The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
Transport 2043
Transportation in 20 years - 2043
6th and 7th grade STEM lesson
Peter Johnston
May 23, 2023
Notes for teachers
Transportation 2043 - In 20 years time, how will you move within a city, how will you transport between major urban areas? Will you use High Speed Rail, a Hyperloop, Driverless Vehicles, eVTOLs, hydrogen powered airplanes?
Students are asked to pick a destination in the US/Canada and compare 2023 and 2043 public transportation methods.
List of Materials
Standards
Arizona Standards
Creative Communicator
6-8.6.b Students create original works or responsibly repurpose digital resources into new creative works.
6-8.6.c Students create artifacts using digital tools to communicate complex ideas textually , visually, graphically, and auditorily.
6-8.6.d. Students publish or present content designed for intended audiences and select platforms that effectively convey their ideas.
Standards
Arizona Standards
ELA
Reading Standards for Informational Text
Key Ideas and Details
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Objective(s):
1. Create a google slide presentation. Start with the title slide (1 slide), Future Electric US Transport 2043 or similar with a picture and your name.
2. Navigate Today (1 or 2 slides): Navigate from XXX Middle School to one of the below destinations (or another destination of choice - I have to approve) by walking, bicycle, bus, train, and taxis; all public transportation. You can include car and airplanes but this would be in addition to public transport. Describe that route in one or two slides. Show Steps, Time and, if you can find it, cost of trip. Google Maps - Directions
3. Navigate in 20 years: (4 slides) pictures of future transport methods, get there without using Fossil Fuels, all electric or human powered. You can assume Hyperloops have connected major cities. Reviewing what we've seen in class with Hyperloop, eVTOL Air Taxis, Driverless Electric Vehicles, etc. navigate to these destinations using pictures and estimate the transport time. Use Google Maps to measure distances.
Students can assume Hyperloops have been built between the major cities (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Charlotte, etc. ). Average speed of Hyperloop : 760 miles per hour. Average speed of High Speed Rail: 250 miles per hour.
Use pictures to describe how you would get from Ingleside to the Hyperloop station in Phoenix and from the major city Hyperloop station to your final destination.
Objective(s):
Day 1: Vocabulary
Objective(s):
Day 1: Use of technology
Objective(s):
Hands-on Activity Instructions
Assessment
Students are assessed by the quality, level of research, attention to detail in the assignment, use of graphics, use of example pictures, and ability to present the information gathered.
Differentiation
Quality of Google Slide presentation and the physical presentation to the class can range widely in this assignment. Most students pick cities they have visited so the top students relate stories about their destinations engaging the audience in a story about “Grandma’s house” or that fun vacation they took.
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Students that over perform provide detailed comparisons of cost of transportation, find examples of when some technology is projected to come online in a given location and consider speed of rail/loop in their calculations on total duration of travel.