Places of the Heart

The ‘Brain Cactus’ looks very much like a brain in its early years, if it is planted outside it will grow long graceful arms that arc across the ground and eventually touch the ground again.

Courtesy of Gwen Myer from Arizona

Plan a trip to a place that is dear to your heart and complete some of the following activities.

Discipline based learning domains that can make use of this activity.

• Arts
• Mathematics
• English
• Humanities
• Languages

Dimensions Covered

• Creating and Making
• Exploring and Responding
• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking
• Communication in a LOTE subject
• Communication
• Design, creativity and technology
• Thinking

Inter-disciplinary Learning domains that become involved

• Communication
• Design,
• Creativity
• Technology

Dimensions Addressed

• Investigating and designing
• ICT for Creating
• I CT for Communicating
• Reasoning
• Processing
• Inquiry
• Reflection
• Evaluation

Possible Activities

Reading Writing Speaking Communicating

Make a list of places that you could visit. For example, sporting venues, galleries, architecture, retail outlets, gardens, cathedrals, stock exchange.

Undertake a Web Search to find out if there are some places that you have failed to consider visiting. Reach an understanding of what tourists usually want to see.

Write a detailed list of the places you plan to visit on your excursion. Consider what you will be looking to feature in your work.

Plan a treasure hunt, or Lonely Planet style page of must see where you live.
Use books, the internet, tourist information to collect ideas of what you will include in your treasure hunt.

Test run your treasure hunt or Lonely Planet style route. Make notes and take photos to include in a brochure.

Work out the costs that would be involved.

Create a brochure or the pages of a Lonely Planet style guidebook for participants.

Critically evaluate your work. How would you do things differently next time? What changes need to be made?

Suggest some changes to your plans and identify what would be the best things to focus on.

Write a report for a local paper.
Create a travel brochure that could be used by another person your age

Include photographs taken with a digital camera or mobile phone.

How would you approach this project if you had the chance to do it all over again? What have you learned and what would you do differently?

Mathematics

Use thinking strategies to brainstorm and make a list of train, bus, tram times and prepare a list of times to arrive at different destinations.

Calculate and estimate the cost of the day, making sure to include any entrance fees and cost of lunch etc.

Create an itinerary for your outing. Include all details and times.

Make a travel plan and budget. Organise this information and present using a combination of Desktop publishing tools.

Present an informative transport brochure that includes timetables for various transport routes.
Undertake a survey amongst other class members and find out about issues relating to public transport. Write a report on the state and efficiency of transport.

Arts

Create a map and mark your planned route and meeting places.

Check out the Lonely Planet and see how they present material for tourists.

Make a poster that could be used as a part of an advertising project undertaken by the Tourist Bureau or the ‘Big Issue’.

Develop a rubric to assess the project.

Plan and give a slideshow of your visit to the city and incorporate appropriate music.

Critically evaluate your slide show.

OR

Find out about busker performances, which can be viewed.

Locate and watch performances while you are in the city.

Plan a performance to present and make sure that someone is organised to video your work.

Devise an evaluation sheet that you will be able to apply when evaluating your project work.

Check out your audience and have them suggest some changes to your plans and identify what would be the best things to focus on.

Use video equipment, ipods, icasting itunes and other technology to record and present your performance to another audience.

Critically evaluate your performance. Have audience members complete an evaluation sheet that provides the opportunity for constructive feedback.

To Publish Your Responses

When you have completed responses there are a few ways that you can publish using WordPress

1. Get your students to publish responses on their personal blogs. Choose the best of these and publish samples of completed work on your blog. If you are unsure about how to post go to the tutorial listed on the side bar.

2. Make sure you are a member of this blog by sending your user name to Heather Blakey at global.teacher@edumail.vic.gov.au She will add you to the team and list you as a participant. You will be able to copy and paste the post work you would like to share on to this Places of the Heart webblog. Make sure to post the piece under the categories provided. This will archive responses.