Design a Travel Brochure
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Activity Description
If children and teens have the opportunity to visit someplace new or if they are interested in particular locations, invite them to create a travel brochure to share information about the place with others. They can draw pictures, use photographs, add maps, and write details about what they see or learn. In the end, they will be creating their own souvenirs!
Why This Is Helpful
The activity requires children and teens to think about details from a place they have visited or a place they might want to visit. Both require research, but different kinds. If they are writing about a place they have visited, they will be recalling interesting information, sensory details, and information about their trip. If they are learning about a new place, they will be conducting Internet and book research and even interviews as they gather information. Then, teens and children will take that information and turn it into a travel brochure. In both cases, they will find information, select relevant facts, create an interesting layout, and write for others or themselves to read. Through this activity children and teens will have a chance to learn some skills that are vital to good writing.
This activity was modified from the ReadWriteThink lesson plan "Travel Brochures: Highlighting the Setting of a Story."
What You Need
- An assortment of travel brochures
- Various reference materials, print and online, if desired
- Things to Include in a Travel Brochure Handout
- Online Printing Press
- Paper and Art Supplies
- Example Setting Brochure
Here's What To Do
- Ask the children and teens to share their travel stories:
- Where did they go?
- How did they decide to go to these places?
- What were their favorite moments in their travels?
- What was the best place to eat? The best place to stay? The activity that was the most fun?
- If the teens and children haven't traveled recently, ask them if there are places they would like to go.
- Why would they want to go to that place?
- What do they know about it already?
- What would they want to know before they go?
- Where would they look for that information?
- Learn about what makes a successful travel brochure. Collect travel brochures from travel agents, the local chamber of commerce, or a near-by convention and visitor's bureau. Or, together, you can look online at some travel examples:
- Notes From the Road: This site offers photos, maps, and narratives on places all over North and Central America.
- U.S., Canada, and Mexico Destinations: National Geographic city guides, which contain in-depth information, city and park highlights, and more, are available from this page.
- Examine them together.
- Are there maps? photos? diagrams? other illustrations?
- What kind of language and vocabulary is used?
- How is text presented? paragraphs? bulleted lists?
- Are there specific places highlighted? What kind?
- Once they have looked, ask them to return to the list they developed in Step 1: What additional information do they need to make a useful travel brochure? Ask them to think about these questions:
- Who is your audience for this brochure? What is your purpose? (Is it to convince your parents to take you on a trip? Is it to share with your grandparents so they can learn about your adventure? Is it for your neighbors to help them if they decide to go to the same place? Is it for yourself, so that you can keep a vivid memory of your trip?)
- What qualities of a brochure (maps, diagrams, photos, bulleted lists, etc.) would help you create a brochure that will be useful for your audience?
- Once they have looked at the travel brochures, invite them to make one of their own. To help guide them in what needs to be included, share the Things to Include in a Travel Brochure Handout.
- When they are ready to create their travel brochure, children and teens can do it online using the Printing Press or using a folded piece of paper.
- To help them have a better idea of what the brochure can look like, share an example with them.
- Assist the children and teens as they work on the project.
- As they're making lists of the details of their trip, ask questions about the places, people, experiences they've had. Asking these questions can help children and teens dig deeply into the memories.
- As they're turning the ideas into a brochure, point out the spots you enjoy and the moments that really help you picture the vacation spot.
- Take a look at the format, sentence structure, vocabulary, photographs, maps. Does it sound and look like the sample travel brochures you looked at? Point out to the child/teen the spots where you are confused or have questions.
More Ideas To Try
- Create a brochure for all of the places visited on a trip or vacation, or make one for a place yet to be visited.
- Instead of making a travel brochure about a special place, children can design a postcard highlighting one of the locations they have visited. Postcards can be published using the Postcard Creator. See the Postcard Creator Tool page for additional information on using this interactive tool.
- As part of your research, watch an online video from MeetMeAtTheCorner.org, such as this virtual field trip to the Empire State Building in New York City. Or, using the video content on the site as a model, make a video of your own to accompany your brochure.
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