Introduction
It's time for a vacation! A lot goes into planning a special get-away, including a budget! Creating a budget can be difficult, but for this project you will create a budget and plan an awesome trip for you and a friend!
Click the play button below to listen to a classic song called "Leavin' On A Jet Plane."
Danna Rodebush
Euper Lane Elementary
Task
You are planning a 3 day vacation for you and your friend with a budget of $3,500. This budget will need to include transportation (from Fort Smith), hotel, and entertainment for the entire trip for both you and your friend. Your parents gave you $300 to use for food and emergencies, so you do not need to budget this in.
Be sure to visit the "evaluation" page to find out how your final products will be assessed.
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First: Decide who you are taking on your trip. Start a planning sheet (on regular notebook paper or typed into a Google Doc) and put the name of your travel partner at the top.
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Second: Decide where you will take your vacation. Choose 1 of 3 locations: Laguna Beach, CA; Clearwater Beach, FL; Myrtle Beach, SC
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Third: Research to find a flight, hotel, and entertainment for the location you have chosen.
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Fourth: Create a Google Spreadsheet which outlines how your money is being spent.
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Last: Write a conclusion/summary of how you created your budget and planned your vacation. Be sure to include the most difficult part of planning.

Process
Step 1: Choose your travel partner. Start a planning sheet (on regular notebook paper or typed into a Google Doc) and put the name of your travel partner at the top.
Step 2: Choose a location:
1. Laguna Beach, California
2. Clearwater Beach, Florida
3. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Step 3: Once you have chosen a location, click the link to find plane tickets. Be sure to set your "From" to Fort Smith (FSM) and to make your date range fit the 3 night vacation time frame.
On your planning sheet include:
1. Depart Date
2. Return Date
3. Airline and Flight Number
4. Price per ticket
5. Price for both tickets
6. Total Miles You Will Be Traveling
Step 4: Click the link to find a hotel. Be sure to set your destination and date range. Choose 1 room and 2 adults from the drop down menu.
On your planning sheet include:
1. Hotel Name
2. Price for Entire 3 Days
Step 5: Plan 3 activities for you and your friend to do while on your vacation. (These do not have to cost money, but you must clarify that in the spreadsheet)
On your planning sheet include:
1. Each of the 3 activities you choose.
2. Cost of each activity.
- Laguna Beach: Things To Do
- Clearwater Beach: Things To Do
- Myrtle Beach: Things To Do
Step 6: Create a Google spreadsheet. *Go to your apps button in Google and click spreadsheet.* (If you can't get this figured out, you may do this on paper, but it will not earn a 4!)
Include on your spreadsheet:
The location you chose, cost of flight, cost of hotel, and cost of entertainment. You may use the guide below to help you. Remember you need to include a Description #3 on your spreadsheet!
*Only fill out the information for the location you chose.*
|
Location |
Transportation Plane / Car (underline one) |
Hotel |
Entertainment |
Total |
|
Laguna Beach |
Plane / Car
Total Cost: |
Name of hotel:
Total Cost: |
Description #1:
Description #2:
Total Cost: |
|
|
Clearwater Beach |
Plane / Car
Total Cost: |
Name of hotel:
Total Cost: |
Description #1:
Description #2:
Total Cost: |
|
|
Myrtle Beach |
Plane / Car
Total Cost: |
Name of hotel:
Total Cost: |
Description #1:
Description #2:
Total Cost: |
|
|
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REMAINING BALANCE (if any): *if you went over the budget, put the overflow amount here ____ |
Step 7: Write a conclusion/summary of how you created your budget and planned your vacation. Be sure to include the most difficult part of planning. This can be handwritten or typed into a Google doc.
Evaluation
You will be evaluated on the following:
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Spreadsheet is accurate, neat, detailed, and informative.
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Student created and turned in a planning sheet and followed all guides and included all information required.
- Student correctly calculated costs and did not go over budget.
- Conclusion/summary is detailed and informative.
- Hard work and effort is evident in the final product.
*Refer to the RESTAURANT RUBRIC on the 5th Grade Math protopage for details about evaluation.*