Researching Destinations

Overview

This lesson is designed for Year 7 students (ages 11-12) as part of the "Travel Tales and Reflections" unit, lesson 5 of 20. Students will develop key research skills aligned with the National Curriculum for England, focusing on how to effectively gather, evaluate, and interpret information about travel destinations using a variety of sources.

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National Curriculum Links

Key Stage 3 English Programme of Study:

• Reading – Comprehension (Years 7-9):
  Pupils should be taught to:
  • Learn how to broaden their vocabulary, using dictionaries efficiently (NC KS3 Reading, point 2)
  • Analyse and evaluate how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers (NC KS3 Reading, point 6)
  • Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction texts (NC KS3 Reading, point 7)

Spoken Language

• Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates. (NC English Spoken Language)

Cross-curricular relevance:

• Develop digital literacy by evaluating online sources critically.
• Encourage collaborative learning following the school’s SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development).

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify and list a range of reliable sources for researching travel destinations (e.g., guidebooks, websites, travel blogs, brochures).
2. Use skimming and scanning techniques to locate specific information quickly within texts.
3. Evaluate the credibility and purpose of different information sources.
4. Summarise key facts about a given destination in their own words.
5. Communicate research findings clearly with peers.

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Success Criteria

• Students can articulate at least three different types of sources used for travel research.
• Students demonstrate effective skimming and scanning to extract facts.
• Students explain why some sources are more reliable or accurate than others.
• Written notes reflect clear, concise summaries, free of plagiarism.
• Participation in pair-share or small group discussion about research steps and findings.

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Resources Needed

• Printed extracts from travel guidebooks, tourist brochures (age-appropriate)
• Printed mock travel blogs/articles (including one clearly unreliable source)
• Access to dictionaries or thesauruses (physical or digital)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Research worksheets
• Laptops/tablets (optional)
• Display of “Top Tips for Researching” poster

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter Activity (10 minutes)

Objective: Activate prior knowledge about travel destinations and introduce research skills concept.

• Quick whole-class brainstorm: “What do you want to know about a new travel destination before you visit?”
• Teacher notes responses on whiteboard in 3 columns: Activities, Food/Culture, Practical info (e.g., money, weather).
• Introduce the terms: primary vs secondary sources, reliable vs unreliable sources.
• Show “Top Tips for Researching” poster and discuss one or two tips aloud (e.g., checking author credentials, cross-referencing facts).

2. Modelling and Guided Practice (15 minutes)

Objective: Teach skimming/scanning and source evaluation.

• Hand out 3 different source extracts about the same destination: a guidebook page, a blog excerpt, and a travel brochure.
• Model skimming through the guidebook to identify key facts (topography, attractions).
• Model scanning the blog for opinions and anecdotes—discuss which facts are subjective and which are objective.
• Lead class discussion on which source seems more reliable and why, highlighting signals like professional tone, presence of adverts, spelling mistakes.

3. Independent or Paired Activity (15 minutes)

Objective: Apply research skills to gather information.

• Students work in pairs using printed materials and/or laptops to research a different travel destination assigned by the teacher.
• Complete a structured worksheet—finding:
  • One interesting fact about the culture or history
  • One practical travel tip (e.g., currency or transport)
  • One potential challenge a tourist might face
• Each pair fills in a “Source Evaluation” box on the worksheet: rate the reliability of each source and explain why.

4. Sharing and Reflection (8 minutes)

Objective: Develop spoken language skills and consolidate learning.

• Pairs share one interesting fact and their source evaluation with another pair or with the class.
• Teacher draws attention to good examples of summarising and critical thinking.
• Prompt class reflection with questions:
  • How did you decide if a source was reliable?
  • What surprised you about your destination?
  • How might these skills help when planning a real trip?

5. Plenary and Exit Ticket (2 minutes)

• Students write a short “exit ticket” response on a sticky note:
  • One new thing they learned today about researching destinations
  • One question or something they found tricky about the research

Collect for assessment and planning.

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Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation of group discussions and worksheet completion.
• Assess exit ticket responses for understanding of skills and self-reflection.
• Provide feedback focused on clarity of note-taking, source evaluation, and ability to summarise information.

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Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence stems and vocabulary lists for weaker readers/writers.
• Extension: Challenge higher ability students to find examples of bias or differing viewpoints within blog sources or to suggest additional sources for further research.

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Homework Suggestion

• Ask students to pick a travel destination they would like to research further and bring one physical or digital source about that destination for use in a future lesson.

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Teacher’s Notes

• Emphasise that research skills in English support knowledge and critical thinking across the curriculum.
• Reinforce digital literacy as well as traditional reading skills as part of responsible information gathering.
• Consider incorporating a future lesson on referencing and avoiding plagiarism.

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This engaging, curriculum-aligned lesson systematically builds foundational research skills while connecting with students’ interests in travel, setting them up for deeper writing and reflection tasks in later lessons.