Introduction

Many members of the Better-than-thou Cultural – Historical Society have recently said that they will “never” travel to Mexico. They believe that Mexico is only a place for partygoers who want a Spring Break atmosphere.  They feel that their need for true cultural and historical experiences could never be fulfilled by trip to Mexico. You are a travel agent.  Your boss has recently told you that your company has to start selling more Mexico travel packages. However, he feels that the current packages are not appealing enough to sophisticated travelers.  He has assigned you the job of creating a tour package that would convince even members of the BTT Cultural-Historical Society that a trip to Mexico is perfect for their traveling desires.

What can you include in your tour package that will convince the members of the BTT society that travel in Mexico is right for them?

In fulfilling your assignment, you will research on the web and learn about Mexican cities, historical sites, and cultural aspects.  You will then
compile your data into a creative tour package Power Point presentation that will give your audience an overview of what Mexico has to offer.

The final project will be a slide show presentation presented in Power Point. 

Listed below are the steps you will follow to create your tour package presentations.  Please read everything carefully and pay attention to all the guideline details. 

1. First you will be divided into groups of three.
2. You will then divide the research assignment.  Each person will take one area: historical sites, cities, or cultural aspects..
3. You then will begin your research.  Access a web browser and type in  or click on the URL's below.  These are starting points.  You may use any valid information you can find on the web..  Pictures and quotes are great!  Be sure and document any other sources besides these web pages in your bibliography.
1. http://www.picturesofplaces.com/Caribbean/mexico.html 
2. http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/areas.html
3. http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/history/mexicopeople.html
4. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/north_america/mexico/
5. http://www.travelnotes.cc/cozumel/links/holidays.html
6. http://www-learning.berkeley.edu/courses/AS102Sum97/Resources/mexico.html
7. http://www.tourbymexico.com/df/polachap/musegall/musegall.htm
8. http://www.caroun.com/Museums/Mexico/MuseumsMexico.html
9. http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/daydeadindex.html
10. http://www.sanmiguelguide.com/tour-el-grito.htm
4. You need to visit these links (and others you may find), take notes, and decide what information you think will fit best into your presentation. Remember not to overload on information, but instead provide good details for everything you select.  
5. You may download pictures onto a diskette, but be sure that they are not copyrighted material.
6. Organize your presentation into a Power Point slide show demonstrating the three different categories, cities, historical sites, and cultural aspects (this can include festivals, holidays, or any other interesting cultural items you come across).  The slide show should contain pictures or graphics.  No more than 10 slides, no less than 5.
7. Each member will present his/her portion of the project, but everything should flow together.
8. The group will need a conclusion that sums up their tour package claims.  Remember you are trying to persuade people to purchase a tour from your company.
9. Each group member will also need to submit a 1 page typed summary including  paragraphs on:
1. how well the group worked together 
2. how did the group find information 
3. how the group synthesized the data and created the PP presentation
4.  how the presentation went.  
5. what have you learned from the project 
10. Finally, have fun and be creative.  
    

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Each group member will receive their own specific grade.  The project will be graded as a whole, but the presentation and written summary will be individually graded.  Remember each group member MUST do his/her part to receive credit for the assignment. 

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Included appropriate information on  Mexico's cities	Only mentioned a few cities with few details.	Included cities but lacked details on each one.	Included some cities and some good details for each one.	Included sufficient cities and  provided interesting details for each one.
Included appropriate information on  Mexico's historical sites	Mentioned very few historical sites and gave few details.	Included some historical sites but lacked details for each one.	Included some historical sites and some good details for each one.	Included sufficient historical sites and provided interesting details for each one.
Included appropriate information on  Mexico's cultural aspects	Mentioned very few cultural aspects and gave few details.	Included some cultural aspects but lacked details for each one.	Included some cultural aspects and gave some good details for each one..	Included sufficient cultural aspects and provided interesting details for each one.
Power Point Presentation Slide Show	Lacked organization. Failed to cover each of the three areas.  No conclusion..	Somewhat organized,  barely covers three areas, no good conclusion.	Organized, covers three areas, has a conclusion.	Very organized, flows well, thoroughly covers 3 areas, great conclusion
Written Summary	Does not address the topics specified.	Only addresses some of the topics specified.	Addresses the topics, but gives no details or explanations.	Answers all of the questions, well organized, very elaborate.

After completing your Mexico tour package you will have a working understanding of what Mexico (our neighbor to the South) is really all about.  You will get to see and learn about her cities, people, history, culture, and celebrations.  Not only will you now learn about the country of Mexico, you will gain understanding of the cultural diversity in our country.  

Maybe one day you can travel to Mexico and see your tour package information first hand.  In doing this project you will see that there is so much out there to learn about every culture, including our own.  

Introductory pictures were taken from: http://www.andalemexico.com/Mexico_pictures.htm