Transportation and Public Works
Grade Level: 4th
Content Area: Social Studies
Topic: Transportation and Public Works
Time: 60 minutes for whole group lesson (students will work on a play/script over several days)
Enduring Understanding: Students will develop an understanding of Wisconsin transportation and public works and the importance of both for communities within the state.
Content Objectives: Students will know what the Wisconsin County Trunk Highway System is as well as how county highways are funded and maintained in Wisconsin. Students will also understand the importance of public transportation services for the state.
Learner Objectives: Students will work together with their peers to create a skit to support their understanding of transportation and public works in Wisconsin.
Process Objectives: Students will work in both whole class and small group settings to discuss new information as well as support their learning of transportation and public works in Wisconsin. Students will utilize available technology to teach others about what they learned.
Materials Needed:
-Discover Mediaworks video
-Access to technology (optional) such as Google Drive, iMovie, or Movie Maker
-Chart paper and markers for writing
Overview:
Transportation is a vital part of any community. We use transportation systems every day here in Wisconsin. Transportation and public works are funded and maintained in a variety of ways. Wisconsin funds its transportation system mainly through user feeds (gas tax and registration fees). County funding comes from state aid, property tax and special assessments.
Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to create a State and Country Trunk Highway System. This is because milk had to be picked up from dairy farms once a day in the past due to Wisconsin’s dairy industry. This occurred regardless of the weather, so roads, even rural, were paved. This was out of the norm in other states where gravel roads were more common. Today, Wisconsin has over 114,800 miles of roads. Local governments have control of over 90% of these roads. Counties, towns, cities, and villages work to carry out many different transportation systems. County Trunk Highways(also calledCounty Highway,CTH,CR, orCounty Road) are a system of highwaysmaintained at the county level. This means each county in Wisconsin maintains its own CTH system. The routes are designated by letters instead of numbers.The designations can be one, two, or three letters in length. Our rural and urban economy is dependent on the system since it is critical in bringing products to and from market and also for people driving to work.
County highway departments perform most of the maintenance for the county highways and are reimbursed for state maintenance based on labor and machinery costs, and materials supplied by the county.Some of the maintenance conducted by counties include roadway surface, base, and shoulder repair, minor bridge repairs, emergency repairs and accident cleanups (including deer cleanup on the side of the road), traffic sign and roadway features repair, and snow removal.The County highway departments are also responsible for providing all the maintenance to the State Highway System. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) oversees all the state highway maintenance.
Counties also provide important services related to mass transit, elderly and disabled transportation assistance, specialty transportation and the management of park and rides. These services are crucial to the health and well being of older adults as well as people with disabilities since transportation is among the most requested service for older adults. The Wisconsin transit system provides more than 64,000,000 rides to students, workers, and the elderly each year. These services strengthen the local economy, create jobs, and provide a public service to citizens all over the state. Mass transit operating aids support public transportation systems all around the state and save taxpayer dollars by lowering the number of vehicles on roads, maintaining roadways capacity and cutting down on highway maintenance. Qualifying governments receive funding through mass transit operating aids. Counties are eligible for this program if the population is great than 2,500.
Here are some additional functions Wisconsin counties perform on Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure:
-airport operation and maintenance
-maintain and repair park and ride lots
-own and maintain bike trails
-maintenance, repair, and construction of parking facilities
-litter and trash pick-up
-street lighting
-signing
-traffic control
-planning and engineering
In this lesson, students will explain what the Wisconsin County Trunk Highway System is as well as how county highways are funded and maintained in Wisconsin. Students will also be able to explain the importance of public transportation services for the state.
Procedures:
- Activate prior knowledge: ask students what they know about Wisconsin transportation. Ask them if they know what public works means. Discuss students’ knowledge of these topics briefly as a class and then tell students they will be learning more about Wisconsin roadways and Wisconsin public transportation.
- Show students the Discovery Mediaworks transportation video. During the video, students should write down any questions they have. Depending on the technology available, an option would be to have students use the commenting service in Google Docs to pose their questions. They can then go in and answer or comment on each other’s questions after the video. Students could be posing their questions at the same time as watching the video; however, they should be monitored to ensure they are still paying attention to the video and not consumed with the Google Doc.Questions and comments will be discussed after the video as a whole class.
- The instructor will create different categories/topics in relation to transportation and post these on chart paper around the classroom. These categories will include the Wisconsin Trunk Highway System, funding roads, maintenance of roads, public transportation, and fun/additional facts. After the video and discussion, students will walk around the room and add a fact about each topic to the chart paper. Facts cannot be repeated so students will need to add something new to each category they visit. Students can use the notes they took while watching the video to help them as they are adding facts. The instructor should be monitoring facts to ensure students understand the major concepts related to each category of transportation. After students have had time to add to each category, briefly discuss as a whole class the major concepts and the instructor can add any additional important information. The instructor should ensure a thoroughdiscussionabout what the Wisconsin County Trunk Highway System is and how is it funded, How the county highways are maintained and who does it, and why public transportation is important in Wisconsin.
- Divide students into three groups and explain that each group will be responsible for creating a short skit/play on a transportation topic covered in the video and discussed in class. The topics of the groups will include the following:
- Wisconsin Trunk Highway System
- Funding and Maintaining/taking care of roads
- Public transportation (and why it is important for the community)
Students can be as creative as they want with how they want to present the information, however, all students need to be included in the skit and the information of the topic should be accurate and easy to understand. All groups must have a written script that the instructor will check over for accuracy and feedback before students can start practicing the play.
Students can present their plays to other classes within the school in person, or each group can create a video of their play (using technology such as iMovie or Movie Maker) and share it digitally.
Assessment:
- Students will be informally assessed throughout the lessons based on their participation in class discussions and the completion of the group play.
- Students will be formally assessed through a written assessment. The three main questions students will need to answer include the following: What is the Wisconsin County Trunk Highway System and how is it funded? How are the county highways maintained and who does it? Why is public transportation important in Wisconsin? This written assessment could be as simple as having students complete an “exit slip” before they can leave class or actually having them respond on a formal written test.
Extension Activities:
- Skype or use Google Hangout to discuss with students from another state about their transportation and public works systems. Students can ask each other how their state roadways are funded and maintained as well as the vital role public transportation plays in their community. Discuss similarities and differences among states.
Additional Resources:
(scroll down to the bottom of the website under Travel Modes and click on the bus/transit link to learn more about Wisconsin public transportation.)
(A search can be made on any of the 50 states. Searches can be narrowed down by counties within the state. Students can select a certain county and look at information on the county’s website.)
Standards:
Wisconsin State Standards and Benchmarks for Grade 4:
Social Studies: Geography
A.4.4 Describe and give examples of ways in which people interact with the physical environment, including use of land, location of communities, methods of construction, and design of shelters
A.4.7 Identify connections between the local community and other places in Wisconsin, the United States, and the world
Common Core State Standards for Grade 4: English Language Arts Performance Standards
Media and Technology:
E.4.1 Use computers to acquire, organize, analyze, and communicate information.
E.4.3 Create products appropriate to audience and purpose.
E.4.5 Analyze and edit media work as appropriate to audience and purpose.
Oral Language:
C.4.1 Orally communicate information, opinions, and ideas effectively to different audiences for a variety of purposes.
C.4.2 Listen to and comprehend oral communications.
C.4.3 Participate effectively in discussion
Wisconsin Teacher Standards:
The following Wisconsin Teacher Standards may be met teaching Transportation and Public Works:
Teachers know the subjects they are teaching.
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines she or he teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for pupils.
Teachers know how to teach.
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to encourage children's development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
Teachers communicate well.
The teacher uses effective verbal and nonverbal communication techniques as well as instructional media and technology to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
Teachers are able to plan different kinds of lessons.
The teacher organizes and plans systematic instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, pupils, the community, and curriculum goals.
Teachers know how to test for student progress.
The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the pupil.