Excitement and enthusiasm soar as students choose their travel destinations and begin to gather information about them. In preparing the budget, they use a spreadsheet. During the first year of the project, my 6th graders earned money by doing class jobs or by winning games that we played to review for tests. Planning is a crucial aspect of this project, as it would be in real life. My students consult newspapers, TV, and other media for details about weather, current events, or natural disasters.
Problem solving is also important.
Real-life predicaments are faced as challenges, but also as opportunities to apply skills and knowledge. Yes, but also a wonderful opportunity. The fact that my students and I were very involved in this real-life simulation was brought home when two of my young students, Jessica and Mandi, asked me about bringing their mothers along on the trip. Telecommunications can be invaluable at this time, particularly if there is good interaction between the travelers and their friends at the destination. Because this is not always possible, however, students also rely on CD-ROM, laserdiscs, and more traditional resources.