Introduction
It's Sunday morning and you remember that have a week of paid vacation you can use starting tomorrow, so you and a couple friends decide to take a long road trip to SOMEWHERE! You will do some sightseeing, visit a historical landmark, go to a fun amusement-type attraction or do some kind of fun activity (kayaking, sky diving, ziplining, etc.) and eat a lot of new food.
This WebQuest teaches students how to plan a road trip and determine approximate cost, gets them familiar with gathering siteseeing information, and makes them aware of the recommended saftey equipment needed on a road trip.
Task
Students will design a five day trip within 400 miles of their residence (about 8 hours away). This will include:
- Choose a destination and exact date of departure and return (6 days)
- Specify sightseeing spots - one scenic location and one historical landmark
- Calculate distance and approximate fuel costs
- Determine admission cost for an amusement park or fun activity
- Calculate lodging costs
- Calculate the total amount of money needed for food
- List things needed to promote vehicle and traveling safety
Student will create a travel log with the above information. All websites, brochures and references used will be placed in this log.
Process
This lesson should be completed one step at a time in the order listed below. Your partners are picked by your teacher. You will be traveling together and working as a team.
- Decide on a destination.
- Print out a map showing the route you are going to take on the way there and back (use Google Maps).
- On the printed map, mark ALL the scenic locations (such as state and national parks and forests) and all historical monuments and sites that are close to your path of travel. Decide which 2 (one scenic and one historical) your group would like to visit.
- Find some kind of amusement park or fun activity somewhere along the way or at your final destination. Mark this on your map and show how much admission or participation costs for adults.
- Using the cost of fuel at your local gas station on today's date, calculate the approximate cost for the ROUND TRIP (that means there and back) based on your vehicle getting 20 mpg. Put this dollar amount on the back of your printed map.
- Indicate where you will be each day. Mark these on the map as DAY 1, DAY 2, DAY 3, etc.
- Choose hotels that you will stay at along the way, mark the location of these on your map. Calculate how much each hotel is going to cost and decide how many days you will stay at each one. Mark all these costs on your map.
- Create a checklist using Department of Motor Vehicle websites and AAA.com, to determine the recommended safety items for a road trip. Put this list on the reverse side of your map. Title the list: Safety Items we need to pack in the vehicle.
- Choose restaurants you will eat at along the way. Mark these on your map.
- Decide how much money your group is going to spend on food. Calculate the cost per day and indicate what kind of restaurant you chose for each meal (Fast Food, Casual Dining, or Fine Dining) and put this on the back of your map. If you choose hotels that have free breakfast, that could save you money! Use these prices as guides:
- Fast Food Breakfast: $6 per person
- Fast Food Lunch: $8 per person
- Fast Food Dinner: $8 per person
- Casual Dining Breakfast: $10 per person
- Casual Dining Lunch: $12 per person
- Casual Dining Dinner: $15 per person
- Fine Dining Dinner: $20 per person
The final step is to come up with a total amount of money you will need to take this road trip. Be sure to include:
- Gas money
- Food money
- Hotel money
- Admission cost for the amusement park or cost for your fun activity
Put the total amount needed for the trip on the back side of the map.
Evaluation
This project is worth 200 points.
- Map showing the route you are going to take on the way there and back: 10 points
- Mark ALL the scenic locations (such as state and national parks and forests) and all historical monuments and sites that are close to your path of travel. 30 points
- Find some kind of amusement park or fun activity somewhere along the way or at your final destination. Mark this on your map. 10 points
- Show how much admission or participation costs for adults for your amusement park or activity. 5 points
- Using the cost of fuel at your local gas station on today's date, calculate the approximate cost for the ROUND TRIP (that means there and back) based on your vehicle getting 20 mpg. Put this dollar amount on the back of your printed map. 20 points
- Indicate where you will be each day on the map. Mark it as Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. 5 points
- Choose hotels that you will stay at along the way, mark the location of these on your map. 20 points
- Calculate how much each hotel is going to cost and decide how many days you will stay at each one. Mark all these costs on your map. 30 points
- Create a checklist using Department of Motor Vehicle websites and AAA.com, to determine the recommended safety items for a road trip. Put this list on the reverse side of your map. Title the list: Safety Items we need to pack in the vehicle. 15 points
- Choose restaurants you will eat at along the way, mark these on your map. 20 points
- Decide how much money your group is going to spend on food. Calculate the cost per day and indicate what kind of restaurant you chose for each meal (Fast Food, Casual Dining, or Fine Dining) and put this on the back of your map. 30 points
- Calculate total cost for the trip. 5 points