Students will launch the project with a map, landmark photos, and a short family travel challenge that sparks questions about distance, cost, and destinations. They will investigate: How can we plan a family vacation to a U.S. landmark that fits our budget, travel time, and interests? Using reliable travel information, students will apply multi-digit multiplication and division algorithms to compare options and make informed decisions. Each student will create a family vacation budget and travel math portfolio showing distance, cost, calculations, and a final reflection explaining how the plan improved.

Students will fluently multiply whole numbers up to four digits by two digits and divide up to four-digit dividends by two-digit divisors. They will apply these skills to compare landmark options and plan a family vacation that fits a budget, travel time, and family interests. Using evidence gathered from maps, photos, and travel information, students will create an accurate budget and travel math portfolio showing distance, cost, and multiplication and division work. Students will clearly communicate and justify their decisions, respond to feedback, persist through revisions, and reflect on how their plan improved.

Students will create a launch question board using a map, landmark photos, and a short family travel challenge to identify questions about distance, cost, travel time, and interests. Throughout the project, they will develop a family vacation budget and travel math portfolio showing researched costs, distances, and multi-digit multiplication and division using standard algorithms. Teams will produce a visual itinerary for a family of four that explains how the trip fits the family’s budget, schedule, and interests. Each student will present the plan and write a final reflection describing how feedback, reliable evidence, and revised calculations improved the vacation plan.

Host a Vacation Launch Party with a large U.S. map, landmark photos, sample travel prices, and route cards. In teams, students complete a short challenge: choose a landmark for a family of four, estimate travel distance and cost, and decide whether the trip fits a fictional budget and travel-time limit. Teams share their choices and questions, then discuss: “How can we plan a family vacation to a U.S. landmark that fits our budget, travel time, and interests?” Introduce the final vacation budget and travel math portfolio, noting that students will document distance, costs, multiplication and division work, and reflections as their plans improve.

Host a Family Vacation Expo where teams present their proposed trip to classmates, families, or school staff using a U.S. map, landmark visuals, and a clear travel itinerary. Students display their vacation budget and travel math portfolio, explain multiplication and division calculations for distance and costs, and show how their plan balances budget, travel time, and family interests. Visitors ask questions and provide feedback on the plan’s accuracy and feasibility, and students conclude by sharing a reflection on how their plan improved from the Vacation Launch Party challenge.