This activity assists students in developing questions about which public transportation options are available in their local city or town, what they think about it, and what they can do to make a difference.
Using this transportation audit, students can make recommendations about how to improve transportation options and develop an action plan to solve a problem for their local communities.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The questions help student think about what is already in place in their community and what is lacking.
It encourages students to involve their families in the solutions.
Additional Prerequisites
Students will need a basic understanding of how to identify valid sources on the internet.
This activity requires that students conduct some independent research about their local town or city.Students may need assistance getting access to sources to inform their research.
Differentiation
Civics classes can use this Transportation Audit to help students develop a better understanding of local governments and policies.
English classes can use this the action plan in this activity to practice persuasive writing skills.
Pair this activity with this video about city design for public transportation, and this lesson about emissions from different modes of transportation.
Science and health classes can use this resource when discussing physical health, solutions to climate change, and air pollution.
Scientist Notes
This is an audit plan where students can engage to assess the different transportation infrastructure used in their communities and recommend the most environmentally-friendly transport models to their families, communities, and the society. This is recommended for teaching.
6-8.WHST.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
9-10.WHST.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Science
ETS1: Engineering Design
MS.ETS1.2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Social Sciences
Social Science Analysis (K-12)
HS.75 Evaluate options for individual and collective actions to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
