Modern Flat Stanley: Geocache Travel Bug

Summary

This lesson will allow students to study random US states. As the class travel bug travels, students will create travel brochures for the places their travel bug visits. At the end of the school year the students can highlight visited states and write a paper on which state they would choose to travel to.

Materials

You will need a travel bug, GPS understanding, geocache membership, computer lab (word processing & graphics)and internet computer lab for students to research various states.

Background for Teachers

The teacher will have to be familiar with geocaching.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will become familiar with a number of states, including location and physical, cultural, human and historical features.

Instructional Procedures

1. Buy a travel bug. Have students name it. Students can help choose a good travel bug hotel to begin the adventure. 2. Deposit the travel bug in its hotel and make sure registration process is complete. Be sure to include travel to many states as a goal destination for your travel bug. 3. Have students daily take turns checking for travel bug movements. 4. Whenever the travel bug reaches a new state, begin the travel brochure portion of the lesson: a. Divide class into pairs or small groups. They can always be with the same partner(s) or they can have different partners for each state. (You decide.) b. Go to computer lab and spend 1-2 days researching the state. c. Spend 1-2 additional days in the lab designing and printing a travel brochure. You'll probably want to make one or two first as examples. Be sure to develop a rubric for grading. As part of the rubric, include specific information you may want in your brochure (relative location, major bodies of water or other physical land features, population, capital city, major tourist attractions, culture, agriculture, industry, etc.)Or you can use the attached rubric. 5. End of the year projects: a. Have students make chart comparing and contrasting states visited by your travel bug. b. Have students choose the state (visited by the travel bug) which they would most like to visit and write a 5 paragraph pursuasive essay encouraging tourists to visit that state.

Strategies for Diverse Learners

This could partly be done by wisely choosing partners or groups. For special needs students, the teacher could have the travel brochure formatted and the student(s) could just fill in pieces of the information.

Assessment Plan

Assess by using rubric to grade each state brochure and by using the rubric to grade the end-of-year essay.