Not Another State Report, Again! Using Old Technology with a New Twist for Project-Based Learning.

By Tracy Sturgell

Santa Maria-Bonita School District

Background

Lesson One

Lesson Two

Lesson Three

Lesson Four

Resources

Homepage

 

 

Title: Your Vacation is Going to Cost How Much???

Standards Addressed:

Prior Knowledge:

Students will have already been taught and practiced Information Literacy Skills, note taking, and basic spreadsheet design. A teacher-made spreadsheet template may be necessary for some students or classes.

Materials and Technology Needed:

• Globes, maps
• Internet sites- maps101.com, mapquest , mapblast, 50states
• Note taking materials
• Multimedia Stations (the more the better!)
• Microsoft Excel
• Textbooks
• State Brochures

Activities:

• Students are assigned a state to research with a partner
• They use a variety of resources (mentioned above) to locate required information about their state and record information in note
• Students create a spreadsheet using the following topics as headings: city, activity, type of activity (historical, cultural or recreational), cost of activity, motel cost, gas, food, etc.
• They then plan a two week trip throughout their state that includes a variety of activities (listed above)
• They record all expenditures on the spreadsheet and must not exceed $3000!
• This Spreadsheet will be saved in their Electronic Portfolio for later use.

Assessment:

• Their spreadsheet will be a part of their final evaluation.