Modeling Prompt 10
Planning a Vacation
Integrated Math 1
Standards Addressed
HSA-SSE.A.1
Interpret expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context.
HSF-IF.B.4
For a function that models a relationship between two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and tables in terms of the quantities, and sketch graphs showing key features given a verbal description of the relationship. Key features include: intercepts; intervals where the function is increasing, decreasing, positive, or negative; relative maximums and minimums; symmetries; end behavior; and periodicity.
Student Handouts
Coming soon!
In-Class Launch
Use after Unit 8, Lesson 20
Tell students that they are planning a vacation. It is up to them to decide what type of vacation they want to plan and who is going on this trip. They should set a budget and figure out how to plan the entire trip within their budget.
Ask students to check in with you once they have outlined their plan. They should consider the cost of transportation, food, lodging, and entertainment, at a minimum, and have a plan to find realistic expenses for each category.
Task Statement 1
Teacher Instructions
Tell students that they have complete freedom to decide what type of trip they want to plan—such as a plane trip, a car trip, a cruise, or a trip in an RV (recreational vehicle)—but they have to keep track of all their assumptions and account for all expenses.
Monitor for students who try to plan something too easy, such as an all-inclusive vacation or a “staycation,” where all expenses are spent on food and entertainment. Ask them to come up with a secondary plan that requires more complicated travel plans (the cruise gets canceled due to bad weather, or their dwelling is being remodeled and they have to leave).
Consider building in at least one structured opportunity for groups to iterate their model. For example, a “dry run” or a “first draft” presentation to a small audience. The job of the audience is to poke holes in the vacation plan, asking questions such as: “How do you plan to get from the airport to the hotel?” “What are you going to eat on your travel days?” or “That expense seems unreasonably low, how did you research it?” Then the presenter has time to incorporate the feedback into their final draft.
If you would like to take the focus off of spending money, instead of planning a vacation, students could plan a backcountry hiking trip instead, where they consider things like:
- Where do you want to go?
- For how long? How far can you hike each day?
- How much do you pack? What are the weight restrictions?
- How much food do you need, and how much can you carry?
- You are planning a vacation. Start by deciding:
- Who is going on this trip?
- What type of vacation are you taking?
- What is your budget?
- Make a detailed plan, outlining the logistics and all expenses for the vacation.
- Now, analyze your plan. Categorize the different expenses of your trip.
- What percentage of your budget are you spending on each category?
- Which costs are one-time costs, and which costs depend on the length of the vacation or the number of people going on vacation?
- Describe how the total cost changes if you change the length of the trip or the number of people.
- Prepare a presentation about your vacation. Include a display that would help someone, who wants to take a similar vacation on a different budget, decide on the length of their vacation.
Task Statement 2
Teacher Instructions
Tell students that they have complete freedom to decide what type of trip they want to plan—such as a plane trip, a car trip, a cruise, or a trip in an RV (recreational vehicle)—but that they have to keep track of all their assumptions and account for all expenses.
Monitor for students who try to plan something too easy, such as an all-inclusive vacation or a “staycation,” where all expenses are spent on food and entertainment. Ask them to come up with a secondary plan that requires more complicated travel plans (the cruise gets canceled due to bad weather, or their dwelling is being remodeled and they have to leave).
Consider building in at least one structured opportunity for groups to iterate their model. For example, a “dry run” or a “first draft” presentation to a small audience. The job of the audience is to poke holes in the vacation plan, asking questions such as: “How do you plan to get from the airport to the hotel?” “What are you going to eat on your travel days?” or “That expense seems unreasonably low, how did you research it?” Then the presenter has time to incorporate the feedback into their final draft.
If you would like to take the focus off of spending money, instead of planning a vacation, students could plan a backcountry hiking trip instead, where they consider things like:
- Where do you want to go?
- For how long? How far can you hike each day?
- How much do you pack? What are the weight restrictions?
- How much food do you need, and how much can you carry?
You are planning a vacation for a family of 4. Your budget for the trip is \$3,500. This must cover:
- Transportation
- Lodging (such as hotels or camp sites)
- Food
- Entertainment
- Make a detailed plan with the activities and expenses for the trip.
- Analyze your vacation. Categorize the different expenses of your trip.
- What percentage of your budget are you spending on each category?
- Which costs are one-time costs, and which costs depend on the length of the vacation?
- What other quantities could you consider variables?
- Describe how the total cost changes if you increase the length of the trip.
- Prepare a presentation about your trip and all expenses. Include the percentage of the total budget that is spent in each category. Describe mathematically how the cost of the vacation changes if you increase the length of the trip.