Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.1, SL.1, L. 4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will read and summarize a short nonfiction text.

Key Skills

summarizing, text features, vocabulary, detail, cause and effect, critical thinking, argument  writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The text explains the problem of overtourism and what is being done to address it.

 

Structure: The text is informational and includes cause-and-effect structures. At some points, the reader is addressed directly.  

 

Language: The language is conversational.

 

Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is needed. 

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L 

Guided Reading Level: T 

DRA Level: 50

SEL Connection

This story and lesson plan promote social awareness.

Lesson Plan: Too Many Tourists

Essential Questions

  • What are some benefits of traveling to distant places?  
  • How can we be respectful of places we’re visiting? 

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Have students open their magazines to page 4. Guide them to preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text below the title). How might crowds put a place in danger? Sample answer: Crowds of people might put a place in danger by trampling gardens, leaving trash that’s harmful to wildlife, or climbing on delicate structures. Any of these actions could destroy the features that make a place special.
  • Find the three locator maps. What cities do they show? What do the captions tell you about the cities? The cities on the maps are Athens, Greece; Barcelona, Spain; and Venice, Italy. The captions tell you that Athens is home to the Acropolis and limits the number of daily visitors to that site, Barcelona has a street called La Rambla and was the site of an overtourism protest in July 2024, and Venice has crowded canals and sometimes charges people to enter the city.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (ruins, tourists, residents, economy, potential) aloud and discuss their definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading by telling students that the article “Too Many Tourists” describes a big problem caused by travel. 
  • Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
  • Point out the activity at the end of the article and let students know they’ll complete it after reading. 

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • What is the Mona Lisa, and where can it be found? (detail) The Mona Lisa is a very famous painting. It can be found in Paris, France.
  • Why do visitors have to pay to enter the city of Venice on some days? (cause and effect) Millions of people visit Venice each year to see its beautiful canals. To prevent overcrowding and the problems it creates, city officials have started charging people to enter the city on its busiest days.
  • According to the article, what does it mean to be a good tourist? (summarizing) According to the article, a good tourist is someone who does not litter and who supports local businesses, respects rules, and treats historical sites with care. 

Critical-Thinking Question (5 minutes)

  • How might different people view tourism in their area differently? Who might be happy to see crowds of tourists near their home, and why? Who might be bothered by crowds of tourists near their home, and why? Sample answer: People who own hotels, restaurants, and stores might appreciate crowds of tourists in their area because of the business they could bring. People who like to take quiet walks on their local beach or who struggle to get to work or school in heavy traffic might be annoyed by crowds of tourists. 

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity at the end of the article.
  • Go further: Assign students to work independently on our Summarizing activity, available in higher- and lower-level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
  • Writing Prompt: Imagine that your teacher is thinking of taking the class on a trip to Barcelona, Spain. Write a letter to your teacher to say whether you think the trip is a good idea. Support your opinion with details from the article.

Learn-Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Project the task below on your whiteboard or share it with students in your LMS.

Create an Ad

The article says that officials are using ads to try to get tourists to visit places that are less popular.  Try creating your own ad for this purpose.

  • First, think of a place near you that is popular with tourists. (It doesn’t have to be a historical site. It can be a campsite, a shopping area, or anywhere else people like to visit.)
  • Next, think of another place near you that you think is just as beautiful or interesting: a park, a museum, a college campus, etc.
  • Do research to find at least three facts about the place you plan to advertise, such as how old it is, who created it, any important events that took place there, and what visitors can see and do there.
  • On a sheet of paper or in a computer document, present your facts along with an image of the place. Let tourists know why the place you’re advertising could be better than the place they might have been planning to visit. (Is it bigger? Cleaner? More kid-friendly? Does it have nicer bathrooms?)

You can make your ad serious or funny. Just try to convince tourists that your idea is a good one—and have fun!

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