William Rosser

Lesson Plan Name: ​Replacing Gasoline - Electric Vehicles (EVs) Rationale: The current perspective on climate change and how it affects the earth has led to many alternative energy innovations during the past two decades. There has been a huge push to eventually phase out, for example, fossil fuel powered automobiles and transportation vehicles. Ealy ideas include the development and use of E85 gasoline, which is made from a derivative of corn oil, or alcohol powered engines that can be found in areas such as South America. Toyota has recently developed the Mirai in Japan, a sedan that is entirely powered by natural gas. While these inventions seem interesting and useful, they have not become as popular as the EV market, which was pioneered by Nissan but has gained a near legendary status in the modern day world through Tesla. Electric vehicles are commonly developed now, and by multiple automotive companies in order to compete with Tesla and eventually become the go-to company once gasoline has become a thing of the past. This lesson focuses on an interesting invention that has recently appeared in japan, called the “Walk Car”. It is a laptop sized, foldable vehicle that a rider stands on top of like a scooter and is able to take them to their location on a street, sidewalk, or other thoroughfare, as long as you can avoid running into pedestrians. The company that has created and patented this device, Cocoa Motors, offers two color versions of the Walk Car, and claims that it can travel a distance of up to 6 km at 16m/hr before needing a recharge. The Walk Car can be plugged into any electrical outlet and has a total charging time of around thirty minutes before it is ready to travel again. This lesson is meant to reveal to students a brand new and interesting product that they will definitely find intriguing. They will be placed in the role of a Japanese businessman working for Cocoa Motors. They will need to figure out a way to move the Walk Car into the international market and sell it overseas to become the next “Tesla” for city or short distance use. Standards Addressed/Learning Objectives: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.4​: ​Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. ● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.B:​ Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed. ● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7:​ Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem. ● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1:​ Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. ● SS.EC.2.6-8.LC​: Analyze the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in a market economy. Materials Needed: ● ● ● ● ● ● PowerPoint Presentation Writing utensils/notebooks (Note taking and answering a series of discussion questions) Case Study document Cocoa Motors Link: https://en.cocoamotors.com/ Case Study Discussion Questions Worksheet General Outline: Prep: 1. Since Cocoa Motors is brand new and is a small international company please make sure you conduct research yourself into it before teaching this lesson. A case study environment requires the instructor to know a great deal about the content before they lead discussions about them. 2. Please assign the case study document and discussion worksheet for the lesson the night before it is presented to the class. Also have them go to the website and look over it. The students will need time to think about the case itself as well as how they would go about dealing with the issues being placed at their feet. 3. Set the desks in the classroom so that they are in the socratic seminar style. This will make the discussion based lesson more effective. The Case Study 1. Welcome students to class and instruct them to take their seats, the student should be allowed to choose their seating for the lesson as their seats have been changed (you can obviously develop a quick seating chart if that will decrease behavior issues). Take attendance quickly and then instruct students to take out their completed discussion worksheets, as well as a notebook or a chromebook to take notes on. Give students around 5 minutes to prepare. 2. Begin the lesson by starting the included PowerPoint presentation. Explain what electric vehicles are, and refer to the case study document as often as possible. Do not take questions from students at this point, but feel free to ask random students questions about what they would do in certain situations that are brought up, or their experiences and prior knowledge about EVs. 3. Once the PowerPoint is finished (roughly 10-15 minutes), begin to ask students the questions they should have answered on their discussion worksheets. Make sure to bridge off of each question and have students get involved with asking their own questions related to them. Take volunteers first and, if there are not any, call on random students to answer the questions. a. Questions and answers to them should be organic and free flowing. Always take answers back to the subject matter; how does this relate to the alternative fuel vehicles, how can international customers find this product attractive, and how can widespread sales of this sort of device potentially affect business, further advancements, and societal progress? 4. The discussion of the case study should last for a good portion of the remainder of class, as students are engaged and play off of each other's responses. If engagement seems low, attempt to role-play a situation with the students in order to rebuild it. a. Example: have a student play the role of the japanese salesman making a business call to another student. Try to sell the Walk Car to the potential business partner. 5. Once the discussion is over and there is roughly 10 minutes left of class go over the pros and cons of the EVs, and talk of potential advancements because of it. Explain to the class that the future of entrepreneurship and business often look towards new forms of technology and how shifts in technology can affect everyday life as well as how societies function. Assessment(s): Participation​: Students will be actively participating throughout this lesson because they will need to involve themselves in the case study in order to receive credit for it. Participation and engagement are key to this lesson. Case Study Document: ​Students reading this document is imperative to conducting the lesson as they will need background in order to involve themselves throughout the discussion. Explain and inform them of this the night before. Question Worksheet: ​Students will be required to complete this worksheet before the lesson begins because it gives them the ability to involve themselves in discussion and also acts as proof that they read the document. Collect this worksheet as students leave class and grade it for completion in order for them to receive credit for the day.