Transportation: Theme Activities for the Classroom
Brainstorm a list of all the different modes of transportation your students can name. Which are powered by individuals (bikes, skateboards, etc.), and which are powered by engines (cars, trucks, etc.)? Which transport one or two people, and which can carry a crowd? Discuss how modes of transportation have changed over the last century. How did people get around before cars were invented? What’s the fastest way to travel between two cities today? Have each child complete the
My Ride worksheet.
Have a transportation week in your classroom. Divide groups of students by rows or tables into different transportation-themed groups—airplanes, trains, cars, boats, etc. Have students bring items related to their theme for sharing time. Read stories involving the various modes of transportation aloud all week. Dismiss students for recess by their group names. Have each group create a collage of images of their theme cut from magazines.
Play a transportation-themed version of Duck-Duck-Goose called Train-Train-Airplane. Children sit in a circle on the floor and one child walks the exterior of the circle tapping each seated child in turn, saying “train” with each gentle tap. When he/she selects the “airplane” child, the tapper runs around the exterior of the circle with arms held straight out to each side like airplane wings while the “airplane” child chases him/her. If the tapper gets to the “airplane” child’s place before getting tagged, the “airplane” child then becomes the tapper. If the “airplane” child tags the tapper before he/she finishes the circle, the tapper taps again.
Take a walk around the block with your class and notice and count all the different modes of transportation you see in use. Don’t forget to look up! Are there any airplanes or helicopters passing overhead?
My Ride worksheet