Create a Travel Brochure: A Project-Based Lesson in Persuasive Writing & Design

Engage students with this comprehensive project-based lesson plan on creating a travel brochure. This resource seamlessly integrates ELA, art, and media literacy, guiding students to analyze persuasive techniques, research a location, and apply creative writing skills. The project culminates in designing and creating a compelling tri-fold brochure. Ideal for elementary and middle school, this lesson includes objectives, step-by-step activities, assessment criteria, and differentiation strategies.

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Lesson Plan: Become a Travel Marketing Guru! The Great Chittering Brochure Challenge

Materials Needed:

  • A4 or Letter-sized paper (a few sheets for planning and the final version)
  • Colored pencils, markers, or crayons
  • Pencil and eraser
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Access to a computer or tablet for research and viewing example brochures
  • Optional: A printer for finding and printing images instead of drawing

1. Learning Objectives

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

  • Analyze: Identify the key features that make a travel brochure persuasive and engaging.
  • Create: Write a short, creative narrative and use powerful, persuasive language (like "wow words" and rhetorical questions) to describe an experience.
  • Design: Structure and design a visually appealing tri-fold brochure that effectively communicates key information (itinerary, highlights, slogan) to a target audience (fellow students).
  • Synthesize: Combine text, images, and layout into a cohesive and convincing final product.

2. Lesson Activities

Part 1: The Spark - What Makes a Great Adventure? (15 minutes)

  1. Hook/Introduction: Start with a question: "Billy, if you could convince your friends to go on any trip, what’s the one thing you’d say to get them excited? What makes a trip sound unmissable?"
  2. Deconstruct the Pros: Let's be detectives. Look up 2-3 examples of real travel brochures online (search for "kids adventure travel brochure"). What do we notice?
    • What words do they use? (e.g., adventure, ultimate, exclusive, unforgettable)
    • What do the pictures show? (e.g., people having fun, beautiful scenery)
    • How is it organized? (e.g., catchy title on the front, details inside)
  3. The Mission: "Alright, you've cracked the code. Now, you have a mission. The Shire of Chittering needs a new travel brochure to convince schools to bring students for an excursion. They've heard you're the best person for the job. Your challenge is to create a brochure so awesome that every student who sees it will beg to go!"

Part 2: The Intel - Discovering Chittering's Secrets (25 minutes)

  1. Virtual Exploration: Let's do a quick "scouting trip" to Chittering, Western Australia, online. We're looking for cool things students would love.
    • Key Sights: Blackboy Ridge Trail (great views!), Lake Chittering, the "Stringybark" sculpture.
    • Fun Activities: Fruit picking at local orchards (in season), stargazing (Chittering is known for dark skies!), maybe spotting kangaroos or kookaburras.
  2. Brainstorm & Plan: Let's create a mind map. What activities will make our trip legendary?
    • Example Mind Map: CHITTERING TRIP -> Hike the Ridge -> Picnic Lunch -> Orchard Fruit Frenzy -> Storytelling at Stringybark -> Star Spotting.
  3. Create the Slogan & Title: Now for the hook! We need a super catchy title and slogan. Let's brainstorm some ideas.
    • Title Ideas: The Chittering Challenge, Escape to Chittering, Chittering: Unplugged & Unforgettable.
    • Slogan Ideas: "Your Best School Day Ever!", "Trade Your Desk for an Adventure!", "Get Mud on Your Boots!"

Part 3: The Story - Writing for Persuasion (30 minutes)

  1. The Writer's Toolbox: A great marketer needs great tools. Let’s learn a few tricks:
    • Wow Words: Breathtaking, spectacular, thrilling, hilarious, delicious, mysterious.
    • The Rule of Three: "Hike, explore, and discover!" or "Fun, friends, and adventure!"
    • Rhetorical Questions: "Are you ready for an adventure you'll never forget?"
    • Direct Address: "You'll get to see...", "Imagine yourself..."
  2. Creative Narrative Writing: This is where you bring the trip to life. Write a short, exciting story (3-4 sentences) from the perspective of a student who just went on the trip.
    Example to get you started:
    "My boots were covered in red dust, my backpack was full of apples I picked myself, and I couldn’t stop smiling. We’d just spent the day exploring Blackboy Ridge. Our guide told us the view from the top was amazing, but that was an understatement. It felt like we were on top of the world! My favorite part was..."
  3. Nail Down the Details: Let's create a simple, exciting itinerary for the brochure.
    • Date: Friday, November 15th
    • Time: 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM
    • Highlights:
      • 9:30 AM: Conquer the Blackboy Ridge Trail!
      • 12:00 PM: Epic Picnic & Games at the Summit
      • 1:00 PM: Orchard Frenzy - Pick Your Own Fruit!

Part 4: The Design Studio - Building the Brochure (45 minutes)

  1. The Tri-Fold Blueprint: Take a sheet of paper and fold it into three equal sections. Let's plan what goes where:
    • Front Flap (the cover): Big, bold Title, Slogan, and your most exciting image.
    • Center & Right Inside Flaps: The "Welcome!" message, your creative narrative, and the awesome Itinerary/Highlights. This is the main event!
    • Left Inside Flap (opens first): Use this for persuasive descriptions of the activities. "Why Chittering?" section.
    • Back Panel: "How to Book" (fictional school contact) and maybe a fun map or a final persuasive question.
  2. Image Creation: Time to be an artist or a photo editor! Create your three compelling images. They should match the text.
    • Image 1 (Cover): A drawing of students cheering at the top of a hill, with the sun shining.
    • Image 2 (Inside): A close-up drawing of a hand picking a bright red apple from a tree.
    • Image 3 (Inside): A drawing of the Stringybark sculpture with students looking up at it in wonder.
  3. Assemble and Create! Time for Billy to put it all together. Write the final text neatly, draw or glue in the images, and use colors to make it pop. This is his masterpiece!

3. Assessment & Closure (10 minutes)

  • The Big Pitch: "Okay, Mr. Marketing Guru, I'm the school principal. You have one minute to present your brochure and convince me to book this trip. Go!"
  • Celebration and Review: After the pitch, we'll celebrate the awesome work! We'll look at the final brochure together and use this simple checklist:
    • [ ] Does it have a catchy title and slogan?
    • [ ] Does it include the creative narrative from a student's view?
    • [ ] Is the itinerary clear (date, time, highlights)?
    • [ ] Are there at least three cool, compelling images?
    • [ ] Does it use exciting "wow words" to persuade the reader?
    • [ ] Is the layout neat, colorful, and easy to read?

4. Differentiation and Extension

  • For Extra Support: We can create a "word bank" of persuasive words together. I can provide pre-printed templates for the tri-fold layout. We can write the narrative sentence by sentence together.
  • For an Extra Challenge: Create a digital version of the brochure using a free tool like Canva. Or, write and record a 30-second "radio ad" script to go along with the brochure campaign. He could even add a "Trip Cost" section and calculate a fictional price per student.