CAREER AWARENESS PACKET
BUSINESS - MARKETING - COMPUTERS
CAREER FOCUS - TRAVEL AGENT
GRADE 5
TITLE: Good
Times Travel Agency, Adventures with the Vikings*
AUTHOR:
Linda Bailey
PUB DATE: 2001
BOOK SUMMARY:
What happens when three modern kids flash back in
time and land on ancient Norse shores?
The answer is in this book of adventures mixed with fascinating
facts. The colorful comic-book format,
exciting story, and humorous illustrations will delight kids, while the
carefully researched information provides the perfect introduction to an
important period in history.
CAREER BACKGROUND:
Job Description - Travel agents help people plan vacations and business trips by
providing information about transportation, hotels, and sightseeing
opportunities. Agents make tour
reservations, prepare tickets and advise people about passport or visa
requirements. They must be good in
sales, mathematics (bookkeeping), and have the ability to tend to many details.
Education
- Although no specific education is required to become a travel agent, one must
have good communication skills, including the ability to write and speak
clearly. A travel agent must have a
solid background in world geography and must keep up to date on world events so
areas of conflict may be avoided. As in
many other professions, computer skills are important.
Related Careers - Hotel and Motel Management, Hotel Concierge, Tour Guide, Reservation
and Ticket Agents
BEFORE READING:
Students and teacher need to collect brochures and
guides for travel destinations and attractions.
Have students work with a partner or in small groups to look over
brochures and compare information included (for example: location, mode of
travel, exhibit information, cost, and hours of operation).
Inform students that a travel agent works for people
planning to travel. He/she helps to plan
an itinerary; make reservations for transportation, lodging, and attractions;
and provide additional information to make the trip more enjoyable.
Brainstorm places students have been with their
families or would like to go. Explain
that the characteristics in our story visited a travel agency and accidentally
traveled in time and distance to the land of the Vikings.
Introduce vocabulary:
Prepare a K-W-L (Know - Want to Know -
Learn) chart on Vikings with the students, recording Known facts
and Want-to Know queries.
READ: Good
Times Travel Agency, Adventures with the Vikings
Do a "quick-read" of the book focusing on
the story text and the children's adventures.
AFTER
Add information Learned to the K-W-L
chart.
Reread the book, focusing on informational sections
of the story. Add additional Learned
information to the K-W-L chart.
*See RELATED READING for other informational
texts.
Working in small groups, have students plan a trip to
a destination in time and location to support social studies curriculum and
design a travel brochure. Brochures
should include maps, attractions and other pertinent information.
Arrange for a travel agent to visit the classroom to
discuss his/her career with students.
Contact a web site resource listed in resources of
this teacher's guide for more information on a career as a travel agent.
Refer to Career Background for
discussion of job, training, related careers, etc., as appropriate for grade
level.
Have students write thank you letters to anyone outside
the class who helped with the unit.
RELATED
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World: Expert Advice from the
inside Source, Stephen Birnbaum
Going to the Getty: A Book about the
A Kid's Guide to
Kids'
Look Out,
Me, Minerva and the Flying Flora: Going to
Rushmore,
Lynn Curlee
Sharing the Sun: A Kid's Guide to
Vacation Under the Volcano, Mary Pope Osborne
*The Viking News, Rachel Wright
*Viking Times, Anthony Mason
*
*The Vikings, Allison Lassieur
*You Wouldn't Want to be a Viking Explorer!,
Andrew Langley
RESOURCES:
American Society of Travel Agents
703-739-2782
Web: http://www.astanet.com
Institute of Certified Travel Agents
800-542-4282
Web: http://www.icta.com
Local Travel Agency