I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Health and Wellness

Essential Question:

How can awareness of your own driving risk factors aid in safe driving habits?

Bridge:

Personal Risk Factors

Content:

Defensive Driving

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: To connect students to their own experiences with hazardous driving.

Activity: Working in small discussion groups, students brainstorm collective lists of the hazardous driving experiences they have had which led to "close calls." They should include experiences both as drivers and passengers.

Assessment: Involvement of students in small group discussion and contributions to the group.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: To analyze the experiences of the students.

Activity: Groups share their lists with the rest of the class. Teacher conducts class discussion categorizing student experiences as to the causes of the accidents or near accidents (i.e. tail-gating, drinking while driving, attitude problems, etc.).

Assessment: Contributions to large group discussion.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To help students connect to the responsibility of the individual for safe driving practice.

Activity: Students will take the National Safety Test to determine their own level of safe driving habits. Using accident reports, they will compare statistics of drivers in northern Virginia with drivers in other areas of the state by age, sex, locale, etc. Students will independently determine their own level of risk for accident based on their safety test score and available statistics. Class members will share their personal evaluation, and the teacher will create a Risk Chart for class members.

Assessment: Involvement in activities and contribution to the class effort.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To learn the principles of defensive driving.

Activity: Teacher will cover basic principles in class using information from textbook, the State Department of Motor Vehicles manual, and a film. Guest lecturers will include a Department of Motor Vehicles officer and a County Traffic officer.

Assessment: Student involvement in presentations, student questions and concerns, teacher verbal checking for understanding.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: To practice what has been learned about defensive driving techniques.

Activity: Using situation and reaction films with simulators, students will practice safe driving techniques in the classroom. In addition, they will complete activities on teacher-prepared worksheets and answer questions in the text.

Assessment: Completion of assigned work and score on text chapter quiz.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: To take what has been learned and apply it to the world outside.

Activity: 1. Students will stand for one hour at a busy intersection during a heavy traffic time of day and tabulate traffic infractions and "near misses." Each student will create a chart of observations to be shared with the class. 2. Students will tabulate infractions while riding as a passenger in someone else's car. These tabulations will be added in a separate column to the above chart. 3. Students will create posters with slogans which promote safe driving concepts.

Assessment: Quality of student observations and charts; quality of posters.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To analyze the effects of poor driving practice and the reaction of our court system.

Activity: Students will attend traffic court. If not possible, they could view a traffic court video. Their task is to evaluate and respond in writing to the verdicts. Based on this experience, student teams will create and present a traffic court role play.

Assessment: Quality of written analysis and team role play.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: To share what has been learned with the rest of the class and the school at large.

Activity: Class will host a Safe Driving Week for the school. A wrecked car will be displayed in the student parking lot to draw attention to the hazards of poor driving. Student posters will be displayed throughout the school. Student role plays will be videotaped and displayed for others to view during the week.

Assessment: Student enjoyment in learning; positive reactions from larger school community

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: