Science and Math On The GO! is a brand new unit focused on the relationship between the environment, transportation, land use and how we live. Students learn how much their lives depend on transportation by researching and promoting different transportation modes.

The activities in this unit explore the science behind the different modes of transportation. Students consider the consequences of urban sprawl, air pollution and climate change. They develop and test hypotheses about land use, as well as research and plot actual air quality data.

Science and Math On The GO! features two lessons: 1) Transportation Power and 2) Transportation And The Environment. A PowerPoint and four activities are included:

Lesson One - Transportation Power

Activity 1.1 - Promote Your Mode - Win The Budget Student teams develop and present a case to win budget funding for their mode of transportation. They practice promoting their ideas in a group and improve their debating skills, while learning about transportation choices and the role of budget funding. Activity 1.2 - Transportation For The Future Transportation makes the world go round! It is now 2060, and every student in your class has won a prestigious award for innovative transportation design. Students present their design concepts at a mock conference in the classroom to "accept their awards." Creative thinking and knowledge of scientific concepts are employed to design exciting future transport.

Lesson Two - Transportation And The Environment

Activity 2.1 - What's All the Heat? Students use the scientific method to hypothesize about the relationship between land use and temperature. They explore how different land coverings in the school environment affect temperature. Activity 2.2 - Air Quality: Seeing The Invisible What is air quality and how does it affect us? Go online to experiment with an interactive air pollution simulator. See the factors that influence air quality -- ozone in particular. Graph the historical data for ozone air quality in Dallas-Fort Worth. Download the Air Quality: Seeing The Invisible PDF

All lessons, activities and learning materials are designed to augment your existing class curriculum and align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Activities involving mathematics align with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. Life skills are also listed.

Standards and Skills

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

• Reading/media literacy: Comprehension skills and how words impact meaning [110.15 b (14)]
• Economics: Patterns of work and economic activities [113.16 SS (b) (13)]
• Science, technology and society [113.16 SS (b) (23) (C) (D)]
• Math: Data analysis and probability [3 - 5 P]
• Science: Scientific investigation and reasoning [112.16 (b) (2) (B)]

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

• Data analysis and probability to design [NCTM 3-5 Grade Math]
• Understanding patterns, relations and functions using words, tables and graphs [NCTM: 3-5 Grade Algebra]

Life Skills

• Advocating views and ideas
• Public speaking
• Understanding how we impact the future
• Understanding how we create the future through innovation
• Proving a hypothesis
• Correlation between temperature and land use
• Health and environmental protection
• Creating a hypothesis

To request a copy of the curriculum, call 214.749.3494 or click here.

To schedule a DART Transit Education Outreach Program, call 214.749.3494 or click here.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

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