Interclass Activity Tour Agency

Interclass Activity Tour Agency Interclass Activity

The Best Little Tour Agency in Quito!

Groups of students create, promote and shop for Ecuadorian tour packages Topic Description: and buy items necessary for a chosen tour.

Time: 2 hours Brochures, construction paper, (color) markers/pencils, 3 different instruction sheets, tape/glue sticks, Go to Jail cards, grammar activity sheet Material: (jail), bank (money), tourist question form, tourist shopping list, tour agent question form, shopkeeper question form, evaluation form Evaluation: Using only English during the activity.

Aim: Students will be able to ask and answer questions in English to buy/sell an interesting tour package, and various items required for that trip.

Time: 10 min – explanation. 25 minutes – students prepare roles. 1hr 20 minutes – main activity. 5 minutes – evaluation questions. (Optional: additional advance preparation time for signs/presentations).

Set-up and Overview  The activity is held in a large classroom set up as streets in the Mariscal. Desks are arranged to simulate stores, tour agencies, and a jail. Two or more classes will be combined to ensure enough students to fill the various roles.  Teachers divide the students into groups of (1) tour agents, (2) shop owners and (3) tourist groups.  Teachers pick their best speaking students to be the (1) tour agents and (2) shop owners groups.  Tourist students (3) will form groups of 3-4 people.  Each of the three main groups will receive a different set of instructions (Attachments 1, 2 and 3). Tourist groups will also get a shopping list (Attachment 4). Teachers must make sure students understand the directions!  Tour groups will shop for and buy a tour, and then basic items they need for the trip.  Teachers can give tour agency/shop owners the option a few days ahead of time of preparing their signs or using their own laptops to make presentations. Otherwise, students will have 20-25 minutes for this at the start of the activity.  A jail for students speaking Spanish will be on one side of the room. Jailed students will have to complete a grammar activity to be released so they can continue shopping/selling.  All students must complete and return an Evaluation Form at the end of the activity.

Lesson Plan 1 Interclass Activity Tour Agency Teacher Responsibilities  Read and familiarize yourself with the entire lesson plan a few days before activity.

 Divide Students into three Groups – 1-3 days before activity (or more if they´re doing signs in advance): o (1) Tour agents and (2) shopkeepers – Teachers choose their best speaking students for these two groups, with 2-3 students in each agency/shop. Coordination will advise the total number of agency/shop students needed. Give tour agents Attachment 1. Give shopkeepers Attachment 2. o (3) Tourists – Teachers divide remaining students into groups of 3-4. They will play tourists. Each tourist group should choose a group role, e.g., a family, college students, backpackers, etc., and create a short wish list of things they´d like to see while traveling in Ecuador. Give tourist groups Attachments 3 and 4.

 Make sure all groups understand their instructions.

 Help monitor on the day of activity: o Help the activity run smoothly by prompting conversation, encouraging participation, etc. o Walk amongst the students and listen for problems. Keep track of issues on the error chart below for later review. o Hand out “Go to Jail” cards to anyone speaking Spanish.

 As students finish the activity, teachers hand out evaluation forms to students. Students must complete and return the evaluation before they leave.

Teacher Observations (positive/negative): Errors Heard:

Post Activity  Tourists return their purchased merchandise to the stores, and any leftover money to the bank. Turn in their Attachments 3 and 4, for review by teachers.  All students return completed evaluations to teachers. Teachers submit these to Coordination (Att 5).  The next day, teachers discuss their observations and any grammar/vocab errors they heard with students.

TOUR AGENCY STUDENTS – Instructions Attachment 1

1. You run a small tour agency. You will try to sell your tours to groups of passing tourists.

Lesson Plan 2 Interclass Activity Tour Agency 2. Go to the activity classroom and pick a group of desks to set up your tour agency. 3. Read the tour brochures that are on your desk.

4. You will have 20 minutes to:  create a sign with information about your tours. See Guidelines below (skip this step if you made a sign in advance).  create a list of questions to ask tourists in the box below. 5. When tourists arrive, smile and talk to them. Ask them questions from your list, and answer their questions to determine what kind of trip they´re looking for. 6. Be ready to describe your trips in detail to the tourists, including prices. Show them pictures/ brochures, and answer all their questions. Be friendly, happy and helpful! Convince them that your tour is the best! 7. At the end of the activity, complete and return an evaluation form to your teacher. You have finished!

Guidelines for the Agency Signs and Tour Information  Include agency name and a fun slogan.

 Information about trips:

o Where you go

o Costs of different tours

o Interesting information that will make your trips look fun, and convince tourists to choose one

o Use conditionals to explain what will happen on your trip. (Ex: If you go on this tour, you will see sea turtles!)

 Use colors, and draw or cut out pictures of tourist sites and attractions on your trips. Make them beautiful and creative to attract customers!

Possible Vocabulary to Use on the Sign exciting beautiful natural exotic wildlife scenery dependable knowledgeable experienced reliable cash credit card

SHOP OWNER STUDENTS – Instructions Attachment 2

1. You run a small store. You sell items that tourists need for the trips, such as swimsuits, sunscreen, hats, hiking boots, etc.

Lesson Plan 3 Interclass Activity Tour Agency 2. Go to the activity classroom and pick a group of desks to set up your store.

3. You will have 20 minutes to:

. create an interesting sign showing your store name and the types of merchandise that you sell (skip this step if you made a sign in advance).

. organize and write prices on each item, if prices aren’t already listed.

. create a list of questions to ask tourists in the box below. When tourists arrive, smile and talk to them. Ask them questions about what kind of trip they bought to help them decide what to buy.

4. Be persuasive, helpful, informative and friendly. Try to get them to buy things at your store. Convince them that your items are the best!

5. You can choose to bargain (negotiate the price) with tourists if you want to in order to make the sale. You will have a small amount of money you can use to make change for customers who buy things.

6. At the end of the activity, complete and return an evaluation form to your teacher. You have finished!

Lesson Plan 4 Interclass Activity Tour Agency

TOUR GROUP STUDENTS – Instructions Attachment 3, Part I

1. Your group has just arrived in Quito and you are looking to buy an amazing tour in Ecuador.

2. You will have 20 minutes in your classroom to create: . a short background story for your group. (Are you a family, a group of college students, backpackers, etc.? What country are you from?)

. a ‘wish list’ of things and places in Ecuador that you want to see.

. a list of 8 questions on the next page to ask the tour agencies. (See Attachment 3, Part II). You can use the past, present or future tense, and the active or passive voice in your questions. You can also use the vocabulary below. 3. After 20 minutes, your teacher will take you to the activity room.

4. You will be given money to buy your tour and items for the trip. Be careful with your money; you might not be able to get any more cash from the bank!

5. Walk around to different tour agencies. Stop at each one and talk with the agents. Ask them your questions and make notes about their answers so you can remember what they offered. You must visit 4 different agencies before making a decision.

6. After you have gone to 4 different agencies, decide as a group which agency has the best tour for all of you. Go to the winning agency and buy the tour. 7. Now, make a list of the items you will need for the trip, such as swimsuits, sunglasses, hats, etc. (See Attachment 4). Go to the different stores and shop for the best service and prices for these items. Buy the items you think are best for your group. Make sure you don´t run out of money!

8. After you have purchased the items you need for your trip: . count the money you have left and write this amount at the bottom of your shopping list.

. return your purchased items to the stores, and any leftover money to the bank.

. hand in your question sheet and shopping list to your teacher.

9. Complete and return an evaluation form to your teacher. You have finished!

Possible Vocabulary to use in your Questions (see Attachment 3, Part II) shorts swim suit organized punctual cash friendly animals jungle volcanoes vaccinations backpack suitcase unexpected plane/boat/bus ticket

Lesson Plan 5 Interclass Activity Tour Agency

Your own keyword ideas: ______

Lesson Plan 6 Interclass Activity Tour Agency TOUR GROUP STUDENTS - Questions to Ask Tour Agents Attachment 3, Part II

Each person in your group creates 2 different questions to ask each agency about their agency and tours. You can also make notes during the activity about the answers from each agency to help you decide what tour to buy.

Ex: Q: How much does your trip cost? A: Bob’s Tours – Cotopaxi - $125 per person / Ecuador Travel – Galapagos - $800 pp...

Questions from Tour Group Person 1 1. ______

______2. ______

______

______4. ______

______

______6. ______

______

______8. ______

______

After you have visited four agencies... which agency did you decide to buy your tour package from? Why?

Lesson Plan 7 Interclass Activity Tour Agency ______

Lesson Plan 8 Interclass Activity Tour Agency TOUR GROUP STUDENTS – Shopping List (Use one per group) Attachment 4

Names:

FOR TOURISTS CHECKLIST OF ITEMS NEEDED FOR TRIP Make a list of at least 6 items necessary for your trip.

□ ______($ )

Total money you have left after buying everything: ($ )

Lesson Plan 9 Interclass Activity Tour Agency Attachment 5

EVALUATION QUESTIONS - Please answer the following questions HONESTLY. The information you provide will help us in our next activity. Thank you!

1. How well was the classroom set up to complete this activity?

Badly Very Well 1 2 3 4

2. How well did you understand the directions to do this activity?

3. Did this activity help you use English in a realistic way?

4. What is your overall rating of this activity?

Bad Great 1 2 3 4

5. Do you have suggestions to help improve this activity for future lessons?

______

EVALUATION QUESTIONS - Please answer the following questions HONESTLY. The information you provide will help us in our next activity. Thank you!

6. How well was the classroom set up to complete this activity?

7. How well did you understand the directions to do this activity?

8. Did this activity help you use English in a realistic way?

Lesson Plan 10 Interclass Activity Tour Agency 9. What is your overall rating of this activity?

Bad Great 1 2 3 4

10. Do you have suggestions to help improve this activity for future lessons?

______

Lesson Plan 11