Lesson Four: Good Roads and High Prices
Focus Questions:
• How did automobiles change the way people traveled? What did South Dakota do to make automobile travel work well?
• How were South Dakotans involved in the First World War?
Imbedded Information in the Student Lesson:
; Joseph W. Parmley; citizenship
Worksheet:
Classroom Activities:
To help students gain research skills while learning the history of the automobile, discuss where they can look for information (books, Internet, magazines, encyclopedias). Brainstorm key words that would be associated with the history of automobiles (Henry Ford, cars, assembly lines, Model T, Model A, Fawick Flyer). Students can also interview older relatives or neighbors who might have stories to share about their early adventures with automobiles. Then have students use their automobile facts to write a paragraph about how this invention affected the world. What did the invention of the car allow people to do? How did it change where people lived? Have students share their paragraphs and then have a class discussion about their ideas.
Have students look at the old license plates in the student lesson. See if anyone has an old license plate collection and ask them to share examples with the class. After studying the older design and the present ones on cars in the parking lot, have the students design a license plate. If someone creates an outstanding one, urge him or her to submit the design to the state for consideration when new plates are designed.
