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A case study is a short story problem about a real person and a challenge that person faces.
Each of these lesson plans includes everything you need for a 45-minute to one-hour lesson: student handouts, teaching notes, discussion questions, background information, and answer keys for assignments. Each lesson plan includes at least one suggested written assignment so that you can assess how students are learning. They are also specifically designed to help students prepare for the reading and writing exercises that are part of the 7th grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) exam.
These case studies have been prepared by the Magnuson Partnership, a project of the Port of Seattle and King County, to help students learn about careers in international trade and transportation.
Please note: Links lead to downloadable samples of case study lesson plans -- offered as Microsoft Word 97 documents.
Students help Mitsubishi Aerospace employee Carla Anderson convince an American airline to work with a Japanese airplane seat manufacturer and learn how geography and culture affect business dealings. Lesson plan uses five themes of geography. Two written assignments provided.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Geography
EALRs:
Geography 2.3, 3.3
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
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Students help architect Jim Dawson as he prepares to design a Chinese-style garden for a Seattle client. Students practice conducting research, then summarize information about Chinese garden structure and style into a written memo. During an optional second session, students prepare an artistic representation of a traditional Chinese garden based on their own research.
Career Pathway: Arts & Communications
Subject Area: Writing, Arts
EALRs:
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
Social Studies/Arts 1.5, 3.1, 3.3, 4.4
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Students help Port of Seattle Executive Director Mic Dinsmore as he seeks to overcome a century-old rivalry with a neighboring port to solve a pressing regional problem. Students discuss the role of competition, and review guidelines for good communications and negotiations in the workplace. Lesson plan includes two suggested written assignments and a group communication exercise.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Social Studies/Communication
EALR's:
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.3, 4.2, 4.4
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
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Students help Mitsubishi employee Bob Fukano work with a supplier of paperboard and a Japanese customer who will use the paperboard for milk cartons, but has been dissatisfied with quality of previous orders from another manufacturer. Case study focuses on the communication of technical information. Two written assignments included.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Communication
EALRs:
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.3, 4.2, 4.4
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Students help International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local #19 President Larry Hansen and his coworkers determine how best to unload a container ship that has been badly damaged in a typhoon. In the process, students learn about the history of labor unions and the ILWU. Case study includes a short persuasive writing exercise as well as the choice of three history research and writing projects.
Career Pathway: Engineering, Industry & Science
Subject Area: History
EALR's:
History 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
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Students help A.C.X. Trading Company employee Terry Hansen strategize about and then calculate the rebate due a customer for a load of hay, which was shipped to Japan. Students then calculate percentages, create two different types of graphs to illustrate their calculations, and then write a short memo explaining their calculations.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Mathematics
EALRs:
Mathematics 1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 5.3
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
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Students help Weyerhaeuser pulp mill logistics manager John Korvell build a flow chart to determine whether he can meet a potential customer's price requirements. Case study provides an introduction to the concept and nomenclature of flow charting and includes a flow charting assignment.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Mathematics
EALRs:
Economics 1.1, 1.2, 1.5
Mathematics 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2, 5.3
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
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Students help Port Townsend Paper Company's Transportation Manager Fred Pasquale calculate the costs of different shipping options when his paper mill runs out of storage space. Students demonstrate their ability to understand mathematical content in context and to calculate a multistep, non-routine problem. Lesson plan includes two student math worksheets and a persuasive writing exercise, written in the form of a business briefing paper.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Mathematics
EALR's:
Mathematics 1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 5.3
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
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Students learn basic research skills -- how to determine what information they need, how to find it, and how to use it -- as they help APL employee Margaret Schimke develop a marketing plan to ship more Washington state apples to Taiwan. Includes group oral presentation exercise and individual written assignment.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Social Studies
EALRs:
Economics 1.1, 1.2, 1.5
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
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Students help Mitsubishi employee Morikatsu (Mark) Shiroishi understand the Asian economic crisis as he attempts to sell Washington state frozen vegetables to Japanese customers during the economic crisis. Teaching notes include complete chronology, discussion guide, and frequently asked questions about the Asian economic crisis. Two written assignments included.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Economics
EALRs:
Economics 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
Mathematics 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
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Students help Mitsubishi employee Masushi (Mac) Shoda as he markets Washington and Alaska wild salmon to Japan at a time when farmed salmon is becoming both more plentiful and less expensive. Students must read technical and non-technical documents, gleaning information from an attached set of charts, graphs, and excerpts from reports and newspapers articles to write a one-page written assignment. Answer key included.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Reading, Science
EALRs:
Reading 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 4.3
Science 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.4
Communication 1.2, 2.1
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
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Students help King County Office of Trade Director Liz Thomas analyze the trade-related needs of small business and explore the relevant role for a local government in international trade. In the process, students learn more about King County's history of trading and about current trade-related business conditions. Case study includes an in-class written exercise which students complete in a business format.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Social Studies
EALR's:
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Economics 1.1, 1.2, 1.5
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Students help International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local #19 President Larry Hansen and his coworkers determine how best to unload a container ship that has been badly damaged in a typhoon. In the process, students learn about the history of labor unions and the ILWU in trade. Case study includes a short persuasive writing exercise as well as the choice of three history research and writing projects.
Career Pathway: Engineering, Industry & Science
Subject Area: History
EALR's:
History 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
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Students help Mitsubishi Aerospace employee Carla Anderson convince an American airline to work with a Japanese airplane seat manufacturer and learn how geography and culture affect business dealings. Lesson plan uses five themes of geography. Two written assignments provided. Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Geography
EALR's:
Geography 2.3, 3.3
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
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Students help Seattle City Councilmember Martha Choe research and evaluate the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investments and make a decision about how Seattle City Government should react to this proposed world trade agreement. Students explore the economic and political implications when world trade rules affect local jurisdictions. Case study includes a persuasive writing exercise as well as several optional research assignments.
Career Pathway: Business & Management
Subject Area: Social Studies/Economics
EALR's: Economics 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
Communication 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Mathematics 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
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Students work with Washington State's Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator Scott Smith to learn about the invasive species coming to Washington State. They explore potential solutions to the problem of species that travel in the ballast water of cargo ships. An in-class paper and several longer-term homework assignments are provided.
Career Pathway: Engineering, Industry & Science
Subject Area: Science/Communications
EALR's:
Science: 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.4
Communication: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.4
Writing: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
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