“All Aboard!!!”
A Thematic Unit for
Early Elementary Students
Presented by~
The Southeastern
Railway Museum
Revised 07/08/08
Georgia
Quality Core Curriculum
Lesson Plans
“Clickity-Clack”
Overview of Lesson
Students will get to do fun activities related to trains after reading The
Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. They will create a set of
boxcars and sing Hap Palmer’s song Clickity-Clack. Students will also
follow directions to make a marshmallow train.
Georgia QCC Objectives
The student will respond to literal, inferential, and evaluative questions
about literature.
Procedures/Activities
Step 1: Tell the children the week before the museum tour that you will
be celebrating “Train Week”. Have children wear striped shirts (like
conductors). Also have them bring in a shoebox to be used as a
boxcar and something for the car to carry (the freight). Introduce The
Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper by asking children if they have
ever done anything that some people thought they could never do.
Ask the children how they felt at the time. Read the book aloud. Ask
questions such as those listed in the attachment to this lesson plan to
get the children interested in the story and prepared for what to listen
for. Discuss the story after reading it by asking how the little engine
solved his problem in the story. What other solutions could he have
considered?
Step 2: Connect the children’s box cars (boxes) with strings that have
paper clips tied at each end to connect the cars. Ask the children what
each car is hauling. Discuss the different types of goods that freight
trains carry. Then pull the train around the room while the children
chant, “I think I can, I think I can. . .”
Sing Hap Palmer’s song Clickity-Clack substituting the items that the
children put in their boxcars in the appropriate place.
Step 3: Make marshmallow trains. Use pretzel sticks to hook the
boxcars together and peanut butter to glue cheerios on as wheels and
other features.
Step 4: Make a train track from masking tape all over the classroom.
The students are the train. Allow different students to be the engineer,
conductor, and the brakeman. Discuss the importance of each of
these jobs.
Materials and Equipment
Book: The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Paper clips
String
Hap Palmer’s song – Clickity Clack
Marshmallows
Pretzel sticks
Cheerios
Peanut butter
Shoeboxes
Masking tape
Assessment
Use the attached questions to assess story comprehension.
Assessment Questions
The Little Engine That Could
1. Who wanted to get over the mountain?
2. Why did the toys want to get over the mountain?
3. Why didn’t the other engines want to help?
4. Who decided to help them?
5. Why did the others think that the little blue engine
couldn’t help?
Here Comes The Train!!!
Overview of Lesson
In this lesson students will listen to a book about trains, make small
human trains, then identify ordinal positions of trains on an
assessment sheet.
Georgia QCC Objectives
The student will use ordinal numbers to indicate positions first through
fifth.
The student will listen to a variety of literary forms, including stories
and poems.
Procedures/Activities
Step 1: (Teacher Preparation) Print out one copy per child of the
Ordinal Train Positions Assessment Sheet. Print yourself a copy of the
directions for the assessment sheet (see attachments). Obtain a copy
of Freight Train by Donald Crews.
Step 2: Call the children to the floor and ask them to sit in a circle.
Read the book Freight Train by Donald Crews to the class. Flip back
through the book discussing how many cars were on the train – eight;
how the train looked going fast – blurry, etc.
Step 3: Explain to the students that they will practice making human
trains. Call on five students to demonstrate. Have them line up all
facing in the same direction. Call on someone to determine who is first
in line. Explain that when something is first, there is nothing in front of
it. Continue identifying who is second, third, fourth, and fifth. Have
the line turn around and face the opposite direction. Ask the children
to again identify who is first, second, etc. Explain that when the line or
train changes directions it changes the positions of the people. Call on
other groups of five to participate.
Step 4: After completing the activity, draw on the board a train similar
to the one on the assessment sheet. Again, ask a child to identify the
first train, second train, etc. Explain that they will complete an activity
like this at their seats. Ask them to return to their seats and pass out
the ordinal train positions assessment sheet. Have the students
complete the sheet while you call out directions. Older kids can use
the written directions to follow themselves. Collect papers when
finished for assessment.
Materials and Equipment
Book: Freight Train by Donald Crews
One copy per child of the assessment sheet (see attachment)
One copy of teacher directions
Assessment
The teacher will collect the Ordinal Train Positions assessment papers
to document whether or not the students were able to identify ordinal
positions.
Name_________________________________________________________________
Ordinal Train Positions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Directions for Ordinal Train Positions
1. Color the first car of the train yellow. Color the fourth car of the
train red. Color the second car of the train green. Color the third car
of the train blue.
2. Color the third car of the train red. Color the first car of the train
green. Color the second car of the train yellow. Color the fourth car
of the train blue.
3. Color the second car of the train red. Color the fourth car of the
train green. Color the third car of the train yellow. Color the first car
of the train blue.
4. Color the fourth car of the train red. Color the second car of the
train green. Color the first car of the train yellow. Color the third car
of the train blue.
5. Color the second car of the train red. Color the fourth car of
the
train green. Color the third car of the train yellow. Color the first car
of the train blue.
The Caboose Who Got Loose
Overview of Lesson
Students will get to do fun activities related to trains after reading The
Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet. They will create a bulletin board
related to the story. The students will also sing the song She’ll Be
Comin’ Round the Mountain with new lyrics related to trains. The
students can also create new endings for the story in a writing
workshop.
Overview of Book
Katy is a caboose, a machine confined to the tracks, but she wants to
be free. She doesn’t like being the last car pulled by the big engine up
front. It is too noisy, she is afraid of falling rocks, and she doesn’t like
the dark tunnels either! Then one day, the coupling breaks, and when
Katy goes around a mountain curve, she is flung free. She lands
between two evergreen trees and becomes a happy home for birds
and squirrels.
Georgia QCC Objectives
The student will respond to literal, inferential, and evaluative questions
about literature.
The student will write sentences related to a topic.
The student will write for a purpose.
The student will use picture clues to make predictions about the
literature.
Procedures/Activities
Activity 1: Talk about trains as machines. Ask the children to describe
their experiences on trains. Mention the difference between passenger
trains and freight trains. Begin the book by introducing the little red
caboose at the end of the train as Katy. Show various pictures
throughout the book and have the students predict what will happen
next. Read the book aloud.
Activity 2: At the end of the story when Katy is stuck in the spruce
trees, she looks out and sees a beautiful view. Ask the children to pain
Katy’s view from her new home high in the evergreen trees. Let the
children help decorate a bulletin board as a big red caboose. Display
the paintings on the bulletin board shaped like Katy the caboose.
Activity 3: Sing the old folk song, “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the
Mountain When She Comes.” Rewrite the lyrics to fit the story of The
Caboose Who Got Loose. (See attachment)
Activity 4: Have a parent or volunteer come to class to assist the
children in assembling a train set. The children can use shoeboxes,
Popsicle sticks, and play dough for this project. Discuss the
terminology that will be used on the museum tour – label each car, the
tracks, and the coupling mechanisms.
Activity 5: Read the end of the story again where Katy is stuck in the
spruce trees and the squirrels and birds are all around her. Brainstorm
different endings for the story. Allow the children to work with
partners to come up with a different ending for the story.
Materials and Equipment
Book: The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet
Easel
New lyrics to song (see attachment)
Tempera paint
White or manilla paper
Chart paper
Markers
Shoeboxes
Popsicle sticks
Play dough
Writing paper
Art supplies for illustration
New Lyrics To Song
She’ll be the last car on the
freight train when she comes,
Ca-boose.
She’ll be the last car on the
freight train when she comes,
Ca-boose.
The last car on the freight train,
The last car on the freight train,
The last car on the freight train when she comes,
Ca-boose.
Train Ride Story Web
Overview of Lesson
After listening to the story, I’m Taking A Train Ride by Shirley Neitzel,
students will participate in a fun writing activity. This lesson will allow
students to write about a traveling adventure on a train.
Georgia QCC Objectives
The student will write a minimum of three sentences about a topic.
The student will write about a self-selected topic using pictures,
letter/sound associations, and known words.
The student will use correct spelling for frequently used sight
vocabulary.
Procedures/Activities
Step 1: Introduce the lesson by singing “I’ve Been Working on the
Railroad” (see attachment for lyrics).
Step 2: Tell the students to pay close attention to the story. It is called
a Rebus Story and it uses pictures in place of words. Read the story,
I’m Taking A Train Ride by Shirley Neitzel. Review train terminology
used in the story (engineer, caboose, conductor, locomotive, etc).
Step 3: Write “On A Train Ride” on the board as a title. Under the title,
write three subtitles: Where? Who? What? Read the title and subtitles
aloud. Now, have the students close their eyes and imagine they are
on a train ride.
Step 4: Ask the students to brainstorm the following: On a train trip, I
went ____________________. I saw _______________. I liked the
_____________________. Write the various responses under each title.
Repeat until all volunteers have a turn.
Step 5: Place the overhead transparency of the Train Ride Web on the
overhead (see attachment). Explain that they are going to use this
web to write a story about a train ride.
Step 6: Using the story web, go through each question and have the
students write their responses on the web. Be sure to use the
brainstorming session for a resource of data. After the students have
completed their web, have them transfer the story to paper. They
should illustrate a picture that shows that events in the story.
Materials and Equipment
Lyrics to song “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (see attachment)
Markers
Book: I’m Taking A Train Ride by Shirley Neitzel
Overhead projector and pens
Train Ride Story Web (see attachment)
Assessment: The assessment of this lesson will be the completed
student story.
“I've Been Working on the Railroad”
Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown
I've been workin' on the railroad,
All the live long day.
I've been workin' on the railroad,
Just to pass the time away.
Don't you hear the whistle blowing?
Rise up so early in the morn.
Don't you hear the captain shouting
"Dinah, blow your horn?"
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah.
Someone's in the kitchen, I know.
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strumming on the old banjo.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o-o-o-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Strumming on the old banjo.
2
Train Trip Story Web
1
I saw . . . Where would your train go?
2 Who did you see?
3
What did you like about your trip?
1
On a train trip, I went . . . 3
3 I liked the . . . What Makes Steam???
Overview of Lesson
Students will discover how steam is formed.
Georgia QCC Objectives
The student will predict changes in states of matter such as when
water is heater or frozen.
Procedures/Activities
Step 1: Explain to students that in this lesson they will learn how steam
is formed. They will be observing how matter can change from one
state to another. They will record their observations in their science
journals.
Step 2: The teacher will demonstrate how boiling water in a teakettle
forms steam. The students will hold a small mirror in front of the spout
and observe what happens. The students will watch this
demonstration and makes observations in their journals.
Step 3: Discuss observations. The students may have observed that a
“cloud” forms above the spout of the teakettle, that the mirror fogs up
and little droplets of water form on the mirror, and that steam is
formed when water is heated. Discuss how this relates to a steam
locomotive.
Materials and Equipment
Water
Small mirrors
Hot plate
Teakettle
Assessment
The student will explain to his or her partner how steam is formed.
Exciting Learning Activities
Candy Train Craft
This candy train is made from a roll of hard candy (like Lifesavers),
wrapped peppermint candies, a wrapped caramel, and a wrapped
chocolate kiss.
Supplies:
•
Hot glue gun
A roll of hard candy (like Lifesavers)
4 wrapped peppermint candies
A wrapped caramel
A wrapped chocolate kiss
•
Optional - a short length of yarn or string
•
•
•
•
Using a hot glue gun, glue four wrapped peppermint
candies to a roll of candy; the peppermint candies are the wheels of
the train.
Glue a wrapped caramel to the top, at one end the train. Glue a
wrapped chocolate kiss on top of that.
Look at each picture. Each of these
people has a special job on the
train or at the railroad station.
Write a complete sentence to tell
how each person makes the train
run smoothly.
Engineer
Porter
Conductor
Switchman
Flagman
Be Safe! Railroad Rules To Obey!!!
1) Stop when the gates come down at a railroad
crossing.
2) Look both ways before crossing train tracks.
3) Don’t throw anything at a train or on the tracks.
4) Never walk on the rails.
5) Don’t walk between or under train engines or
cars.
6) Never get on or off of a train until it has made a
complete stop.
7) Don’t play on railroad bridges or tunnels.
8) Stay out of railroad yards and property.
Train Songs
“The Peanut Song”
A peanut sat on a railroad track his heart was all a flutter.
Around the bend came number ten, choo-choo, peanut butter.
After singing you can give each child a peanut to crack open and eat.
"Down by the Station"
Down by the station early in the morning,
see the little puffer bellies all in a row.
See the stationmaster turn the little handle,
puff-puff, toot-toot, off we go!
“Little Red Caboose”
Little red caboose
Chug chug chug
Little red caboose
Chug chug chug
Little red caboose
Behind the train train train
Smokestack on the
Back back back
Running down the
Track track track
Little red caboose
Behind the train!
Vocabulary
TRAIN  a locomotive and the railway cars connected to it RAILWAY CAR  any vehicle with wheels that moves on rails LOCOMOTIVE  an engine used to move a railway train TENDER  the car attached behind a steam locomotive that carries coal and water for the steam locomotive CABOOSE  a car on a freight train, usually the last, used part time as an office, and sometimes used by the conductor, brakeman and crew as living space during a trip (no longer used) TRACK  two rails on which the train runs TIE  a wooden beam across and under the track; supports the rails FUEL  a substance such as wood or coal that will burn to create heat COAL  a black rock from the earth that is burned as fuel STEAM  water in the form of hot gas, produced when water is heated to boiling STEAM LOCOMOTIVE  a locomotive using water in the form of hot gas for power DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE  a locomotive using diesel oil to generate electricity for power FIREBOX  place for the fire in a steam locomotive SMOKESTACK  place where steam and smoke leave the steam locomotive FREIGHT TRAIN  a train that carries goods (freight) PASSENGER TRAIN  a train that carries people Match each vocabulary word to the correct meaning.
1) two rails on which the train runs ___________________
2) water in the form of a hot gas, produced when water is heated to
boiling _______________________
3) a train that carries goods ______________________
4) wooden beams that support the rails _________________
5) the car that carries coal and water for the steam locomotive
____________________________
6) any vehicle with wheels that moves on rails ______________________
7) place for the fire in a steam locomotive _______________
Word Box
Freight Train
Railway Car
Tie
Firebox
Tender
Steam
Track
"Track Down" the Hidden Words!!!
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Resources
Great Resources!!!
Books
1) Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection by Wilbert
Vere Awdry
2) Terrific Trains by Tony Mitton
3) Train Song by Diane Siebert
4) The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
5) Inside Freight Train by Donald Crews
6) Train to Somewhere by Ronald Himier
7) Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis
8) Trains by Chris Oxlade
9) Trains by Neil Morris
10 Train by Christopher Demarest
11) The Little Train by Lois Lenski
12) Puff-Puff, Chugga-Chugga by Christopher Wormell
13) William and the Night Train by Mij Kelly
14) Dinosaur Train by John Steven Gurney
15) The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Videos
1) Choo Choo Trains: Close Up & Very Personal (Stage Fright
Productions, c1994)
2) There Goes A Train (Atlantic Group, c1994)
3) Let Me Tell You All About Trains (Traditional Images, c1993)
4) Railroaders: steam, freight, passenger trains and more (Big Kids
Productions Inc., c1994)
5) Big Trains, Little Trains (Sandbox Home Videos, c1994)
6) Traveling With Ooga-Booga on Trains (ALA Video/Library Video
Network, c1992)
7) Thomas The Tank Engine: The Complete Collection (QFE Home
Entertainment, c1991)
8) The Little Engine That Could (MCA Universal Home Video, c n.d.)
Transportation History
Ancient
Approximately 3500 B.C. Wheeled carts are invented.
Approximately 3400 B.C. Boats are invented.
Approximately 2500 B.C. Horses are tamed and used for transportation.
Modern
1680 Christian Huggen designed but never built an internal combustion
engine. It was to be powered by gun powder
1769 James Watt patents the steam engine
1783 Joseph Montgofier launched the first hot-air balloon. The balloon
ascended to 3,000 feet high and traveled 5 miles in 30 minutes.
1783 Professor J. A. Charles invents the Hydrogen Balloon.
1804 Richard Trevithick built the first locomotive for a road tramway.
This was not a railroad.
1807 Isaac de Rivas invented an engine that was powered by hydrogen
and oxygen.
1814 George Stephenson builds the first steam-powered engine known as
“the rocket”.
1827 A charter was given to the B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) to begin
America’s first railroad.
1829 George Stephenson’s engine “the rocket” was used on the
Liverpool & Manchester Railway in England
1829 The Liverpool & Manchester Railway in England became the first all
steam railroad
1830 The B&O became the first American operating railroad
1830 Peter Cooper builds the “Tom Thumb”, the first American steam
engine for the B&O railroad.
1830 B&O railroad goes from Baltimore to Ellicott City
1831 B&O goes from Baltimore to Washington DC
1834 Thomas Davenport invents the first electric car
1858 Jean Lenoir invents and patents a double action electric spark
ignition engine fueled by coal gas.
1864 During the War Between the States railroads played a vital role for
both sides for moving troops and materials.
1865 George Pullman developed the sleeping car
1866 Frank Sprague invents the axle­hung direct current motor and the principle of gear drive to the axle for use on the Manhattan Electrified Railroad in the United States.
1869 George Westinghouse invents air brakes for trains.
1869 The Union Pacific and the Central Pacific join their tracks on May 10
creating the first trans-continental railroad in the United States.
1877 Nicholaus Otto invented the first 4 stroke engine called the “otto
cycle”
1883 Karl Benz produces the first 3 wheel self propelled carriage.
1885 Gottlieb Daimler makes a prototype gas engine.
1890 Wilhelm Maybach builds the first 4 cylinder 4 stroke engine.
1890 – 1910 Hybrid electric cars were produced by Kneger. These
vehicles had front wheel drive, power steering and a small gas engine to
supplement the battery power
1892 Dr. Rudolf Diesel files a patent on an internal combustion engine based on what is called the compression ignition principle in Augsburg, Germany.
1893 Frank Sprauge invents the first electric trolley (streetcar)
1893 Karl Benz produces the first 4 wheel carriage powered by a 1 ½
horse power engine that is capable of traveling at 15 miles per hour.
1895 General Electric (GE) built its first electric locomotive prototype.
However, high electrification costs caused GE to turn its attention to
Diesel power to provide electricity for electric railcars. Control issues
related to co-coordinating the Diesel engine and electric motor were
immediately encountered, primarily due to limitations of the electric
elevator drive system that had been chosen.
1898 Adolphus Busch purchases the American manufacturing rights for
the Diesel engine in 1898 but never applied this new form of power to
transportation.
1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright fly the first internal combustion engine
propelled airplane in America.
1908 Henry Ford develops the first mass produced automobile. The Ford
assembly line reduced the time to produce the model T from 12 ½ hours
to 1 ½ hours and reduced the cost from $950 to $290.
1909 Working with the firm of Klose and Sulzar, Diesel produces the first experimental diesel railroad locomotive.
1911 The General Electric Company sends several of its engineers to Europe to investigate continental experiments with diesel electric motive power.
1912 The world’s first Diesel-powered locomotive was used on the
Winterthur-Romanshorn Railroad in Switzerland, but it was not a
commercial success.
1913, an experimental 60­horsepower diesel­electric railcar appeared in Sweden.
1914 Hermann Lemp, a GE electrical engineer, developed and patented a
reliable direct current electrical control system. Lemp's design used a
single lever to control both engine and generator in a coordinated
fashion, and was the prototype for all Diesel-electric locomotive control
systems.
1917 GE produced an experimental Diesel-electric locomotive using
Lemp's control design, the first known to be built in the United States.
1923 the Kaufman Act banned steam locomotives from New York City due to severe pollution problems. The response to this law was to electrify high traffic rail lines.
In the mid 1920s, Baldwin Locomotive Works produced a prototype Diesel­electric locomotive for "special uses" (such as for runs where providing water for steam locomotives was scarce) using electrical equipment from Westinghouse Electric Company. Industry sources were beginning to suggest “the outstanding advantages of this new form of motive power.” 1929 the Canadian National Railway became the first North American railway to use diesels in mainline service with 2 units, 9000 and 9001, from Westinghouse.
1929 Westinghouse Electric and Baldwin collaborated to build switching locomotives. However, the Great Depression curtailed demand for Westinghouse’s electrical equipment, and they stopped building locomotives internally, opting to supply electrical parts instead. 1930’s The first regular service of Diesel­electric locomotives was in switching applications. General Electric produced several small switching locomotives.
1930, General Motors Corporation, principally an automobile manufacturer, acquired the Electro Motive Corporation and the Winton Engine Company, the latter an established producer of diesel engines, and from this merger came a much smaller, much lighter diesel engine capable of producing many horsepower. 1933 Ralph Budd of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad decided to use the diesel electric type of engine for his railroad's Pioneer Zephyr, a prototype of lightweight, stainless steel, streamlined fast passenger trains. 1934 May 26, the sleek, silver Pioneer Zephyr set off on the return from a trip to Denver to run 1,015.4 miles to Chicago in 13 hours, 4 minutes and 58 seconds, an average speed of 76.61 miles per hour. The three­car articulated train exceeded 100 miles per hour during the trip. 1935, General Motors Corporation began construction of a huge plant for erection of diesel electric locomotives.
1935 The Union Pacific fielded the bright yellow City of Salina, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe purchased from Electro­Motive Corporation a pair of diesels to power the Super Chief between Chicago and Los Angeles. The 1930s ushered in not only the era of the streamlined "lightweight" passenger train, but the era of diesel­ electric motive power for passenger trains as well.
1939 Diesel-electric railroad locomotion entered the mainstream when
the Burlington Railroad and Union Pacific used Diesel "streamliners" to
haul passengers.
1939 The Electro Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) demonstrates that diesels could practically replace steam locomotives in heavy­duty service.
1939 Following the successful tour of EMD's FT demonstrator freight
locomotive set, the transition from steam to Diesel power began. The
transition substantially quickened in the years following the close of
World War II.
1940 The famous GE "44-tonner" switcher was introduced
1948 The American Locomotive Company built its last steam locomotive.
1949 The Lima Locomotive Works erected its last steam locomotive.
1949 Total Dieselization of the first major American railroad occurred
1953 The Germans produce diesel-hydraulic locomotives. The Germans
built a total of 136, V 200, engines.
1960s, 15 diesel-hydraulic locomotives were purchased by the Denver &
Rio Grande and Southern Pacific Railroads on a trial basis from the
German Kraus-Maffei company. Only the outer shell of one of these exists
today, the others having all been scrapped because of mechanical issues.
1969 First manned mission to the moon
1978 First trans-Atlantic flight by a helium balloon
1981 First flight of the space shuttle
1987 First Trans- Atlantic flight by a Hot Air Balloon.
1991 First Trans- Pacific hot air balloon journey.