beginning in the country of Uruguay,on January 1,2009. He just completed his trek in Juba, South Sudan. Hughes traveled an estimated 160,000 miles in his 1426 days relying on boats, trains, buses, taxis and his feet. In addition to a no fly rule, Hughes didn't drive his own vehicle, took only scheduled transportation and said that a visit to a country must involve actually stepping on land.Along the way, Hughes had some difficulties such as being arrested for being a spy in the Congo and accused of entering Russia without proper permission. High points of his trip included dancing with natives in Papua New Guinea and swimming in a lake filled with jellyfish in Palau.He spent four days aboard a leaky fishing canoe traveling from Senegal to Cape Verde and said probably the most difficult part of his journey was getting from some of the island such as Tuvalu, Samoa and Nauru without flying in an airplane. He said that he loves to travel and wanted to show people that the world is "not some big, scary place,but in fact is full of people who want to help you even if you are a stranger." Living on $100 per day, Hughes' trip also raised money for Water Aid, a British organization that works to provide clean water and sanitation to the world's poorest  people.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/graham-hughes-british-adventurer-travels-to-all-countries_n_2192680.html

http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com-how to contact Graham Hughes(his website)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239087/Graham-Hughes-British-man-person-visit-201-countries-WITHOUT-using-plane.html  

Activities:

If you could travel to any country of the world, where might you wish to visit and why. Research the country and make a travel poster. Include: 3 geography facts, 3 places to visit(specific place like a mountain, museum, landmark, etc), 3 souvenirs(things the country is famous for), 3 historical facts, 3 facts about the 

government of the country.

Obviously, you would need to travel light for a trip to visit all the countries of the world. Draw a large backpack. What would be 10 things you'd pack in your backpack?

Find a train table(perhaps use http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/point_to_point/passholderrequest.htm) for a trip between 3 nearby countries(perhaps in Europe) From which city could you leave/arrival time/ leave time to get to 3 countries in 24 hours.

Write a one day diary entry about your travels. What did you do? Hear? See?

Learn about WaterAid. Activities for kids: http://www.wateraidamerica.org/learn_zone/classroom_materials/default.aspx  Make posters to share a fact about water and sanitation issues in parts of the world.

Use a map of the world. Have small groups of students make 7 mapwork questions. Exchange with another group to answer.  http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-image.html

As of 2012,the  United Nations recognizes 193 countries .Use the world map to locate those places Graham Hughes visited that are not included in this list:Taiwan, Vatican City, Kosovo,Palestine and Western Sahara. South Sudan is the newest country(July 9,2011), find this country on a world map,too.