Transportation Unit

Tricia Bardillo, a HotChalk® LessonPlansPage contributor, created this awesome, multidisciplinary transportation unit that is sure to be a hit with the kindergarten crowd! She includes writing, reading, and pretend play exercises, as well as other center activities for the week, constructing the lesson around four different forms of transportation: cars, buses, bicycles, and trains.

Writing Center Activities

• Create transportation journals where students can draw and write about their favorite modes of transportation (i.e. bicycles, airplanes, helicopters, etc.). Consider providing each child with a set of transportation flash cards like the examples below. They are simple to make - all you need is word processing software, free clipart images from the internet, and a printer! Invite students to paste the card into their journal - coloring it and tracing the word - and write descriptive words in the opposite page or around the card (i.e. big, loud, green, fast, etc.)
• Practice simple sentence writing using vehicle names and simple descriptors. You might consider making use of the transportation flash cards in this activity as well. Here are some examples: You might also consider creating adjective cards for students to trace as well.
• Set up a center for creating safety and traffic signs to place around the classroom.

Circle Time: Literature & Songs

Bardillo suggests Stop and Go, an interactive book for your kiddos to color as they read, as well as several Donald Crews selections. Here are a few other transportation books that we found:

• Red, Stop! Green, Go! by P.D. Eastman.
• Thomas & Friends: Go, Train, Go! by Rev. W. Awdry.
• The Big Book of Transportation by Caroline Bingham.
• On the Go! by Teresa Imperato.

I'm sure there are many, many more great literature selections as well! NOTE: Be sure to choose a book to go along with each form of transportation studied.

You can find other selections at Bardillos' full post, from Perpetual Preschool, at Preschool Education, and Songs for Teaching, but here are a few of the traditional transportation songs:

• The Wheels on the Bus.
• Down by the Station
• Transportation Song by Peter Weatherall.

For more lesson details and creative ideas for your block center, pretend play corner, craft time, and more, be sure to visit Bardillo's full post! You might also consider checking out the book, Crafts for Kids Who Are Learning About Transportation by Kathy Ross and Jan Barger from your local library for extra project ideas! And while Bardillo only incorporates a few modes of transportation, don't be afraid to expand on the lesson, including construction vehicles, emergency vehicles, air travel, water travel, etc.