A Trip to Indonesia : a Classroom Unit of Work aims to help teachers undertake a comprehensive study of Indonesia in the upper primary classroom. It examines aspects of daily life, it explores the cultural diversity of the nation, and discusses key industries, occupations and the arts in the country.

The kidcyberQuest sets the assignment for students as an imaginary trip to Indonesia. It provides students with directed practice in key information gathering and research skills, such as :
formulating questions,
reading for information,
making notes,
compiling a bibliography and
writing a report.

The student information pages are organised into categories for students to undertake preliminary research to enable them to plan their trip and make their presentations.

Undertake introductory activities with students to establish what they already know about the topic and to set guidelines for future instruction, classroom activity and research.

Make lists: 'What We Already Know about Indonesia' and 'What We Want to Know about Indonesia'. This introductory activity will establish what students already know about the topic, and will help them focus on the topic, determine what they need to find out and collect data.

After viewing a video (check local and video libraries)or browsing through a collection of books, travel brochures and other resources, each student is given a sheet of paper and writes down facts they know about Indonesia. They then cut their paper into strips, one fact to each strip. The strips are all placed into a large container. The teacher pulls out one strip at a time and reads aloud the fact. Students decide collectively whether or not it should be categorised as:
1. True
2. False
3. Don't know yet

The fact strips in each category are taped together to form charts. One day each week during the unit review the charts, and re-categorise, refine or correct the facts. At this weekly session, new facts can be added. As the list of true facts grows, it can be categorised further under headings such as : Wildlife, Food, Industry etc.

Other introductory class activities
Some of the following could be undertaken to further introduce the topic:
display photographs, charts, posters and so on around the room;

collect books from library resource centre;

view videos from local libraries.

students can write letters to the Indonesian Embassy/Consulate in your country or city to request information;

students search the internet (see kidcyberQuest).

display Indonesian artifacts or posters brought to school by students;

survey students, teachers, friends and relatives to locate people with knowledge or expertise relating to the topic and invite them to speak.

Introductory tasting activity: collect recipes and adapt some for cooking at school as an introductory activity about food.The meal can be added to from the students' research, and fresh fruit should be available also. As part of the unit, students will make up their own menu for each day of their 'trip', find out about other Indonesian foods and their names, find the recipes for these and other dishes. They can make comparisons between what they would eat at home and what they might eat on a trip to Indonesia.

'Travel Preparations'
At the start of the unit of work, the class should reach an agreement about the organisation of the project . Discuss how this 'trip' will be organised: Will we all stay together (ie do you want the whole class to follow the same itinerary and research the same things)? Or will groups visit different places after an initial stay in Jakarta, or will we tour as individuals?

What will we produce as a record of our trip?
How will we share our information with the rest of the class?

Students must find out about travel requirements and passports, health, visas and related travel information. They could make a passport, and obtain blank departure documentation for their 'trip'. They need to draw up an itinerary plan and a travel budget. They will complete a checklist for packing and will make a travel diary.

Students will also read Minding Manners! (see Preparations for the Trip menu) as part of their preparation, finding out about ways to avoid offending people of a different culture. Some useful words and phrases are also provided for students for their 'trip'.

Brainstorm with class and list all the things that need to be done and taken for an overseas trip, such as: passport, luggage, money, visa, innoculations, tickets, cameras, books for plane trip, and so on. From the list, there will be a discussion about what we know and what we need to find out to prepare for our trip to Indonesia, for example: where do we get a passport, how much does it cost, what does one look like, do we need a visa and how do you get one? etc.

Divide up the travel preparation research:
Some students can be delegated to contact health professionals to find out what immunisation is required and/or desirable for a trip to Indonesia, and the time frame for immunisation. Students will find out about diseases such as cholera, malaria, hepatitis, typhoid,smallpox, rabies, tetanus. They need to find out about taking precautions such as drinking and brushing teeth using bottled water, the dangers of dehydration, and so on.
Some students can be delegated to contact travel agents to get details of flight prices, times, airlines travelling between your city and Jakarta. Internal flights, hotel accommodation, food and tour costs can be found also.
Some students should find out about climate and cultural expectations which will influence the clothes they take. They need to find out the maximum weight for a suitcase taken to Indonesia and the dimensions of carry-on luggage.

Students (or groups) could actually pack a case and a carry-on bag and bring them to school. They would show the contents of their cases and explain any choices that are queried by classmates, and make suggestions to others if they feel items have been omitted or are unsuitable.

Notes about topic research:
Agriculture and Industry
For a total perspective of Indonesia's industries, students should be directed to investigate other crops and industries, such as food processing, jewellery making, mining, cotton manufacturing, petroleum industry etc. They need to use information such as this in their daily travel diary, for example: 'On the way to Borobodur in a bus, we stopped at a coconut plantation....' and insert information about coconut production and the making of palm sugar.

Sightseeing in Indonesia
Students should look at a number of brochures obtained from travel agents, consular and other sources. They can cut out pictures and paste them onto a wall map of Indonesia, with arrows and labels. This can be added to as more attractions are researched.

Flora and Fauna of Indonesia
After researching this topic using a variety of resources, students are required to include information about some species of flora and fauna in their daily travel diary.