Goals:
1. To introduce the island of Oahu and the various attractions. This activity acquaints
the students with the island's unique characteristics.
2. To determine the distances to specific destinations using map scales.
3. For students to work effectively with others in their team.
Resources/Materials:
1. Books and travel guides about the island of Oahu
Aten, Jerry. (1990). 50 Nifty States. Carthage, Illinois: Good Apple, Inc. (ISBN 0- 86653-532-2)
Russ, David. (1994). The Complete Oahu Guidebook.. Davis, California: Indian Chief Publishing House. (ISBN 0-916841-26-X)
Editors of Sunset Books & Sunset Magazine. (1993). Hawaii: A Guide to All the Islands. Menlo Park, California: Sunset Publishing Company. (ISBN 0-376-06310-6)
2. Map of the island
-- http://www.bestofhawaii.com/map_oahu.htm
3. Ruler (optional)
4. Internet Access
-- http://www.visit.hawaii.org/islands/oahu/points.html
-- http://www.global-town.com/about_hawaii/oahu.htm
Time:
Approximately 1 hour
Procedure:
1. Explain to the students the importance of planning a trip. Indicate that there are a number of
factors involved, such as: distance, travel time, personal interest, etc.
2. Explain the activity. Tell the students that they will need to develop a travel itinerary for
Oahu within their groups.
3. Randomly divide the class into 5 groups, by drawing numbered cards. Each member of the
group will have a certain area of the island to research. For example, one person will research
areas on the southern portion of the island, another the northern portion of the island, etc.
4. Working within their groups, the students will research their portion of the island using the
cooperative learning technique known as jigsaw.
5. After ideas are shared within the group from the individual assigned locations, then the group
will complete the attached Itinerary form.
6. After the students have located 8-10 specific destinations on the island, the class will
collectively share which areas they found interesting.
Assessment:
1. Each group will turn in their itinerary, which will be assessed by the Itinerary Rubric.
(Criteria for Success = Each team must correctly identify the distance and time it takes
to reach specific locations. In addition, the group must also write a brief synopsis for each
location. 75% of the Itinerary form must be completed.)
2. Each group member will assess the performance of himself or herself and also the
performance of his or her other team members by completing the peer and self evaluation.
(Criteria for Success = Each team member must average a rating of 3 on each of the rubrics.)
Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:
1. Language Arts - Writing a complete descriptive synopsis of the destinations; grammar,
punctuation, wording, etc.
2. Social Studies - Map skills, in particular working with scales on a maps.
3. Math - Create and solve proportions developed from given map scales.
Possible Extensions:
1. Have each student in the group focus upon one of the chosen locations on the itinerary and
write a complete description of it.
2. Have the groups make oral presentations of their findings to peers.
Go to Myth Vs. Reality
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