A JET AIRPLANE PREPARES TO TAKE OFF TO AN EXCITING DESTINATION!!

Teen Travel Experts

A multidisciplinary and multicultural
WebQuest designed for students grades 8-12
Social Studies/Geography/Spanish Language

Designed by Tracy L. Brunelle & Elizabeth Walsh

Contents

| Task | Process | Evaluation | Resources | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page

Did you know that there are over 21 Spanish-speaking countries in the world?
How did this happen? How are they alike? Different?

Once you complete your expedition, you'll be the expert!
As "Teen Travel Experts" you will discover amazing facts about selected
Spanish-speaking destinations. Within your designated roles, you will present
your findings on your travel destination. As a class, we will then compare
and contrast each travel destination in an attempt to rate
and recommend destinations to other travelers.

Task

You will study one selected Spanish-speaking country in depth
and create a PowerPoint presentation on it with your group.
You will also compare facts about different countries within your chosen role.
You will evaluate pros and cons of travel to your destination within
your country groups. Finally the class will make general travel
recommendations based on the findings of the groups.

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The Process

First, your class will divide into 5-person groups.
Then:
1. Groups will choose one of the six Spanish-speaking countries identified below to study.

Peru Argentina Puerto Rico Mexico Spain Guatemala

2. You will then decide which of the five roles you will take for your group.
(One role per individual in the group)

Benita Bookworm Benita Bookworm likes to know all the facts and figures about the places where she travels. She enjoys reading encyclopedias. Benita Bookworm will find out: Area and population of the country of destination; major cities; major geographical features; gross national product and important exports.	Carlos Culture Carlos Culture wants to learn all he can about people and places at his destination. Carlos Culture will find out: What are three cultural sites of interest at his destination; what is interesting about them.
Fernanda Fun Fernanda Fun is the adventurer of the group. The wilder and more exotic the adventure, the more she wants to experience it! Fernanda Fun will find out: what are three activities, sports or natural areas that would fun to see or do at the destination; how easy is it to get to natural areas; shopping -- are there products that are unique to this destination that the group could buy?	Luisa Logistics Luisa Logistics is very organized. She has a budget for her group and plans to stick to it. Luisa Logistics will find out: How much is round trip airfare to the destination; what the weather is like there; what will group members need to pack; what is an approximate per diem (one-day) amount that group members would need to stay at a hotel and eat at the destination; what is the currency of the destination and the rate of exchange?
Nervous Nacho Nervous Nacho is not an adventurous spirit. He wants to make sure his group stays healthy and safe, so he checks out health and safety advisories for his group. Nervous Nacho will find out: if you need shots before traveling to the destination; if country is safe with regard to its political situation/crime rate; if within-country travel is safe/easy.	Click on the title role and begin your quest! Specific tasks are assigned to each role along with resources to assist you with your travel plans.

3. You will study the Internet sites for the focus country and answer the questions on the "Fact Sheet" for your role. Fact sheets should be turned in to the teacher for review.
4. You will meet with the other students in the class taking your same role. You will discuss what you have found about their focus countries, and begin to make comparisons of the countries and recommendations for foreign travel from your roles' point of view.
5. You will storyboard your portion of the Powerpoint presentation using note cards. Included should be facts to be presented, pertinent graphics, and slide layout. Remember there is a five-slide minimum for each group member's presentation. This is meant to be a guideline, but does not limit you to only five slides. Storyboards should be turned in to the teacher for review.
6. You should then create your slides, and get together with your group members to compile your work into one large Powerpoint presentation on your country. These presentations will be shown to the class as a whole for peer evaluation.
7. After viewing the country presentations, the class will discuss and make recommendations about the attractiveness of foreign travel to the countries that were studied.

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Evaluation Rubrics

Product Rubric

Evaluate Appropriate Number	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Content	Contains very little information about the aspects of the country with no detail or organization	Contains information about the aspects of the country with little detail, may not be clear and organized	Contains organized, and clear information about the aspects of the country with some detail	Contains detailed, organized, and clear information about the aspects of the country
Mechanics	Many grammatical and/or spelling errors	Several grammatical and/or spelling errors	Entirely in author's own words, Few grammatical and/or spelling errors	Little or no grammatical and/or spelling errors
Presentation Design Elements	Contains some slides and few required elements. Slides are not navigable, contain little or no appropriate graphics and backgrounds Design and presentation are not appealing	Contains most of the slides and some required elements. Slides are sometimes navigable, contain few appropriate graphics and backgrounds Design and presentation are not appealing	Contains all slides and required elements. Slides are fairly navigable, contain many appropriate graphics and backgrounds Design and presentation are somewhat appealing	Contains all slides and required elements. Slides are navigable, contain all appropriate graphics and backgrounds Design and presentation are appealing

Process Rubric

Circle Appropriate Number:	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent
Completed all work on time	1	2	3	4
Worked cooperatively	1	2	3	4
Stayed on task	1	2	3	4
Used computer and books as resources	1	2	3	4
Documented sources	1	2	3	4
Wrote clear, coherent,and detailed information	1	2	3	4
Presented to the class	1	2	3	4

Student Self-Evaluation

for Slide Show Presentation

What do you think that your grade should be on this project? Why?
Was your slide show appealing in appearance?
Did you have all the required elements?
Was your slide show easy to understand and/or navigate for the participants?
Was PowerPoint easy or difficult for your group to use? Explain.
How well did your group work together?
Did everyone in the group contribute equally?

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Resources

The Resource Page will directly link you numerous interesting links to assist you
in your quest for information about your site destination..
You will also find this comprehensive list linked to each of the role pages.

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Conclusion

Congratulations! You've completed the quest, and now you're the experts! Great job!!!
As "Teen Travel Experts", you were able to:

research information about foreign countries;

compare that information with classmates;

use math and language skills to process travel information;

use computer technology to create interesting presentations on your countries;

make informed decisions about foreign travel based on your research.

These are real-world issues about which people make decisions every day. Hopefully, you have learned how to look at the pros and cons of travel to any foreign destination before spending any of your hard-earned money! What do you think? How did this experience change your opinion of different Spanish-speaking countries? Why is it important to respect and tolerate people's culture?

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Credits & References

BestAnimations.com All animations were downloaded from this extensive resource bank. If time permits, we highly recommend that you stop by and visit. You may find something for your PowerPoint presentation!
We would also like to thank Dr. Strudler, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for providing us with the necessary tools and knowledge to accomplish this task.

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Last updated on December 10, 2000.
Based on a template from
The WebQuest Page