Wharton Digital Literacy Lesson Plan

Nathaniel P. Wharton
Subject Area: 6th Grade General Science
Topic: Car Designs and the Human Appeal
Time: Three (45 minute) class periods
Learning Objectives:
• Students will be able to classify ideas as either fact or opinions.
• Students will research cognitive connections associated with various colors
• Students will collect information to develop their understanding of their forming opinions
• Students will value different perspectives of their peers
• Students will collect and analyze data to make inferences
• Students will communicate their discovery about what they consider to be appealing and non-appealing features.

National Curriculum Concept (or state):
All standards are based on Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Standards. http://www.fod.ac.cr/estandares/docs/descargas/standards_pensylvannia.pdf
PA Standard: 3.1.7 A#1-3, 5
3.1.7 B #1-3
3.1.7 C# 1-3
3.1.7 E #1 and 3
3.2.7 A #1-5
3.2.7 B #1-5
3.2.7 C#1-6
3.2.7 D #1-6

Key Vocabulary:
• Aerodynamics/ Fact/ Opinion/ aesthetic/ psychology/ research/ inferences/ data/

Key Question:- What features of a car make it appealing to a person?

Pre –Learning Activity:
1. Show this website www.nwlg.org/digitalliteracy - and have students take the online quiz.
2. Students should be directed to focus on these main areas:” Find information” , “Follow my hobbies and interest”, how to “download stuff”, and “do homework”
3. Review each question in the quiz with the students and explain the concepts of digital literacy.

Starter:
1. Access this website: http://www.naias.com/ and click “photo tour” (2011 Detroit International Auto Show)
2. In the “View by Category” toolbar – pull down and choose “Car”
3. Project each car onto the Promethean Board. Have students record rate each car 1-10 based on aesthetic appeal.
4. As each car still being projected on the Promethean Board, have students circle or highlight what they feel are the “best” features of each car- which influenced their opinion of the car.
5. Keep track of what students choose through the periods: Wheels, Spoilers, Hood, Windshields, etc..
6. Compile a graph in excel that shows the most commonly liked features of cars.
7. Have students infer from the results, what the most important structural design on cars.
8. Watch this video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNd6TxwV_sc Ask students if they agree with the commentator’s analysis? Analyze facts versus opinions and criticism they have about the presenters?
9. Homework- Have students research the ugliest car ever made and find a picture of said car, and submit the “ugliest” car they on our class blog. If students find the “ugliest” car, voted by their peers- you will receive bonus points.
10. The next class day we will project the weblog and rank the cars as: Ugly, Really ugly, I would buy this car for my worst enemy, and I would rather walk 30 miles than ride in the car.

Main Learning Activity (60 minutes)
1) Upon completion of Step #10 listed previous, students will chose partners for their research and design project.
2) Your group has been hired by ________, which is a new car company. Your job is to analyze and propose design features and colors for a car for The 2012 Detroit International Auto Show.
3) Research “Color Psychology” and use the colors you feel will prove to be beneficial to the car and explain why you chose these colors.
4) Look online to find and download pictures you feel will enhance your car. Search Flickr, Google Images, and Compfight.com, to find specific wheel/hood/spoiler/door etc designs for your car. All pictures you incorporate must have a Creative Commons license.
5) Present a simple PowerPoint showing the specific car parts you are going to use.
6) Have students rate each design feature on a scale of 1-5 (Five being the nicest they have ever seen and one being “very bland”).
7) Using this feedback, students will use this data to further their project.

Differentiation:
1) Create a generic version of your car on http://www.guzer.com/games/createaride.php (Create your own car)
2) This is a very basic program but you can modify particular car features to gather a sample group’s response to various design features.
3) Anonymous projection of each car and class vote for best design/appeal.
4) Utilizing the results of this activity, record the suggested features of the most popular cars.
Homework:
1) The teacher will issue each student a homework sheet that has a picture of 10 of the same color cars, but with varying designs. Students will survey their family members to see which design was their favorite and what they liked about the car.

Assessment:
1. To finalize this project, a class wiki will be started with the title “Car Design Project”.
2. Students will post their final design proposals for their car company on the page. They will also list all pictures of each car part they have chosen.
3. Students will also identify the color/colors of the car.
4. Students will present their designs to their classmates, where they will receive a rating of 1-10 for each car feature.
5. These results will be compiled into Excel and graphed based on the overall appeal of each sample group for each feature.
6. The team with the highest overall score will be awarded extra credit.

Teacher Reflection:
*Complete upon finishing this lesson*