Lindsay Kiker

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies: Ch. 5 & 6

Transportation: Then and Now (Day 5)
3rd Grade
Background Information
This lesson engages students in transportation by examining
methods by which people traveled
Vocabulary: wagon, railroad, jet, transportation
Skills: writing, listening, ordering, watching, broad perspective
Listening and viewing skills
Discussion
Sequencing
Concepts
Methods of travel over time (1800-1900s)
Duration: 45 minutes
Students will watch a short video about transportation and its
history from the early 1800s 1900 and one from 1950-2000
(http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_48_1.html)
Integration of Learning Outcomes
Students will name and identify forms of transportation from the
1800-1900s to current times (what we use now)
Students will compare and contrast different forms of
transportation
Students will explain how each form of transportation works
Students will put different forms of transportation in order from
what was first used till now (present day) (sequencing)
Standards
PA Standards
8b. Describe the examples in which science and technology
have changed the lives of people such as in transportation and
communication
9.1.3.B: Recognize, know, use and demonstrate a variety of
appropriate arts elements and principles to produce, review and
revise original works in the arts
NCSS Standards

NCSS.1.2.c Ask learners to identify and describe significant

historical periods and patterns of change within and across
cultures, such as development of ancient cultures and
civilizations, the rise of nation-states, and social, economic, and
political revolutions
NCSS.1.8.d Prompt learners to evaluate various policies
proposed to deal with social changes resulting from new
technologies

Anticipatory Set
First, the teacher will review what was learned the past two days
in class with the students; Over the past couple of days we have
talked about how people traveled in the past and where they
traveled to. Today, we will be focusing more on transportation
that was used back then and the transportation we use now.
Have students fill out a chart showing what they learned the past
couple of days (look for answers like: they moved west,
information about the Oregon trail, traveled in wagons, trains,
walked on foot)
Procedures
1. The class will watch two short videos (one from 1800-1900 and
the other 1950-2000) to see how transportation has changed
over time
- (http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_48_1.html)
2. There will be a brief discussion time talking about what kinds of
transportation there was back then and what we use now
a. Back then people used to travel on foot, in wagons, or
on the train. Today, we travel in cars, on boats, or in airplanes.
3. The teacher will ask the students questions like, What did you
learn from the videos? and Do you think that it was easier to
travel back then or now? Why?
4. Remind the students that people have always traveled, just not
in the same ways. In the early 1800s people commonly traveled
by wagon or on foot, and transportation became faster/more
efficient when the steam engine was invented in the late 1800s
5. Show and read to students this chart in regards to the three main
ideas of transportation in the unit/factual information

Wagon

In the 1860s,
wagons heading
west traveled on

Railroad

The western link

for the first
cross-country

Jet

Jets today can

carry more than
350 people

bumpy trails
The trip from
the Missouri
River to
California was
about 2,000
miles
Loaded with
goods and
people, the
wagons could
go 10 to 15
miles a day
1-2 miles per hour

railroad
stretched from
the Missouri
River to
California
The trip was
1,776 miles long
One train
company
promised the
trip could be
made in fewer
than four days
25-35 miles per hour

A 2,000-mile
trip can take
about three and
a half hours
Jets can cruise
at about 600
miles per hour

600 miles per hour

6. Have the students draw a form of transportation that they

remember learning about from the past or something we use
now; show the students a few previous student examples of a
transportation drawings
7. Have the students get into small groups for the transportation
role-play activity
Explain to the students, the short play should show how that
type of transportation is used and how it is different from
transportation used in
history (stressing the then and now).
Each group will be travelers either in a wagon train, steam railroad
car, or jet. Have the students act as if they were using that
transportation to travel from one area to another. Encourage the
students to create dialogue that shows how the transportation is
used and
what it was like to travel that way (if it is an older
form of transportation talk
about what it might be like in the
future, vice versa). Share with the students that part of the
dialogue for right now and looking back on transportation
might
look something like this:
Johnny: Wow! I am so glad that we flew to Disney World
instead of driving
this year. The flight was only a couple of
hours!
Angela: Yea, it was great! Last year when we drove it took us
a couple of
days to get there.
Johnny: Can you imagine what it must have been like for
people back in
history to walk or travel on wagon to where
they were going? They didnt
have cars and planes like we do
today. I am thankful that transportation has
improved over
the years!

Differentiation
For lower students in the class, they can make different signs
writing the word/picture for walking, wagon train, steam railroad,
car, and jet plane.
For higher students in the class, have the students hold the
different signs that the lower students made and tell them to
stand according to when they were first used. See if all of the
students can tell what the advancement was/why it was faster
than the previous.
Closure
Go over with the students what they learned about
transportation today and in the last couple of classes. Ask them
questions like:
- Where did people travel to in the 1800-1900s
- How did people travel from place to place?
- Can you name some differences of what traveling was like in the
1800-1900s compared to today?
Formative/Summative Assessment
For formative assessment, the teacher will ask students to give a
thumbs up, thumbs down, or in the middle after asking questions
throughout the lesson. That way, the teacher will know whether or not
students understand the question being asked or if there should be
more review of the subject.
For summative assessment, the teacher will see if the ELL
students can make a correct timeline using their words/pictures of the
different transportation and if they can line up in the correct order. For
the other students in the class, the teacher can see how the small
groups of students go about their transportation play and see if they
understand how their specific one works. If a group is going off task or
has one form of transportation confused with another, the teacher can
help guide them in the right direction.
Materials/Equipment
White paper
Crayons
Poster board (for transportation chart)
Markers
Textbooks
Lined paper (for skits)
Pencils
Technology
Computer/s

Videos

Reflection on Planning
Before teaching this lesson, I would want to make sure that the
students understand what was taught the first two days discussing
transportation. Since the focus of this lesson is the then and now of
transportation, the students need to first be taught how people
traveled and where they traveled to. That way, students can learn how
transportation worked back then and can compare it to what it is now.
The role-play activity will be a fun chance for the students to act as
travelers both back then and now. I am hoping that the students will
enjoy learning about how different transportation is today then it was
back then; it is amazing to think that we did not always have cars,
airplanes, etc. to make travel that much quicker!

Content Outline

Review

How people traveled from one place to another

- Different forms (research more)
Where people traveled to (research more)
Vocabulary review of transportation words
For teacher use: http://www.teachertube.com/video/history-oftransportation-170367

Transportation Videos
For students:

http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_48_1.html
What did you learn from the videos?
Do you think that it was easier to travel back then or now?
Why?

Transportation Then & Now

Traveling has always taken place (in history and today) (research
further)
Transportation has improved and become faster over the years

Wagon/on foot steam engine

Show students the transportation chart

- Have the students say which type of transportation is the

oldest to the
newest
For students: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0909591.html

Transportation Drawings

Have the students sit with a partner

- One student can draw a type of transportation from back then
and the other one can draw a form of transportation right now
- Students switch papers to see if their partner is correct and
have them share with the class what their partner drew

Transportation Role-Play

Different small groups will be assigned to either a form of

transportation from back then or now
Students will be asked to research in their textbooks or online to
find more about their form of transportation or any interesting
facts they could include in their play