When my son was 13 we backpacked to deer hunt in the California Sierras. He had a map, compass, space blanket,whistle,and a lighter. He even had extra waterproof matches sealed into his rifle stock behind the buttplate along with fishhooks, line, extra ammo, and snare wire. The most important training I gave him was how to build a fire in the rain and stay put until found.
I heard the kid had a can of Pringles, so I wasn't too concerned. /s
Most of the modern thinking revolves around "staying found" as opposed to finding moss on the north side of trees and the like. A lot of the generalised instructions like "walk downstream along a river to find a town" might not be true in the desert? We all start out on a camping trip "found" more or less. But I always carry at least two sure-fire methods of building fire even though it is hardly ever really required. Magnesium/flint, flint/tinder zippo/bic etc. I know how to make a fire with a bow-drill - this is a very good exercise/training in the garage or in a non-survival situation. In cold, rainy weather esp. fire has a morale building effect and keeps the critters away to a certain extent.