Cruisin’ California
You are about to embark on an incredible trip! You may find yourself standing among some of the oldest trees in the world or panning for gold like a 49er. In short, you get to plan a road trip for yourself and a friend, or your family. This will be a round-trip beginning and ending in Covina, California, and staying within the borders of California.
As you plan your journey, there are some things that you will need to do. You may use this checklist to keep track of those tasks.
Make an itinerary for your trip.
____Highlight your route on a California map.
____Research one mission.
____Research our state’s capital.
____Research one site of historical, national, or geographical value.
____Calculate mileage and gas needed.
____Calculate money to be spent on gas, lodging, and food (create a budget.)
____Make a bibliography of your research resources.
____Create an exhibit of one of your three research sites that you would really like to visit.
In this envelope you will find forms you will need to use to write the findings of your research and do the figuring for mileage and budget. You must use all of the research forms in the folder, but remember to use them for your final copies and do your rough drafts on regular paper. If you need additional research sheets or travel log sheets they will be available in the classroom and at If you choose to download them, you will have the ability to type them, instead of write them in cursive. Also, the online versions of the Budget and Travel Log pages are in Microsoft Excel, and they have the math formulas built in.
Completing the Research Sheets
(The Research Sheets make up 60% of the grade for the written report!)
Mission Research Sheet
(You will do 1 for 20 points.)
When you visit a mission, you must stay two nights in a local hotel and obtain the following information to include in this page:
The date the mission was founded
The person who founded the mission
The mission’s location (Where is it in the state?)
A brief history of the mission
What unique features the mission offers visitors
What you found most interesting about the mission
Sacramento Research Sheet
(You will do 1 for 20 points.)
When you visit the Sacramento, you must stay two nights in the capital city and obtain the following information to include in these pages:
The capital’s location in the state
The number of State Senators and Assemblymen
Interesting information about the capital city such as its history, the capitol building, and tourist attractions.
Site of Historical, National, or Geographical Value Research Sheet
(You will do 1 for 20 points each.)
When you visit a site of historical, national, or geographical value, you must obtain the following information to include in these pages:
The location of the site (Where is it in the state?)
The reason for the site’s value to America and/or California
A description of the site
The history behind the site
Any specific dates related to the site
Below is a list of some things to keep in mind as you do your planning and research.
•You may not use any sites outside of California for research pages.
•You may travel no more than 400 miles in one day. Remember that if you do travel that far in one day, you will not have time left to visit any attractions along the way. You must spend at least two nights at every research page site. That way you can spend the whole day (between those two nights) visiting that attraction.
•Even if you stay in the same hotel in the same town for two nights or more, you will still need to complete a travel log for each day.
•When choosing your research sites consider the time of year you will be visiting. (You cannot go snow skiing in Big Bear in August.)
•Be sure to take note of admission fees for attractions as you do your research. Also, look for recommendations as to how much time you should expect to spend at each site.
•Keep track of the sources of your information. You will need them for your Bibliography which is worth 5 points.
•Use any resources you can for your research; encyclopedias, maps, AAA Tour Books, the Internet, and other books. If you have access to the Internet, here are URLs for helpful sites. (There are links to all of these sites from Mr. Cliffe’s website at
(California Historic Landmarks)
(California State Parks)
(Great Mission Site)
(Sacramento information)
(Google Maps)
•You may plan your trip for you and a friend or for a family of up to 5 people. You may not travel alone. (That’s not as much fun anyway.)
•The time limit for your trip is 15 days. You may make it no shorter than 10 days. Just be sure to visit all of the required sites.
•You may spend no more than $4,000.00 on your entire trip.
•You may be one who likes to purchase souvenirs. Be sure to put them in your travel logs for your budget.
•Be sure to get approval for your exhibit before you begin working on it. You wouldn’t want to have to start it twice.
Grading
This report will consist of two grades. One will be for the report itself (100 points) and the other will be for the exhibit (50 points). Your report will be graded on content, neatness, spelling, and grammar. Your exhibit will be graded on originality, neatness, and effort.
The points possible for each part of the written report are as follows:
Item...... Points Possible
Highlighted Map...... 5
Itinerary...... 10
Travel Logs...... 15 (5 each week)
Research Sheets...... 60 (20 each)
Final Budget...... 5
Bibliography...... 5
Total...100
Exhibit...... 50
Helpful hints to a good grade:
•It is imperative that your parents proofread your work.
•Use the pages in this packet as your final drafts. Write your rough drafts on other paper first.
•If you have any questions concerning the project, be sure to ask your teacher. (No need to waste valuable time doing it wrong!)
•Most of the project will need to be completed outside of class. Any free time you may have in class can be spent working on it. Be sure to bring the project to school and take it back home every day!
•I will stay until 5:00 P.M. one day a week for those students wanting to work on the project in the classroom after school. Any student coming to the after-school session must have a written, dated, and signed note giving a parent’s permission each time. Since the hour of leaving would be so late, those students staying must be picked up by an adult. They will not be allowed to walk home. The after-school dates are: Tuesday, March 25; Monday, March 31; Monday, April 14; Monday, April 21; Monday, April 28.
•Extra Credit:
•You will notice that there is no artwork, other than the exhibit, required for this report. Completely original color artwork, such as drawings of the capitol building or historical sites and hand-drawn maps, will only better your grade. Photos and pictures from the Internet are not original artwork, and although you may include them, they will not be considered extra credit. Be sure to give credit for artwork that is not your own.
•Extra research pages that you choose to do, above the 3 required, will help to better your grade.
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