Introduction Kindergarten Grades One and Two   Lesson One   Lesson Two   Lesson Three     Experience One     Experience Two Grades Three and Four Online Games and Activities Culminating Experience Train Glossary National Standards		Grades One and Two: Lesson Three - Experience One Engines of Change >> Resources Where's the Caboose? - How have trains changed? In this lesson students learn about ways that inventions and innovations in transportation and communication have helped trains change with the times. They explore the connections between trains and the visual arts and consider the ways that trains may shape and be shaped by the future. Objectives: Experience One will enable students to: Identify trains of the past and the present. Give examples of how inventions have changed transportation and communication. Give examples of how new technology may change trains and the way we travel in the future. You Will Need... Materials: Poster paper or butcher paper; Visual 15: Trains Today and Visual 16: Trains Long Ago Time: Two or three 30-minute periods Words: More powerful than a locomotive... Past, present, cowcatcher, smokestack, caboose, steam, firewood, coal, oil, diesel, electric, air conditioning Focus Questions: How are trains in the present similar and different from trains in the past? How have the changes in trains affected daily life for people in the community? Trains, How You've Changed! Indiana Academic Standards: Grade One: Social Studies - Standard 1: History (1.1.1, 1.1.6). Language Arts - Standard 4: Writing Process (1.4.3); Standard 5:Writing Applications (1.5.2, 1.5.2); Standard 6: Writing Conventions (1.6.2, 1.6.6, 1.6.7). Grade Two: Social Studies - Standard 1:History (2.1.1, 2.1.2). Language Arts - Standard 4: Writing Process (2.4.6, 2.4.8); Standard 5: Writing Applications (2.5.2); Standard 6: Writing Conventions (2.6.2). Procedures: Before beginning the experience, make two large charts with poster paper or butcher paper. Place the caption Trains at the top of each chart. On the left side of the charts, near the top, write the caption Past. On the right side, write the caption Present. Day One: Remind students of the poem, "The Ballad of The Reuben Wells." Ask students to tell whether they think that story took place in the past or the present. What are some of the details in the poem that give them clues? Show students the pictures of Trains Today and Trains Long Ago without showing them the captions. Ask students to identify which group of trains is from the past and which is from the present. How can they tell? Compare the parts of old trains, such as the smokestack and the cowcatcher, with trains in the present. Point out to students that most freight trains today don't have a caboose. Can they guess why? What was the purpose of the caboose? Why isn't it needed today? Ask students to suggest other ways that daily life has changed in the past and present, such as in other forms of transportation, technology, dress, etc. Place the first chart on the wall and have students describe the characteristics of trains in the past and the present, such as the way trains look, the kind of fuel they use, their speed, comfort and safety. As students make suggestions about train characteristics, write them down on the appropriate side of the chart. Ask students how they would confirm their ideas. Give them time to research by looking at storybooks, picture books and Web sites. This is a good time to search for the answer to the question "Where's the caboose?" Day Two: Review the chart of train characteristics to confirm students' original ideas or make changes based on their research. Ask students to suggest ways that the changes in trains may have brought about changes in daily life for people in the community. Put up the second chart. This time ask students to provide words that describe trains and train travel in the past and the present, using words that relate to feelings and the senses, such as exciting, frightening, hot, cool, dusty, smoky, loud, quiet. Review guidelines for writing sentences. Give students a topic sentence, such as "Trains in the past were..." or "Trains today are..." and have them practice completing the sentence. Assign partners to write sentences using the descriptive words the class has generated. Assessment: Each set of partners should write at least two sentences, one about trains and train travel in the past and one about trains in the present, using descriptive words and sensory details so that the reader can capture the feeling. Performance Criteria: Each team should be able to: Write at least two sentences using descriptive words and sensory details. Write in complete sentences using appropriate capital letters and punctuation. Revise their writing for others to read. Train of Thought Journal: When sentences are complete, students should choose one to add to their journal along with a drawing of a train from the past or the present. Tips for the Teacher: In this experience students encounter concepts related to time, such as the ideas of past, present, continuity and change. Older students examine the ways inventions and changes in technology influence the way people live and travel. It is important for students to understand that changes are usually gradual. Many of the things that people used in the past are still used today, but the technology or the purpose has changed. For example, in the past sails and oars were the only ways to power a boat. Today, we have powerful engines that use fuel to move boats. Some people still use sailboats but they use them for recreation or because they enjoy sailing as a sport. Where's the Caboose? In the past it took a crew of several people to operate a freight train. The caboose was the last car and provided a place for workers to rest. It also had an observation window that allowed on-duty workers to see the entire length of the train. They could signal the engineer if there was a problem. Today, an electronic device placed on the last car of a train sends data to the engineer. Technology allows a train to be operated by two or three people who can sit in the cab of the locomotive. Under most circumstances, a caboose is no longer needed on a modern freight train. Bonus - Extending Experiences: Visit the All Aboard gallery at The Children's Museum to learn more about trains. Research African-American inventors such as Elijah McCoy and Granville T. Woods, whose devices helped transform train travel. Develop a train time line showing the development of trains from the past to the present.