WebQuest A viajar
Complete these web activities to expand your knowledge of the countries and communities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Unidad 1: Costa Rica: ¡A conocer nuevos lugares!
Travel in Latin America offers something for everyone—from sophisticated urban centers to natural wonders to spectacular beaches, to name a few attractions. Which of these environments is most attractive to you? What vacation activities do you enjoy the most? Which of the three countries explored here—Costa Rica, Chile, and Puerto Rico—would you most like to visit? This WebQuest will give you a chance to explore your travel preferences in detail.
Task:
You have just been hired by a travel agency specializing in trips to Latin America. Your first assignment, along with two teammates, is to produce a travel brochure about a four-day vacation package the agency offers. The brochure will include an itinerary, lodging and restaurant choices, a list of activities, photos, costs, and a short testimonial from a satisfied customer.
Your manager has told you that you may choose one of these three destinations to write about:
- Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica
- Santiago, the capital of Chile
- Rincón in Puerto Rico
As a team, discuss the pros and cons of each location, and decide on one.
Divide and assign the research tasks among the three team members:
- travel preparation: research round-trip air flights, weather, and what documents and clothing travelers will need to bring
- hotels and restaurants: look into and offer travelers a choice of budget, mid-range, and luxury accommodations and restaurants
- vacation activities: investigate three different types of activities and their costs
Work individually to research your assigned area. The team of three will then reconvene to compile the information and produce the brochure.
WebQuest: ¡A viajar!
Complete these web activities to expand your knowledge of the countries and communities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Unidad 1: Costa Rica: ¡A conocer nuevos lugares!
Travel in Latin America offers something for everyone—from sophisticated urban centers to natural wonders to spectacular beaches, to name a few attractions. Which of these environments is most attractive to you? What vacation activities do you enjoy the most? Which of the three countries explored here—Costa Rica, Chile, and Puerto Rico—would you most like to visit? This WebQuest will give you a chance to explore your travel preferences in detail.
Step 1: Analyze the task and assign research
In a group of three, first choose the location to be featured in the brochure:
- Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Manuel Antonio National Park, on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, is known for its white sand beaches, rain forests, mangrove swamps, coral reefs, and a stunning diversity of wildlife. - Santiago, Chile
Santiago, the vibrant capital of Chile, is a mix of the historical and the thoroughly modern. Exciting new spaces are being built in preparation for Chile’s bicentennial independence celebration in 2010. - Rincón, Puerto Rico
People travel to Rincón, in the northwest corner of Puerto Rico, for its relaxed atmosphere, large choice of beaches, and numerous outdoor activities.
Evaluate each place in terms of what you think it might offer a visitor. Use the following chart to help you discuss and analyze your preferences.
Lugar / Atracciones / ActividadesParque Nacional Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Santiago, Chile
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Step 2: Research
Use the Web sites listed under the location you have chosen (see the Resources page) for the vacation destination. Research and gather information about your aspect of the vacation, following the bulleted lists. Download any visuals that you want to include in the brochure.
¡OJO! Be sure to visit the Evaluationsection of this activity before you start researching. Knowing how your brochure will be evaluated will help you focus on the information you need to include.
Step 3: Create your Presentation
You will reconvene with your team to compile the information everyone has gathered and to produce the travel brochure. Decide if you want to use a word processing or page layout program to prepare the brochure.
An effective brochure will:
- give an overview of the country in general and the vacation spot in particular
- provide a daily itinerary for all four days that includes information about air flights, documents and clothing travelers will need to bring, accommodations, restaurants, and a variety of vacation activities and their costs
- contain photos that would make someone want to take this trip
- include a short testimonial (using the preterite and imperfect tenses) from a satisfied customer describing his vacation to this spot
WebQuest: ¡A viajar!
Complete these web activities to expand your knowledge of the countries and communities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Unidad 1: Costa Rica: ¡A conocer nuevos lugares!
Travel in Latin America offers something for everyone—from sophisticated urban centers to natural wonders to spectacular beaches, to name a few attractions. Which of these environments is most attractive to you? What vacation activities do you enjoy the most? Which of the three countries explored here—Costa Rica, Chile, and Puerto Rico—would you most like to visit? This WebQuest will give you a chance to explore your travel preferences in detail.
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
- Research air flights and round-trip costs for travel between your hometown and San José, Costa Rica, and between San José and Quepos, near the park.
- Investigate what documents are needed to enter and leave the U.S. and Costa Rica, what the weather will be like, and what clothing travelers will need to bring.
- Look into three categories of hotels and restaurants: budget, mid-range, and luxury. You will write a short description of each.
- Gather information about three different types of vacation activities visitors might enjoy.
- Use these tables to organize your findings.
Resources
Airlines
- Search Travelocity to find airline information about flights between your hometown and San José, Costa Rica.
- For connecting flights between San José and Quepos, near Manuel Antonio, consult Nature Air’s site.
Documents, Weather, and Clothing
- Find information about what travel documents are needed to enter and leave Costa Rica from the U.S. Department of State’s Web site.
- The Costa Rica Tourism and Travel Bureau offers information on weather, clothing, travel documents, and more.
- The Manuel Antonio Park Info Center gives weather information for Manuel Antonio.
- For more detailed weather information, consult Wunderground.
Hotels and Restaurants
- Central America.com’s site lists numerous hotel choices. You may need to scroll down to the bottom half of the page to the Manuel Antonio - Quepos section to read reviews.
- The Costa Rica Tourism and Travel Bureau has links to pictures and description of hotels.
- The Manuel Antonio Park Info Center lists numerous hotels.
- The Info Center also offers a good overview of restaurants.
- Info Costa Rica.com's site offers less expensive hotel options.
- Fodor’s is a long-established source of travel information. It also includes many restaurant reviews.
Vacation Activities
- Consult Costa Rica Guide for a list of things to do in Manuel Antonio.
- Research the Manuel Antonio Park Info Center. Click the links in the Tours column on the right side for activity ideas.
- You might like to try looking at the same site in Spanish.
- Examine an overview of things to do in the park.
Santiago, Chile
- Research air flights and round-trip costs for travel between your hometown and Santiago, Chile.
- Investigate what documents are needed to enter and leave the U.S. and Chile, what the weather will be like, and what clothing travelers will need to bring.
- Look into three categories of hotels and restaurants: budget, mid-range, and luxury. You will write a short description of each.
- Gather information about three different types of vacation activities visitors might enjoy.
- Use these tables to organize your findings.
Resources
Airlines
- Search Travelocity to find airline information about flights between your hometown and Santiago, Chile.
- LAN (LíneaAéreaNacional de Chile) also has flights between the U.S. and Chile.
Documents, Weather, and Clothing
- Find information about what travel documents are needed to enter and leave Chile from the U.S. Department of State’s Web site.
- Check Wunderground for detailed weather information. Type in the city and country name in the box at the top of the page.
- Look at Go Chile’s site for a comparison in seasonal conditions.
- You can read a Spanish-language overview of activities in Santiago at Ruta Chile. Click on the different links on the left side of the page under "Santiago."
Hotels and Restaurants
- Chile Hotels has an extensive list of hotels in Santiago, with prices.
- Chilean Tourism lists hotels, with ratings and pictures.
- You might like to look at the Spanish version of the Chilean Tourism's site.
- Explore this listing of budget, mid-range, and luxury hotels.
- Like many large cities, Santiago has scores of good restaurants. Consult Yahoo's listings.
- Fodor's restaurant listings allows you to view entries by cost, location, cuisine, rating, and name.
- Consult the Appetite Network for a good overview of the "eating scene" in Santiago.
Vacation Activities
- For first-hand recommendations from visitors to Santiago, go to Yahoo’s site. Scroll down the page to see the reviews.
- Santiago.cl offers a rundown of the top visitor sites in Santiago.
- Tourism Chile offers numerous links to things to do in Santiago.
- Read about what is being built for the bicentennial.
Rincón, Puerto Rico
- Research air flights and round-trip costs for travel between your hometown and the closest airport Jet Blue flies out of in the U.S., and between that city and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
- Investigate what documents are needed to enter and leave the U.S. and Puerto Rico, what the weather will be like, and what clothing travelers will need to bring.
- Look into three categories of hotels and restaurants: budget, mid-range, and luxury. You will write a short description of each.
- Gather information about three different types of vacation activities visitors might enjoy.
- Use these tables to organize your findings.
Resources
Airlines
- Jet Blue flies direct from some cities in the U.S. to Aguadilla. Figure out which U.S. cities have flights going to Aguadilla by clicking Aguadilla on the map. That will tell you where you must fly to first, in order to pick up the Jet Blue flight to Aguadilla.
- Search Travelocity to find information about flights between your hometown and the closest airport Jet Blue flies out of, going to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
Documents, Weather, and Clothing
- Welcome To Puerto Rico has information about documents needed for travel to that country.
- Rincon-PuertoRico.com offers an overview of weather and clothing, as well as activities in Rincón.
- Wunderground gives detailed weather information. Type in the city and country name in the box at the top of the page.
- To read about the weather in Rincón in Spanish, visit PR WOW.
Hotels and Restaurants
- Rincon-PR lists hotels by category.
- Yahoo Travel lists a range of Rincón hotels along with visitor reviews.
- Rincón Tourism Association offers many restaurant choices.
- The Rincón On-Line Guide has reviews of many restaurants in Rincón.
Vacation Activities
- Rincon.org has lots of links to vacation activities in Rincón.
- Rincon-PR’s site has numerous activity ideas. Be sure to look at the links in the left-hand column.
- Rincon-PuertoRico.com offers a comprehensive list of activities to do in Rincón.
- Vacation Puerto Rico has links for many activities throughout the island, including those available in Rincón.
WebQuest: ¡A viajar!
Nombre de los miembros del grupo:
______
______
______
Complete these web activities to expand your knowledge of the countries and communities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Unidad 1: Costa Rica: ¡A conocer nuevos lugares!
Travel in Latin America offers something for everyone—from sophisticated urban centers to natural wonders to spectacular beaches, to name a few attractions. Which of these environments is most attractive to you? What vacation activities do you enjoy the most? Which of the three countries explored here—Costa Rica, Chile, and Puerto Rico—would you most like to visit? This WebQuest will give you a chance to explore your travel preferences in detail.
The whole project is worth 15 points (5 points per Step).
Excellent 12-15 points / Good 8-11 points / Needs Work 1-7 pointsStep 1. Analysis / Evidence of a good analysis of the three location choices. Appropriate use of Spanish to analyze each location in terms of its attractions and what activities visitors could do there. / Evidence of some analysis of the three location choices. Partial use of Spanish to analyze each location in terms of its attractions and what activities visitors could do there. / Project incomplete, little or no evidence of analysis of the three location choices. Little or no use of Spanish to analyze each location in terms of its attractions and what activities visitors could do there.
Step 2. Research / Information well organized. / Information is partially complete and/or fairly well organized. / Little or no evidence of research, minimal information collected.
Step 3. Presentation / Good brochure that includes an overview, an itinerary, photos, and a testimonial from a satisfied customer. / Brochure is fairly well organized and/or includes some of the required information. / No brochure, or the brochure represents minimal effort on the part of the student.