Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students are introduced to twelve forms of transportation and a non-fiction series of books on transportation.  Be sure that you order the Let’s Go series beforehand so that you have all the necessary books in the collection.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

K-2

Objective:

To learn at least two new forms of transportation.

Suggested Time:

30 – 40 minutes

Success Criteria:

When given three characteristics of forms of transportation, every child will successfully identify two forms of transportation she didn’t know before the lesson.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Remind children that last week they “tuned in” to the unit on transportation.  Ask them to tell you what the Little Blue Engine said when he was asked to help.  Did anyone use that motto during the week to achieve something that might have been difficult in the beginning?

2. Main:

Gather all the books in the Let’s Go! series.

Hide the covers of the books so that they can’t see them.  Give between one and three clues from the text.  Let the kids guess which form of transportation is featured in the book.  When they guess correctly, reveal the book.

If you choose to use cards instead of the Let’s Go! series, hide the picture on the front of the card while reading clues from the back.  Again, let the kids work out which form of transportation is featured on the card.  When they guess correctly, reveal the card.

Expand this lesson by letting the kids tell you about some of their more unusual travel experiences.  Some of them will have ridden on a motorcycle, in a recreational vehicle (RV), or perhaps even in a hot air balloon.  Teachers can often contribute exciting stories as well.  If no stories are forthcoming, use short video clips so that the kids can virtually experience the transportation themselves.

3. Conclusion:

Encourage the children to be on the lookout for new forms of transportation in the news or in the travels or reading.  Praise them for the thinking and work today.   Promise that next week we’ll follow-up with a mostly-true story about one of these forms of transportation!

Additional Resources:

Let’s Go! (series) by Anders Hanson, consisting of 12 books:

1. Let’s Go By Cable Car
2. Let’s Go By RV
3. Let’s Go By Hovercraft
4. Let’s Go By Hot Air Balloon
5. Let’s Go By Helicopter
6. Let’s Go By Motorcycle
7. Let’s Go By Boat
8. Let’s Go By Airplane
9. Lat’s Go By Train
10. Let’s Go By Truck
11. Let’s Go By Car
12. Let’s Go By Bus

Notes:

This is a great lesson because the kids are certain that they know everything about transportation.  This will challenge them a bit to think about non-traditional forms of transportation and perhaps variant forms of common transportation.  Example: Maglev train or steam train rather than just “train”.

At the time I posted this lesson plan, the Let’s Go! books were available from the publisher, ABDO, and from Follett.  However, they were unavailable on Amazon.  So, you may need to plan ahead for the materials.

If you can’t get the books, don’t worry!  You can easily improvise a substitute.  Choose some uncommon forms of transportation, make a one page visual, and write three clues on the back.  Kids can guess and you can give the same lesson, just with different materials.

If I were creating my own transportation guessing game, I would consider including these forms of transportation:  rickshaw (human powered), tuk-tuk (engine powered), taxi, water taxi, maglev train, ferry, canoe, caravan – be creative.  If you live in the Middle East, you could even work in a camel train!  If you are in the Netherlands, you could use a canal boat.  The kids will LOVE to try to work out the clues and guess the transportation.

If you are very adventuresome, create a set of game cards for each class so that they can take their cards with them, play again, and use the cards as a display in the classroom.

A writing extension would be to get the kids to create a simple story about one of these forms of transportation.

The lesson requires very little preparation yet provides a strong tie to the unit.  This is a staple in any transportation unit for Early Years through to Early Elementary.

Key Terms:

Transportation, Cable Car, RV, Hovercraft, Hot Air Balloon, Helicopter, Motorcycle, Boat, Airplane, Train, Truck, Car, Bus