World Travel Agents:  Discovering the Best Places to Live or Where in the World:  Deciding Our Ideal Place to Live!
By:  Amy Londot & Joanna Mast

Project at a Glance :

This project is for 6th grade social studies students studying physical geography.  This project will expose students to different conditions at different lines of latitude.  Students will focus on temperature, precipitation and elevation.  Additionally, this project will focus on map skills as well as geographic inquiry to analyze a geographic problem or issue.

Driving Question:
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How might we determine which conditions make a place more desirable to live?  

Standards:

• G1.1.1 - Use a variety of geographic tools (maps, globes, and web-based geography
• technology) to analyze the world at global, regional, and local scales.
• G1.1.2 - Draw a sketch map, or add information to an outline map of the world or a world region.
• G1.2.1 - Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions,
• acquiring geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic
• information, and answering geographic questions) to analyze a geographic problem or issue.
• G1.2.3 - Use, interpret, and create maps and graphs representing population
• characteristics, natural features, and land use of the region under study.
• G1.3.1 - Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human-environment
• interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
• G3.1.2 - Explain the factors that cause different climate types. (latitude)
• G3.2.1 - Locate major ecosystems and explain how and why they are similar or
• different as a consequence of latitude, elevation, land-forms, location, and human activity.
• G4.3.2 - Describe patterns of settlement and explain why people settle where
• they do and how people make their living.

Team / Culture Building:

• Inner heroes - This protocol will identify student strengths to create diverse groups of students.
• Postcard activity - Students will choose a postcard that resembles how they are feeling at that time. Participants share out with the group.​

Entry Event:

• Building Scavenger Hunt: Students will recognize the conditions that make a location in the building more desirable to be be.

• Stakeholders:
• Community members
• Individuals traveling
• People looking to move to a new location
• Real Estate agent

Empathy Building:

• Stakeholders Map - Students will be able to determine who may be affected by the driving question and by the solution.​

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

•  Use mapping labs and GIANTS Unit 1 slideshows to teach skills. Students then apply this skill to their own project. 
• Interview - Students interviewed Kathi Gabrielse, a local real estate agent, to investigate various factors that make a place suitable for living.​

• Interview - Students interviewed Andrea Cassidy, a local travel agent, to investigate various factors that make a place desirable to vacation to.

• Outside Inspiration:  Analyze sources that portray desirable locations. This might include google, travel magazines, brochures, etc.  Consider various factors that make a place suitable for living.  Sources:  National Geographic Travel, Culture Trip, and National Parks in the USA.

Incubation:

•  Students often turn and talk with their table partner/group to discuss ideas and brainstorm then share out ideas. Students use sticky notes physical or virtual as well as google docs to share ideas  This allows students to share ideas privately if they are not comfortable sharing with the entire group.
• Idea Quota:  Students brainstormed desirable conditions for a place to live, aiming to generate 100 ideas in their small groups within 10 minutes.​

• Anti Problem:  Students generated ideas on what conditions would NOT be desirable for a place to live.​

• Mind Mapping:  Students explored how their ideas connected and identified the conditions most valuable to them. After analyzing the conditions that made the scavenger hunt easier, along with those highlighted by the realtor and travel agent as critical, they compiled a list of key factors to consider when deciding where to live.

Checking in:

• Daily check-ins with groups.  This will be done verbally as well as through observation.  Students will be asked questions to deepen their thinking and understanding.
• Think-Pair-Share - This will be a class share out between groups. This will allow students to formulate new ideas.
• Students will reference the incubation rubric to determine needs to improve on and the quality & quantity of their idea generation for their solution.

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Solution Building:​

• Saturate & Group:  Students took all their ideas and grouped them into categories. This helped students choose which ideas to focus on and what to omit for their brochure.​

• Prototyping:  Students designed a brochure to advocate for a chosen place to live, showcasing the most desirable living conditions. 

Critique & Revision:

• Critical Friends:  One member from each group will collaborate to share their ideas for their team using a rubric to check for the criterion.  Group members will ask clarifying questions related to the project requirements or essential components of the final product.  

Authentic Audience:

• World Traveler 
• Sixth grade social studies students and teachers​.

Final Presentation:

• The Pitch:  Students were given five minutes to present their brochures to the class, showcasing their chosen location and the most desirable living conditions it offered. Following each presentation, the class provided constructive feedback, highlighting strengths and suggesting adjustments to improve clarity, persuasiveness, and design. This collaborative process allowed presenters to refine their brochures based on peer input, ensuring the final product was polished and compelling. The exercise fostered critical thinking, public speaking, and teamwork, preparing students to produce high-quality, persuasive materials.

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• The teachers met with each student group individually to review the rubric and discuss their scores for the ideal living conditions brochure. During these one-on-one sessions, we analyzed their work in detail, highlighting specific areas where they excelled and identifying opportunities for growth. The students demonstrated an impressive ability to receive constructive criticism with an open mind, engaging thoughtfully in discussions about their brochures. This process not only helped them understand their strengths but also provided valuable insights into how they can improve and refine their skills for future projects.​​

• Skills4Success scoring rubric:

Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:

Amy Londot teaches 6th grade math and social studies at White Pines Intermediate School in Grand Haven, MI.

Joanna Mast teaches 6th grade science and social studies at White Pines Intermediate School in Grand Haven, MI.

     "PBL allows me to engage all students in math curriculum.  Students are able to make connections from the classroom to the real world." ~ A. Londot

​     "PBL provides the opportunity for students to experience deep learning in a way that is authentic, relevant and fun! Studentś grow their personal sense of self-efficacy which builds confidence and resilience and has an effect size of 0.92! PBL is a powerful way to grow as a lifelong learner." ​~ J. Mast