Transportation Unit

Benchmark SS.B.2.1.5: The student knows the modes of transportation used to move people, products, and ideas from place to place, their importance, and their advantages and disadvantages

Benchmark LA.A.1.1.2: The student identifies words and constructs meaning from text, illustrations, graphics, and charts using the strategies of phonics, word structure, and context clues.

Benchmark LA.A.1.1.3: The student uses knowledge of appropriate grade-, age-, and developmental-level vocabulary in reading.

Benchmark LA.B.1.1.2: The student drafts and revises simple sentences and passages, stories, letters, and simple explanations that express ideas clearly; show an awareness of topic and audience; have a beginning, middle, and ending; effectively use common words; have supporting detail; and are in legible printing.

Day 1-Introduce Unit

Read one or more of the following, or any other you may have, books to the class:

Then ask the question –“What is Transportation?”

Have students respond and write down responses on their dry erase boards. Work together with teacher to formulate definition.

Activity 1: Vocabulary Matching

Materials:

Cards with vehicle names Cards with vehicle pictures

Objective: students will identify the types of transportation

1. Randomly pass out vehicle cards and name cards. Students will then walk around to find another student with the matching card.

Objective: students will match the type of vehicle to the place where each operates

2. students will go with their partners to the correct area in the classroom marked off with either

LAND, WATER, or AIR.

Activity 1 Wrap Up Call on students to verbalize vehicle matches and the category they chose and why.

airplane

Day 2

Activity 2 -Activity 2 will be done in stations, each group will complete one of the following activities according to the group they were in on Day 1. (LAND, WATER, or AIR). Students can rotate to a new station if time permits.

Hands-On

Students will create gum/lifesaver cars, paperclip boats, and/or paper airplanes.

Materials:

Gum/Lifesaver Car

Gum packs Lifesavers Toothpicks Gum drops

Paperclip Boats

Worksheet – pg. 38 (Transportation – Instructional Fair, Inc.)

Paper clips Aluminum foil Small pool filled with water Cardstock Scissors Cup Alcohol Eyedropper

Paper Airplanes

Worksheet – pg.37 (Transportation – Instructional Fair, Inc.)

Paper ruler markers

Day 3 - Vehicles and their Purposes

Benchmark SS.B.2.1.5: The student knows the modes of transportation used to move people, products, and ideas from place to place, their importance, and their advantages and disadvantages

Activity - Class book -Transportation Vehicles

Students can go to the computers as part of the rotation as they finish crafting their vehicles, or go to the computer lab as a group and look up and write about one of the following vehicles including the name of the vehicle, where it travels, and their purposes. The student will include a self-drawn picture.

Car Hot-air balloon Boat Truck Bus Space shuttle

Canoe Cruise ship Van Dump truck Motor boat Tug boat

Classwork Practice -Worksheet – pg. 22, 28 (Transportation – Instructional Fair, Inc.)

Day 4 and Day 5 - History of Transportation:

Benchmark SS.A.2.1.2: The student understands the differences in the methods of travel from various times in human history and the advantages and disadvantages of each (e.g., the use of animals such as horses and camels; non-motorize vehicles such as chariots and travoises).

Benchmark SS.A.5.1.4: The student understands changes in community life over time (e.g., changes in goods and services; changes in architecture and landscape and changes in jobs, schooling, transportation, communication, religion and recreation).

Show video on transportation:

Away We Go: All About Transportation VideoCreate a worksheet for students to take notes and answer questions as they watch video.

Handout worksheet(s) with questions and have students answer questions during each of the movies:

Sample questions:

What was the earliest form of transportation?

When was the wheel invented?

How did people get around before the wheel was invented?

When and by whom was the car invented?

When and by whom was the airplane invented?

When and by whom was the boat invented?

When and by whom was the train invented?

Additional videos showing the History of Transportation –

History of Transportation: Automobiles and Trucks

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=857F2752-59EC-481F-BB7F-B39765613110&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

History of Transportation: Railroads

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=1F8F8802-A474-45AB-B634-C6B0A32E55FF&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

History of Transportation: Airplanes

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=C213B666-0D7D-4AA2-8276-05C8DD61961C&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

History of Transportation: Ships

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=25788C10-5932-4182-BDFD-91BA194F1913&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Day 6

After reviewing the movie(s) and going over the questions from the worksheet about the movie, students will create a timeline showing at least 6 main events in the history of transportation.

Day 7 -12+

Transportation Time Line

Culmination Activities – students will rotate and complete the following activities in cooperative groups.

Station 1 – Construction-Transportation Game Board

Students will create cards and a game board- game must include factual information about transportation. (Worksheet – pg. 39 (Transportation – Instructional Fair, Inc.)

Station 2 – Writing

Acrostic Poems- Students will create acrostic poems using the name of one of the modes of transportation

Shapely Poems -Students will create Vehicle Shaped Poems describing the vehicle of choice Worksheet – pg. 17 (Transportation – Instructional Fair, Inc.)

Station 3 - Math -Types of Transportation Tally Chart and Bar Graphs

Students will look through an entire magazine and count and tally the vehicles in each of the 3 categories and then create a bar graph. Worksheet – pg. 35 (Transportation – Instructional Fair, Inc.)

Station 4 – Smartboard Activity

Students will use SmartBoard and sort pictures of modes of transportation under the correct category - Land, Air, or Water

Station 5 – Critical Thinking

Students will work on a problem solving dilema where they will have to invent a transportation vehicle to solve the problem.

Station 6 – Powerpoint/Presentation- Students will incorporate projects and products from other stations to include in final project. Students will go to various transportation websites and read passages to work on final presentation. Students may use digital cameras and Flip camera to take pictures to include in their presentations.

Sample Powerpoint Presentations: for the either the teacher or the students. http://transportation.pppst.com/index.html

This can be used as a template for students to use to write about the history of different modes of transportation:http://eduscapes.com/sessions/powerpoint/transportation.ppt

Additional Resources for activities:http://www.cehs.wright.edu/~rhelms/Portfolio_Pages/PPT/ElemLessons/Transportation_Lesson.ppt

References:

Cochran. (1990).Away We Go: All About Transportation [Full Video]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com

The Entertainment Group. (2004).History of Transportation: Airplanes [Full Video]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com

The Entertainment Group. (2004).History of Transportation: Automobiles and Trucks [Full Video]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

The Entertainment Group. (2004).History of Transportation: Railroads [Full Video]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com

The Entertainment Group. (2004).History of Transportation: Ships [Full Video]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com

Instructional Fair, Inc. Transportation (19_ _)

http://www.pppst.com/clipart.html

http://transportation.pppst.com/index.html

This can be used as a template for students to use to write about the history of different modes of transportation:http://eduscapes.com/sessions/powerpoint/transportation.ppt

Additional Resources for activities:http://www.cehs.wright.edu/~rhelms/Portfolio_Pages/PPT/ElemLessons/Transportation_Lesson.ppt

http://www.storyplace.org/eel/eel.asp

http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/trainstakehome.asp