Creating Your Own Trip
Ms. Huck / ESL 5-6 (High-Intermediate level)
Grades 9-12
Objectives: Students will be able to navigate Internet to find information relevant to their chosen destinations; answer directed questions in writing; apply research to a portfolio writing assignment, in the form of a journal, postcards, or travel brochure; use Microsoft Word, MGI Photosuite, and/or PowerPoint to design final project. Students may work collaboratively with a partner, dividing the workload based on each child's strengths and interests. Through this project, students will see the real-world application of Internet research.
ELA Standards: Read and comprehend informational materials, including public documents; produce a written report with minimal errors, demonstrating an understanding of the rules of English grammar; analyze and subsequently revise work to clarify it or make it more effective in communicating the intended message or thought.
Decide where in the world you would like to go. Choose a particular city and/or country to research.
Let's say you will take this trip next month. Before you go, investigate the following:
1.Weather--what is the climate at your destination? What clothing will you take?
2.Money exchange--what is the unit of currency at your destination? How many units of that local currency will you get for $500 U.S.?
3.Travel--how will you get to your destination? Once you are there, will you travel around within the city/country? Check out the travel options.
4.Are there upcoming holidays, special occasions, unusual events occurring in this place?
5.What will you plan to do while you are there? What museums, monuments, and other places of interest will you visit?
6.What languages are spoken in this place? You might want to learn a few simple phrases in that language, in order to communicate.
7.What is the local time in that area compared to the time zone you usually live in?
8.Are there particular travel documents or governmental papers (passports, visas) that you need to have before you go?
9.Foreign embassies: consider visiting the embassy of your country before you go. Where is it?
10.If you plan to take children with you on this imaginary trip, what activities will you include for them?
Using Internet-based resources, find the answers to these questions, and plan your trip. Type up this information and hand in or e-mail to your teacher. Then, you might want to assemble the information in a variety of ways (choose 1):
1.Write a journal as if you were actually on this trip. Include descriptions of what you see and what you do, as well as what preparations you needed to make before the trip. Include 7 days in your journal.
2. Create a series of postcards you might send if you were on the trip. (Index cards make a great base for postcards). Write messages on the back of the cards, as if you were really traveling. At least 5 postcards are required.
3. Design a brochure about your destination that would encourage someone else to visit this place.
This project will be included in your writing portfolio.
Here are some web sites that might be helpful to you as you plan:
Currency calculators:
164 Currency Converter: <http://oanda.com/cgi-bin/ncc>
You do the Math: <http://dna.lth.se/cgi-bin/kurt/rates>
Embassies / passports/ visa requirements:
Digital Passport: Links to information on embassies, time zones, and international holidays:
<http://rubicon.com/passport.html>
The Electronic Embassy: Information about foreign embassies in Washington, D.C. Addresses to which one can write for travel information, as well as links to embassy websites, if any.
Travel advisories and other information from the U.S. State Department: <http://travel.state.gov/>
Foreign Languages for Travelers:
Say Hello to the World: <http://ipl.org/youth/hello>
Travel Languages: <http://travlang.com/languages/>
Translating Dictionaries: <http://dictionaries.travlang.com>
Miscellaneous:
Health Information for Travelers from the Centers for Disease Control: <http://cdc.gov/travel/travel.html>
Route Planner: This site allows you to get specific map directions between sites: <http://mapquest.com>
Subway Navigator: This site allows you to find routes in subway systems for various cities around the world <http://metro.jussieu.fr:10001/bin/cities/english>
Airlines of the Web: <http://w4.itn.net/airlines>
CIA World Fact Book: <http://odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm>
City Net: This sites gives information about cities, countries, and regions around the world. <http://city.net/>
Travel information from The Directory of Travel: <http://travel.org/index.html>
Time information:
U.S. Naval Observatory: <http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/>
Time Zones: <http://worldclocks.com/time>
Weather:
The Daily Planet: <http://atmos.uiuc.edu>
Rain or Shine: <http://rainorshine.com>
There are many on-line travel guides, offering a multitude of links to travel sites. Here are the URLs for two of them. You'll find many more by conducting a search on the Web.
Fodor's: <http://fodors.com/>
The Lonely Planet: <http://lonelyplanet.com/>