Travel the USA - Working Together


	"Though some compromise and adjustment may be necessary, I use mixed-ability groupings. I find having students of varying abilities work together benefits all. Both high- and low-achieving students need to learn to share work and study cooperatively." --Jane Krauss Grouping Students work in groups of three or four during the Travel Agency Simulation. Jane's process for grouping her 23 students begins with State Report assignments. After a presentation about the project ahead, each student has a homework assignment to list five states he or she wants to study. Based on this information, Jane groups students together in an Agency determined by the six regions of the country (Northwest, West, Plains, Midwest, Northeast, and South). She can ensure heterogeneous groups and cover all six regions of the U.S. with no redundancy. Jane schedules periods of one to one-and-a-half hours in advance for back-to-back work in the lab and in the classroom. During some weeks the schedule is different each day. Jane's Project Calendar "I schedule a buffer time of about five minutes at the end of each half-period (the point at which students switch settings and tasks). At this time students shut down programs, organize materials, and complete a short goal-setting and monitoring form. I check monitoring forms most every day to make sure students are setting appropriate goals, completing work, and working cooperatively with their classmates." --Jane Krauss
Managing Groups "I was the Paper Clip Person yesterday and I got to help people do their jobs." --Ben	Group work is structured so on a daily basis students can assess how well they are working as a team At the end of each period, students rate the extent to which they participated fully, shared the load, and accomplished work using something Jane calls a Daily Effort Diary. They also record group accomplishments in terms of what went well, and what needs work. Students evaluate themselves and are evaluated by their teammates. These evaluations are factored into the final project grade. Daily Effort Diary Examples Jane developed a self-management strategy for organizing group work. The "Paper Clip Person" is responsible for coordinating the daily tasks. The Paper Clip Person Organizer
Organizing	With each transition from room-to-room or activity-to-activity, Jane sets aside time for kids to organize themselves properly. They outline tasks for each day and note progress in their Goal Diary Planner. Goal Diary Planner Student Example
Accommodating Schedules	Special education students often have a different schedule from the rest of the class. Jane takes their schedules into account when planning group work time. Individual projects can be completed at different times or in the special education classroom with the assistance of the teacher there. Support personnel such as special education and Title I teachers and their assistants are very important to the success of projects. They help students by reteaching as necessary and helping students stay organized and working hard to complete the projects.
	How to Be a Successful Travel Agent
Researching	"Students have all used the Internet by the time I get them, but it is unclear how purposeful their experience has been. I teach kids to use the Internet for specific purposes." --Jane Krauss Jane's structured Web site guides students' online research during the Travel Agency component. Notice how the worksheets below are referenced in her Web site, making her Web page a natural place for students to begin using the Internet. Review Jane's Travel USA Instructional Web Page
	Jane builds worksheets which help students stay focused as they pursue their research. There are multiple areas students need to investigate as they plan the itineraries. They look for information about various destination cities, national parks, transportation details, and expenses. Cities National Parks Transportation Expenses Student Example
Planning	Travel agency teams use a Presentation Planner to organize their research into a presentation for the Schmauzzels. Later they finalize their research into an itinerary. Jane provides a blank Itinerary Worksheet as an organizer. Travel Agent Presentation Planner Itinerary Worksheet Student Example
Presenting	A travel agency team chooses a name and creates a sign for their "Agency." When the groups make their presentations to Mr. Schmauzzel they each present a section of the itinerary. Here is a brief clip of one group's proposal. YouNameIt travel agency presentation video clip (requires QuickTime 4) - (text transcript)