Project:
From Books to Bookings

Heidi DeRosa
hderosa@eboston.boston.K12.ma.us

Toby Goldstein
tgoldstein@eboston.boston.K12.ma.us

Heidi DeRosa and Toby Goldstein have over 40 years combined teaching experience in public education. Heidi is certified in Business Education and Computers, and is a pathway teacher in the Academy of Management. Toby teaches English 11/12 and has taught Middle School English and Special Education. What both these teachers share is a passion for travel and tourism. Both Heidi and Toby have been trained and served as volunteer docents for Boston By Foot, an architectural and walking tour organization that explores various parts of Boston. Heidi worked as a reservationist at Eastern Airlines, a travel coordinator for Redstone Travel Agency, and a banquet waitress for the Marriott Corporation. Toby worked as a concierge for the Marriott Long Wharf. They both enjoy exploring the historical, literary and geographical resources of Boston and its neighborhoods.

Project Information

School:

East Boston High School

Pathway:

Academy of Management

Courses:

Travel & Tourism I and II, Entrepreneurship I and II, English 11 and 12

Grades:

Grade 11-12

Authenticity

Key Questions:

What geographical, historical, and literary factors have contributed to Boston's "hub of the universe" status? How did Boston get its name? What famous authors are closely tied to the local area? How can literature be tied into a tour of the local area?

Overview:

Books and Bookings is an interdisciplinary project linking American literature and the Travel and Tourism Industry classes at East Boston High School. Students read and study Boston area authors while using technology to book reservations, experience tourist destinations, and ultimately create their own tours and act as tour guides. Books and Bookings is an interdisciplinary project connecting English and the STC Pathway Program - The Academy of Management. Three different travel and tourism industry courses are involved. Consequently, the project includes three strands. In the first strand, students start the literary trail in colonial times focusing on Salem and Boston. They read The Crucible and research "How Boston Got Its Name." The second strand converges on the Literary Trail. Students read and study area authors i.e., Hawthorne, Longfellow, Poe and Alcott. This focus adds to their understanding of different area cultures and time periods. In the process, students participate in historical tours though Salem, Boston, Cambridge, and Concord on busses, trolleys and ducks (Duck Tours). The third strand centers on the multicultural, multiethnic composition of neighborhoods then and now, stressing how the changing ethnicity of the community continues to influence historic Boston and its surrounding areas. Students are involved in marketing destinations by booking travel reservations and planning tours.

Through literature, the students will gain a better understanding of the past while expanding their general knowledge. They will be able to incorporate this into their research, writing, and oral presentations. Members in the workplace need these same skills to enable them to sell travel products. Members in the community need these skills to rejuvenate and promote the betterment of their area.

Academic Rigor

What Learning Standards and School to Career Competencies are used in this project?

English Language Arts - Reading

Identify, analyze, evaluate the themes, structures, point of view, literary devices and elements used by the author.

English Language Arts - Writing

Use knowledge of standard English conventions to compose, edit, revise and present written products.

English Language Arts - Research and Study Skills

Use basic research references (e.g.) index, table of contents, glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, CD-ROM

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to gather appropriate information for researching topics (e.g.) historical documents, newspapers, interviews, periodicals, film, CD-ROM

English Language Arts - Speaking, Listening and Viewing

Plan, present, and evaluate oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience and purpose.

Social Studies

Analyze historical issues, conflicts, and concerns from multiple perspectives. Evaluate information for accuracy.

School to Career Competencies

  Communicate and understand ideas and information
 Collect, analyze and organize information
 Identify and solve problems
 Use technology
 Initiate and complete entire activities
 Act professionally
 Interact with others
 Understand all aspects of an industry
 Career and life choices

Applied Learning

How do students apply what they have learned and researched to a complex problem (e.g.: designing a product, improving a system, creating an exhibit, organizing an event)?

Students develop and market travel-related materials. Students will then organize and implement neighborhood and specialized tours.

Active Exploration

Classroom Activities

• Read assigned literature (See Materials section)
• Explore different cultures and time periods connected to the literature
• Research, write, and present findings on the geographical, historical and literary aspects of the Boston area
• Market destinations through brochures and oral presentations
• Book travel reservations and plan tours
• Write scripts and tour sheets
• Write thank-you letters, newspaper articles
• Plan and present multimedia projects

Community Activities

• Visit neighborhood historical and literary sites to better understand the impact of changing landscapes and populations within a diverse metropolitan area
• Plan tours of Salem, Boston, Cambridge, and Concord on busses, trolleys and ducks (Duck Tours)

Career Activities

• Meet and consult with board members and mentors in the tourism industry to better understand the changing climate and times
• Interview and model tour guides at Salem, Boston, Cambridge, and Concord on busses, trolleys and ducks (Duck Tours)
• Q & A sessions in front of industry professionals

Adult Connections

Who from the community, workplace or postsecondary or industry partnership do students work with on the project?

Students will meet with the Chamber of Commerce, Main Streets Program, Children's Museum , Private Industry Council, and colleges with whom we have articulation agreements.

Assessment

How do you and the students know the project is a success?

Individual ownership and strong teamwork indicate success in the social/emotional realm reflecting on real world demands. In the classroom, community and boardroom, students will be assessed in the following ways:

1. Research Papers
2. Multimedia Presentations
3. Scripts and tour sheets
4. Oral Presentations
5. Q & A sessions in front of industry professionals

Students have multimedia presentations, brochures, thank-you letters, newspaper articles and written products as evidence of progress.

Recommended Resources / Sample Products - EXAMPLES

Software or Materials Needed

PCs, digital camera, 35 mm camera, video camera, CD-ROM burner
MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Inspiration

Reading List

William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Anne Bradstreet, Selected poems
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography excerpt, Poor Richard's Almanac
Phillis Wheatley, Selected poems
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Old Ironsides poem
Henry W. Longfellow, Psalm of Life, Paul Revere's Ride
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance essay
Henry David Thoreau, Walden essay
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
Louisa May Alcott, poem
Edgar Allan Poe, Masque of the Red Death, The Raven
Herman Melville, Introduction Moby Dick
W. E. B. Dubois, excerpts
Edna St. Vincent Millay, Selected poems
Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, Selected poems
Emily Dickinson, Because I Could not Stop for Death, Selected poems
Malcolm X, Autobiography excerpt
Arthur Miller, The Crucible

Websites Used

http://www.lit-trail.org
http://www.harvard.edu
http://www.salem.mass.edu
http://www.jwu.edu
http://www.massport.com
http://www.nanosft.com/walden
http://www.nps.gov/long/
http://www.concordmuseum.org
http://www.ducktours.com
http://www.bostonhistory.org/markers.html
http://www.masshome.com
http://www.bostonpreservation.org
http://www.louisamayalcott.org
http://www.7gables.org
http://www.eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/hawthorne.html
http://www.paulreverehouse.org
http://www.pem.org
http://www.freedomtrail.org
http://www.bpl.org
http://www.mappingboston.com
http://www.visitnewport.com
http://www.mass-vacation.com
http://www.travel.org/massachu.html
http://www.eastboston.com
http://www.boston.com

Teacher
Developed

• How Boston Got It's Name
• Dutch Plan to Build on Pilgrim Sites
• 20th Century Witch Hunts
• Benjamin Franklin--Autobiography
• The Sayings of Poor Richard
• Coming to an Awareness of Language--Malcolm X
• Henry David Thoreau--Reading Comprehension
• Writing Topics--The Crucible
• Vacation Scavenger Hunt
• Boston By Sea
• William Blackstone:the first Bostonian
• A Colonial Village

Student
Developed

• Ongoing Diary as a Puritan Teenager
• Character Web Analysis
• Marketing Proposal
• Destination Report
• Posters, Flyers, and Brochures with scanned, digital and downloaded images
• Timelines
• Inspiration
• PowerPoint presentation