Transportation In The Past

Theme/Title of the day’s lesson with a brief description: “Transportation in the Past” (History) –This lesson is designed to inform students on transportation in the past before the high technology was available for vehicles in current times.

Materials/Resources needed:
a. Prior arrangements with Winona County Historical Center to tour their site.
b. Artifacts (pictures) of transportation
c. Paper/Crayons/Markers

Goal(s) for today’s lesson:
The students to understand what transportation was used in the past before common day vehicles were available.

Objectives for Today’s Lesson:
The students will identify which types of transportation were used in the past in Winona, MN and describe the differences/similarities from current transportation.

Procedures:
Introductory experiences: With little to no previous preparation, ask students to take out a piece of paper/markers and draw what they think people from the past (before the vehicles of today were invented) used as transportation. If students are extremely at a loss, give a few prompts but encourage students to use their imaginations if they do not know what types of vehicles were used in the past. Prompts could include: Do you think they had slower versions of cars? Do you think they rode animals? Do you think they just walked everywhere? What do you think they used to get around before they had the cars, trains and planes like we do today? (10 minutes)

Developmental experiences:

a. Have the students gather on the floor so that they can all see the pictures. Go through each picture one by one and ask the students what they think the vehicle in the picture was used for? After many guesses, explain to the students the real use and ask them why they think people in the past created a vehicle like the ones in the pictures. Some pictures the uses may be obvious (boat for example) but try to get them to realize that they used the resources that were available to them and that suited the needs around them. (10 minutes)

b. After all pictures have been discussed, explain to the students that they will be taking a field trip to the Winona County Historical Center. Explain rules while there and that they are to walk around the museum and draw pictures of objects that they think were used for transportation in the past. (60 minutes)

Cumulating Experience (Closure): Once returned to the classroom, discuss the pictures the students drew and which objects they thought were used for transportation. Have students look back at the pictures they drew before they learned about transportation in the past and discuss things they were surprised to learn or were correct about in their pictures. (10 minutes – may run into next class period depending on amount of discussion).

Assessment used during lesson: My assessments would be by viewing student’s “pre-test” illustrations of what transportation looked like in the past compared to what they drew at the historical center and which objects they had picked out as transportation in the past.

Pictures used during the lesson: