LET’S GO TO THE

BIG APPLE!
Index Page
Project Teaching Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Summary of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Learning Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sessions 1-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Appendix 1 – Cooperative Learning Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Appendix 2 – Session 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Appendix 3 – Session 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Appendix 4 – Session 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Appendix 5 – Session 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Appendix 6 –Session 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Rubric 1 - Budget Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Rubric 2 –Blog Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Rubric 3 – Brochure Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Rubric 4 – Oral Presentation Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Rubric 5 – Collaborative Teamwork Skills Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

© Cambridge University Press 2018 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

Project teaching notes

LET’S GO TO THE
BIG APPLE!
INTRODUCTION
The students are going to go on a six days end-of-year school trip to the Big Apple, the city of skyscrapers. Do
you know which city I’m referring to?

Yes, it’s New York, one of the most famous cities in the world. Let’s enjoy the experience through this project!

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT

It’s time for your students to organize their end-of-year trip to New York in groups. They need to create a plan to
stay in NYC for six days (19 to 24 June).

The first task is to write an email to the School Principal persuading or trying to make him or her aware of the
importance of making a trip all together to NYC. If your students do not have the Principal’s approval, the trip will
not come about.

Then it’s time for the groups to arrange the trip flights, accommodation, sightseeing, shopping … All the costs for
these activities must be included in a budget, which will be handed to the teacher on the last day of the project.

Finally, each group needs to make a travel blog followed by an oral presentation in front of the class.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Once this project is complete, students will have learned how to arrange a trip on their own. They’ll also have
learned to calculate and create a budget and design a travel brochure. Students will have been able to work in
collaboration with their classmates, helping each other, increasing autonomy, developing their critical thinking skills
and creativity. Your role as a teacher would be to guide them, so they can take the active role in the classroom.

Why not plan another trip somewhere else? Perhaps … California next time?

TIMING
Each session corresponds to 50 minutes of class.

• Session 1 (Introduction)
• Session 2 (Text)
• Session 3 (Characters)
• Session 4 (Song)
• Session 5 (Principal email)
• Sessions 6-7 (Budget)
• Sessions 8-9-10 ( (Blog and Brochure)
• Sessions 11-12 (Oral presentation and Rubrics)

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Project teaching notes
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 1
Step 1

You should introduce the project and show some videos to engage students with the topic.

On YouTube, there are lots of interesting and entertaining videos about New York (Visit New York - 5 Tips,
Subway Performances, Interviews, etc.). Later, hand out all the documents students might need to do the project.
Explain what it is all about, the tasks that need to be done, and the dates for uploading their work.

Step 2 (Appendix 1)

Now comes the time to arrange the groups into a mixture of different skills students have. Most groups are to be
made up of four students, if possible. Once the groups are formed, every member must be assigned a role during
the project. (See the annexed document Appendix 1 with the cooperative learning roles assigned. If you want,
you can hand out a copy to each group.)

SESSION 2
Step 1 (individual and in groups, 15 minutes) (Appendix 2)

Hand out a worksheet containing five questions with signs which can be found in the city of New York. The
students look at the text in each question, and mark the correct letter A, B or C. Later they can compare their
answers. (This exercise is one that students taking the Cambridge Preliminary exam must attempt in the Reading
and Writing test.)

Step 2 (individual and in groups, 30 minutes) (Appendix 2)

Hand out the text. The students look at the sentences and decide if each sentence is correct (A) or incorrect (B).
Then, in groups they have to match the definitions with the correct word from the previous text.

SESSION 3
STEP INSIDE (in groups/whole class, 15 minutes)
A video will be shown displaying 2 or 3 famous people from New York. These videos will summarize the life of
these New Yorkers and will focus on their accomplishments.

Step 1 (whole class, 10 minutes)

Once the students have seen the videos, allow them time to choose one of the three people. This activity may
work better as a whole-class activity.

Step 2 (whole class, 15 minutes)

Ask the students, Do you know that person? What does he/she do for living? How do they feel about New York?
Do you agree with her/him with what he/she says? Why? Etc.

Step 3

Now ask your students if they would like to live in New York: What would your life be like there? What
opportunities do you think New York provides their citizens? Would you like to live there temporarily or forever?
On the board, make a list of the student’s ideas. If this step has been done as a whole-class activity the group’s
thinking has been visible throughout the entire class period.

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Project teaching notes
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 4
Step 1 (in groups, 15 minutes)

Students listen to the song Empire State by Alicia Keys, and complete the gaps with the words they hear. Please
find the lyrics to those songs online and erase for the students to complete .

Step 2 (in groups, 5-10 minutes) (Appendix 3)

Students must find one word in the text with the same meaning as the definitions provided.

Step 3 (in groups, 15 minutes)

Students listen to the song again and sing along to the next line once the song is paused.

Step 4 (in groups, 15 minutes)

Sing along in groups (Karaoke)

SESSION 5
Step 1 (individual, 20 minutes) (Appendix 4)

Students write an email to the School Principal asking for permission to go to New York on an end- of-year trip. It
must be 35-45 words long and contain the information below:
• Ask for permission to go to NYC.
• The dates of the trip and its final cost.
• Suggest to the School Principal why it’s a good idea to have this experience.

The email is a typical question in the Cambridge Preliminary Reading and Writing test.

SESSION 6-7
Step 1 (in groups) (Appendix 5) (Rubric 1)

Plan the trip: prepare the budget.

Students look for information about flights and transport, accommodation, food and sightseeing.

The budget:
Student 1 (flights and public transport)
Student 2 (accommodation)
Student 3 (sightseeing)
Student 4 (food)

Then they are to fill out an online budget form (Appendix 5) that includes prices per person for every category
for the six days. Finally, this document has to be uploaded (one per group) on the dates indicated. The teacher
corrects the budget by using the corresponding rubric, the mark being the same for all the group members.

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Project teaching notes
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSIONS 8-9-10
Step 1 (in groups) (Rubric 2)

Plan the trip: make a travel blog

Students have to write about their experience in NY. Each one of them is responsible for writing about one day.
The text must be written in the past simple tense (around 10 lines per day). It must also have a front cover, an
index of contents, and a back cover: There has to be the right balance of text and photos. The blog (one per
group) must be uploaded on the dates indicated by the teacher.

Step 2 (in groups) (Rubric 3)

Plan the trip: create a brochure.

Also, a travel brochure can be designed on a computer, for example on this web page www.canva.com following
this tutorial www.canva.com/create/brochures/ which is very intuitive and easy to use. Another design option
would be the ‘artistic’ one:

Stage 1: material: paper (colourful paper), glue, scissors, maps, photographs, etc. Fold the paper into 3 parts so
the lines will help them to limit the size of the pictures and the content.

Stage 2: divide the content into 3 parts: (1) Title, main picture, slogan, price and dates (2): the timetable for each
day, divided into morning, afternoon and evening activities, and some small decorative pictures (3) interesting
facts and places to visit with a little summary about them (35-40 words maximum).

Stage 3: place (1) in the front page; once unfolded, place (2) on the right of the front page; flip the paper and
place (3) on the back.

The blog and the brochure are corrected by following specific rubrics. If the teacher prefers, he or she can do it
separating the students’ work. Remember that there are two marks, one for all the group members, and the other
one measuring the use of anguage (individual mark).

SESSIONS 11 and 12
Step 1 (group and individual work) (Appendix 6) (Rubrics 4 and 5)

Oral presentation and evaluation

The group secretary delivers the diary of the project. (Appendix 6)

The groups must do a presentation of their blog. In turns, every student talks about the page they had to do
in the blog. They are expected to speak for about one minute and a half. The evaluation of this task is done
throughout the corresponding rubric section (see annexed Rubric 4)

Each student is given a collaborative rubric (see annexed Rubric 5) to evaluate their work and that of their
teammates during the project. The teacher undertakes this assessment as well. As a result of this, every student
will obtain three marks: the self-evaluation, the teammate’s evaluation, and that coming from the teacher’s
observation.

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Appendix 1
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 1
Step 2

COOPERATIVE
LEARNING ROLES
SECRETARY
• Takes notes and fills out the group diary (Appendix 6).
• Reminds the group of the tasks to be carried out.
• Checks everyone brings the required material.

SUPERVISOR
• Monitors the time.
• Monitors the noise.
• Checks everyone has done their allocated tasks.
• Maintains the place tidy.

SPOKESPERSON
• Talks on behalf of the group.
• Communicates with the teacher and other groups.
• Asks any questions or queries.
• Explains the finished project.

COORDINATOR
• Monitors the group tasks.
• Distributes the tasks among the group members.
• Supports and encourage everyone.
• Helps solve problems within the group.

There are also two specific roles to be assumed:

EDITOR
• Edits the blog and amends the budget.
• Checks everyone has sent their blog page.

UPLOADER
• Uploads both the blog and budget.
• Checks the editor has sent the blog and budget within
the dates required.

© Cambridge University Press 2018 5 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

Appendix 2
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 2
Step 1 Step 2

What does each sign say? New York

DON’T
EVEN
THINK
OF
PARKING
HERE

A Free parking during the entire day.

B It is prohibited to park your car here.
C Think before you leave your car.
New York City and the metropolitan area around
it has the highest population of all the cities in
the United States. This one of the most densely
14 Street populated urban areas in the world. The city is
Union Square Station
5 referred to as New York City or the City of New
L N Q R W 4 5 6
York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of
which it is a part. It has also been called by many
A Union Square Station is closed for today.
nicknames such as the `City that Never Sleeps’ and
B 13 Street Union Square Station.
the `Center of the Universe’. But the Big Apple is the
C The northeast corner is 14th Street and
10 most famous nickname.
4th Avenue.

EAST New York has a global impact on commerce, finance,

80 media, art, fashion, research, technology, education,
and entertainment. The home of the United Nations
New York City Headquarters, an important center for international
3 LEFT LANES 15 diplomacy, is also in New York.

A New York City in 80 kilometers.
B You must use the 3 lanes on the left for NYC.
C New York City 3 right lanes.
New York
City Limits
Pop 8,333,333
Elev 33
A New York City has a population of over 9,000,000
B New York City is below sea level.
C New York City has more than 8,000,000 people.
It is also considered to be the unofficial global capital
of finance. New York was originally founded by Dutch
colonists in about 1624 as a trading post. It was
named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and the
20 area around it was later controlled by the English
colonists in 1664 and the name changed from
Amsterdam to York. New York was the capital of the
United States from 1785 until 1790 and has been the
country’s largest city since then.
25 Apart from being considered a cultural and financial
capital it is also one of the most famous points of
entry of immigrants, and the Statue of Liberty is

OPEN
a symbol of this, welcoming them to the United
OlafHerschbach /EyeEm/Getty Images

States and is associated with the famous quote

24HRS 30 starting ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled

A You can eat all day.
B You must eat before midnight.
C Restaurant closes at midnight.
masses …’. It was designed by Frédéric Auguste
Bartholdi and was a gift to the United States from
the people of France. The Statue of Liberty is globally
recognised as a symbol of the United States and its
35 democracy.

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Appendix 2
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 2
Exercise 1

Decide which sentence is correct (A) or incorrect (B). Then, share your answers with your partners.

1 New York is the third largest city in the USA. A B

2 New York City is in the state of New York. A B

3 The Big Apple refers to the state of New York. A B

4 New York City is famous for its entertainment. A B

5 The financial capital of the world is Paris. A B

6 The Dutch founded New York in 1624. A B

7 New York was once the capital of the USA. A B

8 New York City has always been the biggest city. A B

9 The Statue of Liberty was built in the USA. A B

10 Immigrants entered the USA from Liberty Island. A B

Exercise 2

Match the following definitions with the correct word from the previous text.

1 a large city A populous

2 full of people B metropolis

3 an informal name given in affection C nickname

4 the main city in a state or region D fashion

5 extremely large E headquarters

6 the style and design of clothes F capital

7 a person that has come from a different country G colossal

8 the place where you control activities of an organization H immigrant

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Appendix 3
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 4
Step 2

Empire State of Mind

by Alicia Keys

• a roof-like structure that sticks out over the • an ugly grey area of a city where people live in
entrance to a public building, especially a theatre closely crowded apartment buildings and there is
(P1) little space and no trees or grass (P2)

........................................ ........................................

• as many or as much of something as a pocket • a small device for providing a flame (P4)
will hold (P2)
........................................
........................................

• to become soft or liquid (P3)

........................................

• a person, usually a priest or minister, who gives a

religious speech (P3)

........................................

JBLacroix/WireImage/Getty Images | JTBPhoto/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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Appendix 4
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 5
Step 1

You would like to go to New York on an end-of-year trip. Write an email to the School Principal.

Think and plan:

• Greetings and polite question.
• Ask him/her for permission to go.
• Tell him/her the dates and approximate cost of the trip.
• Tell him/her who are you going with.
• Suggest to him/her why it is a good idea to have this experience.
• End your email politely.

To:
From:

Dear Principal:

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 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL
Getting Getting Hotel/
EXPENSE Food Sightseeing Souvenirs Extras
There Around Accommodation
Student 1 (flights and public transport options), Student 2 (accommodation), Student 3 (sightseeing and

EXAMPLES Plane, Train, Taxi, Subway, Hotel , Restaurants, Touristic Shopping, Travel
Bus, Gas Bikes apartment … Water, Drinks, landmarks, Souvenirs,… Insurance,
Snacks tickets, Internet access,
museums,… International
calling (See
our post on
this, pre trip
Vaccinations)
COST $0,00 $0,00 $0,00 $0,00 $0,00 $0,00 $0,00
June 19
June 20

10
Budget: create a spreadsheet with this information.

June 21
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

June 22

© Cambridge University Press 2018

June 23

shopping), Student 4 (food).

June 24
Appendix 5

SESSION 6
Total cost of trip

Step 1
(per person)
Appendix 6
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

SESSION 12
Going to New York Project Work (to be filled in by the secretary).

Attendance
Date/
What have we
done today?
What are we
doing next
session?
today’s session.
Materials for

Materials for
next session
Problems
Solutions

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Rubric 1
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

Budget Rubric

1: Needs improvement 2: Acceptable 3: Good 4: Excellent

Sections and information Sections Expenses

All sections are attempted All the section expenses are
and communicated: flight, calculated: flight, transport,
transport, accommodation, accommodation, food,
food, sightseeing, sightseeing, shopping.
shopping.
4
3
2
1

Final Cost per Person Delivery and format

The final budget is The budget is uploaded
affordable and realistic within the dates required. It
(between 1300€ and is done in a spredsheet.
1500€). The budget is
calculated accurately
(summing all the section
expenses).

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 Rubric 2
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

Blog Rubric

1: Needs improvement 2: Acceptable 3: Good 4: Excellent

Content Grammar
The student writes about Use of past forms are
two days from their stay used correctly. English in
in New York. The length terms of grammar and
is about 10 lines for each communication.
day. A travel itinerary is
included.
4
3
2
1
Digital Delivery and
Type and size format
of font through The blog is
the article. delivered on
Text and time and the
picture document
balance. format is in
Titles and Word.
organization.

Organization Vocabulary
The text organization, Use of appropriate
sections and general vocabulary (transport,
structure is as required. holidays, places). Correct
Pages are numbered. word spelling.

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Rubric 3
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

Brochure Rubric
1 2 3 4

Needs
Acceptable Good Excellent Score
improvement

Content The student has The student has The student has The student has
not included much included part of included almost included everything
of the information the information everything, which has been
required. Many required, but not but there are asked for. All
content elements everything. Some some details content elements
are omitted. Very content elements/ missing. Most are included
short length. sections are content elements and clearly
omitted. Short included and communicated.
length. communicated, on
the whole. Correct
length.

Accuracy The student The student The student has The student
has made many has made some made some minor has not made
mistakes which mistakes which mistakes but they any mistakes.
makes it difficult sometimes do not interfere in The text can be
to read and interferes in the the reading and perfectly read and
understand the reading and understanding of understood, even
text. Lots of copy understanding of the text. Little copy by third parties. No
and pasting from the text. Some and pasting from copy and pasting,
websites. copy and pasting websites. the student has
from websites. used his/her own
ideas throughout.

Organization The text is The text is not The text is well The text is
scrambled, totally organized structured. You perfectly structured
everything is mixed but you can can recognize its and the parts in
up and it identify its main main parts easily. which it is divided
is difficult to parts and are clearly stated.
differentiate the read through it
parts in which it is without problems.
divided.

Style The text is not The text is The text is The text is
cohesive. The cohesive enough coherent. The perfectly coherent.
reader can get but it is not very information given He/She has
bored. appealing to the is relevant and successfully
reader. interesting. persuaded the
reader.

TOTAL:

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 Rubric 4
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

Oral Presentation Rubric

1: Needs improvement 2: Acceptable 3: Good 4: Excellent

Content Vocabulary Accuracy

The student covers all The student’s use of
the content elements of appropriate words is
the topic. Correct length accomplished. Hardly
of presentation (around
1’30 min).
4 switches between
L1 and L2 to convey
3 meaning.

2
1

Grammar Pronunciation
Accuracy The student
The student does pronounces most
not make any words accurately.
major errors, just The presentation
a few minor ones. can be easily
understood.

Fluency
The student speaks
quite fast and fluently.
No reading support.

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Rubric 5
LET’S GO TO THE BIG APPLE!

Collaborative Teamwork Skills Rubric

(for self-evaluation and student’s group evaluation)

1 2 3 4

Needs
Acceptable Good Excellent Score
improvement

Attitude Often is critical Occasionally is Rarely is critical Never is critical of

of the project or critical of the of the project the project or the
the work of other project or the or the work of work of others.
members of the work of other others. Often has Always has a
group. Often has members of the a positive attitude positive attitude
a negative attitude group. Usually has towards the towards the
towards the a positive attitude task(s). task(s).
task(s). towards the
task(s).
Working with Rarely listens Often listens to, Usually listens Almost always
others to, shares with, shares with, and to, shares with, listens to, shares
and supports the supports the and supports the with, and supports
efforts of others. efforts of others, efforts of others. the efforts of
Often is not a good but sometimes is Does not cause others. Tries to
team player. not a good team disruption in the keep people
member. group. working well
together.

Contributions Rarely provides Sometimes Usually provides Always provides

useful ideas when provides useful useful ideas when useful ideas when
participating in ideas when participating in participating in
the group and participating in the group and the group and
in classroom the group and in classroom in classroom
discussion. in classroom discussion. A discussion. A
Doesn’t participate discussion. A strong group definite leader who
much. satisfactory group member who tries contributes a great
member who does hard! deal.
what is required.
Quality of Provides work Provides work that Provides high Provides work of
work that usually needs occasionally needs quality work. the highest quality.
to be checked/ to be checked/
redone by others redone by other
to ensure quality. group members to
ensure quality.

Organization Often forgets Almost always Almost always Brings necessary

necessary brings necessary brings necessary materials to class
materials or is materials but materials to class and is always
rarely ready to get sometimes needs and is ready to ready to work.
to work. to settle down and work.
get to work

TOTAL:

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