MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — John Cook looked at the items before him on the table: an empty plastic bottle, cotton balls, gravel and charcoal. Separately, they may not mean much to him.

But John, a sixth-grader at Whittier Elementary, learned recently that if you combine those items they make a water filtration system, and it could help him survive in the wilderness.

"I've never really done this before," John said to the Muskogee Phoenix. "If you didn't have what you needed, you'd be out of luck I guess. But we're learning basic survival skills, and I guess they would help if you got stuck somewhere."

John was with other 28 students and adults in learning how common items can be used for survival. The lessons, taught by Josiah Parrish, a self-described hobbyist-survivalist from Oklahoma City, were taught at the Muskogee Public Library.

"I do quite a bit of this on my own," Parrish said. "I also teach the Boy Scouts actively. I don't have any formal certification if there is any in the field. I'm sharing my skills online and through other means. The library wanted to have a class over spring break, and I decided to help."

The students and adults also learned how a common CD, which can be found in a car, can be used for signaling to attract attention.

Parrish talked about sisters Leia and Caroline Carrico of California and how they were missing 44 hours before being found and how they survived. For instance, he said, they drank dew from leaves when they got thirsty.

Lanee Cartwright, an Irving Elementary sixth-grader, was having a good time learning.

"I'm just having fun. It's all about having fun, and it's better than being bored," Lanee said. "You get to meet people you haven't met before."

The class was arranged by Daniel Swanson, the library's IT assistant.

"I wanted to do something fun and very creative," he said. "It was going to be that everybody could do by using stuff they have in their household. I thought the survival part was neat. It all came together."

As the class finished, the library had numerous books including "How To Stay Alive: The Ultimate Survival Guide For Any Situation" by Bear Grylls or "How to eat in the Woods" by Bradford Angier were offered to be checked out and used.

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Information from: Muskogee Phoenix, http://www.muskogeephoenix.com