Microsoft Excel Vacation Project

Where would you go on vacation if you were an 8th grader and told you had $5,000 to spend for your week's vacation?  There were some amazing (and creative) destinations in my Information Technology classroom!  Of course there were the kids who wanted to go to Disney World, but many had other plans:  China, Spain, Thailand, and even Switzerland were some of the destinations that showed up in a fun Microsoft Excel project we just finished.

Students researched their destination and determined costs for travel, hotel, meals, and sightseeing.  Then they created their budget in Microsoft Excel to see how they were spending their money.

This was a great culminating activity after we did some short tutorial/projects in Excel to learn the basics.  Students loved comparing destinations and prices and shopping on line for the best airline prices was a great "real life" lesson.  Many spent a lot of time looking for the most luxurious hotel for their money, but a few chose to spend their money elsewhere and opt for cheaper accommodations.

This was a fun, project-based, real-life simulation that showed students the benefit of budgeting and planning, along with learning great skills in Microsoft Excel!  If you'd like the entire lesson for your class, it is available here.

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