Introduction Kindergarten Grades One and Two Grades Three and Four   Lesson One   Lesson Two   Lesson Three     Experience One     Experience Two Online Games and Activities Culminating Experience Train Glossary National Standards		Grades Three and Four: 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: Visuals 15: Trains Today and Visual 16: Trains Long Ago, Visual 17: Trains and Technology, and Visual 18: The Shape of Trains to Come; construction paper; pencils, markers or crayons. Time: Two or three 30-minute periods Words: More powerful than a locomotive... Time line, technology, inventions Focus Questions: What kinds of inventions changed the technology of trains? How have these innovations brought about changes in our community and state? What kinds of changes might take place in the future? The Shape of Trains to Come Indiana Academic Standards: Grade Three: Social Studies - Standard 1: History (3.1.4). Language Arts - Standard 4: Writing Process (3.4.4, 3.4.6); Standard 5: Writing Applications (3.5.2). Grade Four: Social Studies - Standard 1: History (4.1.2, 4.1.13). Language Arts - Standard 4: Writing Process (4.4.7, 4.4.10); Standard 5: Writing Applications (4.5.3). Procedures: Day One: Remind students of the story Thank you, Reuben Wells! Ask them to think about the difficulties of travel during those days. Ask students to discuss this question: How have changes in transportation brought about changes in our community and in the state? Students may think of changes brought about by modern trains, highways and air travel. Explain to students that these changes have been brought by changes in technology. Technology refers to the tools, machines, processes and knowledge that human beings use to create the things they want. Changes in technology are brought about by inventions, new ways of doing something. The invention of the train itself was a major advance in technology. Introduce Trains Long Ago and Trains Today using the overhead projector. Explain that each of the pictures represents an important change in train technology. Help students analyze the pictures, captions and dates. Ask students how each of the changes represented in the pictures affected travel and daily life. Day Two: Introduce Visual 17: Trains and Technology on the overhead projector. Discuss strategies for reading and interpreting time lines with students. Put students into small groups to read and interpret the time line using guiding questions, such as:      1. Who invented the first steam locomotive?      2. Which was invented first, the telegraph or the telephone?      3. How did these inventions improve trains?      4. How did the invention of the lubricator cup change train travel?      5. Which invention do you think changed daily life the most? Discuss the impact of the various inventions. Day Three: Introduce Visual 18: The Shape of Trains to Come, on the overhead. Compare the shape of trains in Visual 18: The Shape of Trains to Come to the shape of trains in Visuals 15: Trains Long Ago and Visual 16: Trains Today. Discuss the evolution of streamlining and how this change in train design made trains more efficient. Discuss with students what future changes in design and technology may make trains faster and more efficient. Ask students to use multiple reference materials and online information to research this question: What shape will trains take in the future? Assessment: Review the guidelines for writing an informational paragraph. Have students summarize their research by drawing a design for a train of the future and writing a paragraph that describes their train. In their paragraph, students should address these questions: What will your train look like? What kind of fuel will power your train? How fast will it go? Why will people want to ship their products or ride on your train? Performance Criteria: Students should be able to: Use multiple reference materials. Draw a design for their train of the future. Write a paragraph with descriptive details. Address specific questions about the train. Revise their writing for others to read. Train of Thought Journal: Trains of the Future - After students have reviewed and revised their own writing they can add their drawings and paragraph to their journals. 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.