Lesson Plan 4

Theme/ Title: Growth of Transportation

Grade Level: 2nd Grade

Materials:
Photos of various methods of transportation including things such as: trains, cars, buggies, planes, buses, ships, subways, bicycles, etc
Envelopes

Goal: To help students understand the growth in transportation our Country has had over the centuries

Objective: The students will be able to list the ways our methods of transportation are similar and the ways they are different from the 1800s

Procedure:

Introduction-(5 min)
Show the class pictures of different types of transportation from back in the 1800s (such as horse drawn carriage, trains, boats etc.) and ask the class if anyone recognizes these objects.
Explain to the class that you are going to be teaching them about how our ways of transportation have changed a great deal from back in the 1800s

Activity-(30 min)
Pass around the pictures of the different methods of transportation during the 1800s.
Explain that the picture of the buggy or carriage, is actually a picture of the buggy that belonged to the Watkins family who lived in Winona.
Go over the other items such as ships, trains etc. and discuss with the class how they thought these items may have played a part in transporting people.
Talk with the students about how these ways of transportation differ from our ways of transportation today. (Today we have cars, planes, large cruise ships, buses, subways etc)
Also bring out a globe and discuss with the class how getting from certain places in the world to other locations that are very far distances would take much longer with the ways of transportation back in the 1800s. Also note that some places would be extremely difficult to get to without our modern ways of transportation such as airplanes.
Have the class help you come up with a list of ways that transportation back then were more difficult than today- (ex- slower, transport less people at a time, less tolerant of severe weather conditions, less dependable)
Once the class has a good concept of what transportation was like back then, split them up into groups of four to five students
Give each group an envelope filled with photos of various methods of transportation such as ( buggy, train, airplane, small ships, large cruise ships, cars, buses, subways, bicycle etc)
Have the groups separate the items into piles of items that were present in the past, items that are present today, and items that were present in the past and are still present today.

Conclusion- (10 min)
Have the groups share what their ideas were with the rest of the class
As a class, revisit the concept of how transportation has changed over the years and how although some things are still around today, they are most likely modified from their original version.
Remind the class that we are lucky to have the things we do in today's world, and bring up the concept of how hard life could be without the comfort and ease that we are use to having in our lives today.

Assessments:
Check to make sure the students are staying on track, by walking around the room and ensuring that they are placing the photos in the correct piles. Help any students who are having difficulties, by giving them clues to help lead them in the right direction