GM Envisions Driverless Cars

Ben Amato | Educational consultant

"That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its development is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of a radical nature have been introduced."
~ Scientific American, June 2, 1909.

Creative Writing All four ELA Standards
Just as technology has made our lives different, the introduction of computerized controls into our cars will revolutionize our driving. Today's lesson looks at the future and how electronics will change the way we drive, work, play and live.

TV Component The CW11 News at Ten had a story about the possible "future" of driving and traffic lights. Watch the video twice and then answer the Listening Assessment multiple choice quiz.

Newspaper Component
The Newsday article "GM Envisions Driverless Cars" details General Motors' plans to create an automated automobile. Read the article and then using the facts and details within, have the students complete the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle.

Language Arts Component / Critical Lens
"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
 President John F. Kennedy

America's roads and cars are a major part of our nation's culture, especially here on Long Island. But tomorrow's highways and the cars we will ride in might be very different from what we are driving now.

Situation
Write a FACTION. This is a creative short story that uses the FACTS presented in a FICTIONALIZED way. Have the topic of this story be details about a morning commute to work in the future. Use the facts and details from the news article and the video to "create" the future world you will be "driving" through.

The Nature and Structure of a FACTION.
The goal of a FACTION is to create a fictionalized short story, using facts and details from the real world presented in a unique and useful way. Stories present lessons about life, THEMES about some topic or issue. A FACTION does the same, with the THEME being how you, the writer, feels about the topic you are writing about.

INTRODUCTION
This paragraph begins the story and starts off with the SETTING. In the first few sentences establish where and when this story is taking place and include the CAST, the major people involved in the story. The easiest FACTION is a FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE; where the writer is the main character describing the action. End this introduction with a FORESHADOWING HINT about the TOPIC of the story and your FEELINGS about it.

Your FACTION is about a typical commute to work in the future, involving automated cars and "smart" roads. Your theme will be about your opinions about technology and the way it will shape your life.

BODY
This section concerns PLOT of the story. These are the major events and can be easily reduced to THREE MAJOR PLOT STEPS arranged in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

First what happens?
Then what happens?
Finally, how does the story end?

Use the answers from the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle and Listening Assessment multiple choice quiz as a RUBRIC. Make sure these details find their way into your story. By including these "real" facts your FACTION will be believable and detailed.

CONCLUSION
This section of FACTION is where the writer presents the lesson or THEME. This is the writer's feelings and opinions about the way technology will shape our future. In the final sentences, describe your feelings about the automated cars and roads of tomorrow.

ENHANCEMENT
Listen to a portion of the National Public Radio program All Things Considered titled "A Glimpse of Things to Come." Take notes on how this news story envisions technology in the future and use those details in the FACTION to make your story more realistic and believable.