Illuminations: Planning a Trip

Planning a Trip

Planning a Trip to Disneyland or Disney World

Using the Web site, student groups collect data to plan a trip to Disneyland or Disney World. [You may wish to substitute some other destination of high interest for your students.] In lesson 6 students plan the trip using data collected in this lesson. Depending upon your location, this may be an overnight trip or a day trip. Using skills they developed in the previous lessons, students determine not only elapsed time and distance, but extend their problem solving to figuring meals, lodging, and air travel.

As students tackle this more complex task, teachers have opportunity to observe students’ growing competence with methods and tools for computation, estimation, problem posing and solving, interpretation of graphical representations, measuring with standard units, and responding to investigations that require the comparison of data sets. This lesson is designed to take approximately 45 minutes but time will vary according to the needs and abilities of your students.

Learning Objectives
 
Students will:
  • select appropriate methods and tools for computing with whole numbers from among mental computation, estimation, calculators, and paper and pencil
  • figure elapsed time
  • record information on a chart

Materials
 
Computer and Internet connection
Reference resources for planning a trip
Class Notes Recording Sheet

Instructional Plan

To begin this class, ask students to locate both Disneyland and Disney World on a map, then have students visit the Disney Web site that describes both attractions. Ask the students to imagine visiting one of the attractions as a class and tell them that they need to figure not only the distance and visitation schedule but also the cost of the trip.

Assign students to small groups. These could be the groups they have worked in previously or new group assignments. Have available reference resources students might use to plan the trip such as maps, brochures, menus (students might consider restaurant chains represented in the area in which they live by searching for restaurants online), hotel rates (students might consider hotel chains represented in the area in which they live by searching for hotels online), videos, or newspapers.

Explain that each group should plan a trip to one of the Disney attractions then prepare a schedule for the trip. In this phase, students will collect the data for accommodations, air travel, meals, tickets to the attractions, and incidental expenses. Information on the cost of air travel is available from Travelocity or Expedia as well as from the Web sites of the various airlines that serve your closest airport.

Record trip information on a chart to share with the class. Be certain that students provide information about lodging, meals, air travel, ground travel, and incidentals. You may wish to provide a brief review how to find elapsed time if it is not well understood by the students.

As each group finishes its task, display their poster. When all groups have finished, discuss with students the ways they collected the data they needed. After all groups have reported, invite the students to compare their data to determine similarities, and differences. You may want to call attention to the variety among the costs and the rationale for these differences.

Questions for Students
 

How did you decide how far the two Disney attractions were from the school? Did everyone in your group agree? If not, how did you come to an agreement?

How did you determine how long the trip would take? What did you need to take into account as you planned the departure time? The return time?

Is it possible for the class to visit this location based upon school field trip policy? What additional considerations must be made for taking this trip that are not required for a trip to a local attraction?

How does the cost of the transportation provided by the school compare with public transportation that is needed for travel to the Disney attraction?

How did you determine the best selection of hotel, restaurants, airline, and ticket option?

What arguments would you use to defend this trip to the school board as an educational experience?

What flight information do you need? What is the difference between one-way and round-trip tickets?

When several airlines have flights to your destination, is the fare usually cheaper? Why do you think that is or is not so?

Does the day of the week and/or the time of day you choose to travel affect the cost of the fare?

From data you collected, what have you learned about the distance between cities and airfares?

[Teacher note: Unlike car travel, often, longer flights are cheaper than shorter ones.]

Assessment Options
 
  1. At this stage of the unit it is important to know:
    • which variables students attend to
    • whether students can find distances from a map
    • if students can use Internet resources to research options
    • if students can compare costs to select best options
    • if students can connect a trip of choice to curricular goals
    • if students can prepare a convincing argument to defend their participation in this trip
  2. The guiding questions help you understand the students’ current level of knowledge and skill. You may wish to record students’ current level of understanding on the Class Notes recording sheet as you continue to monitor student growth toward meeting the learning objectives. You may also wish to keep a copy of the students’ data for their portfolios or for a class display. In addition, you may choose to ask students to reflect in writing on the activities in this lesson. Checking to see if students can state how the mathematical skills they have learned in previous lessons enabled them to complete this one will help them develop a value for the mathematics they are learning.

Extensions
 
  1. Have students verify with school field trip policies under which conditions such a trip is feasible.

Teacher Reflection
 
  • Which groups worked together most effectively? Have they developed the ability to work together as the unit progressed?
  • Did students in each group contribute equally to the project? Did some students exhibit special strengths?
  • Which students met all the objectives of this lesson? What extension activities are appropriate for those students?
  • Which students are still having difficulty with the objectives of this lesson? What additional instructional experiences do they need?
  • What would you do differently the next time you teach this lesson?

NCTM Standards and Expectations
 
Data Analysis & Probability 3-5
  1. Represent data using tables and graphs such as line plots, bar graphs, and line graphs.
  
1 period   

NCTM Resources

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics

Web Sites
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Thinkfinity Verizon Foundation
More and Better Mathematics for All Students
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