Introduction Kindergarten   Lesson One   Lesson Two     Experience One     Experience Two   Lesson Three Grades One and Two Grades Three and Four Online Games and Activities Culminating Experience Train Glossary National Standards		Kindergarten: Lesson Two - Experience One Trains and Your Town >> Resources How have trains transformed our way of life? This lesson allows students to explore trains and train-related jobs in the past and present and examine the importance of trains in their own community. Prior to the 1950s, the arrival of a train was a community event. Trains brought the mail, newspapers, refrigerated fruits and vegetables, and mail order items. They brought visiting relatives and new jobs. They allowed people to sell and buy more products and enabled them to visit cities and communities in their own region, as well as other places in the United States. They also allowed people to leave their hometowns and seek a new life in another place. Sometimes the lonely sound of a train whistle reminded people of a loved one far away. Going Places - How do trains help us go places? Students explore trains and train-related jobs in the past and present and examine the importance of trains in their own community. Objectives: Experience One will enable students to: Identify people and places in the community. Identify train-related jobs and explain how these jobs help the community. Find their own community on a map and show how it is connected to other places. Identify ways that train transportation is important to their community and state. You will need... Materials: Picture books and storybooks, construction paper, crayons or markers Time: Two or three 30-minute periods Words: More powerful than a locomotive... Train station, railroad tracks, railroad crossing, stationmaster, engineer, conductor, signalman Focus Questions: Use these questions to help students focus on key ideas in Experience One. What kinds of train jobs do people do? How do these jobs help the community? Does a train travel through or near your community? What does it carry? How can you find out more about trains in your community? Train Jobs Indiana's Academic Standards: Social Studies - Standard 3: Geography (K.3.3); Standard 4: Economics (K.4.2, K.4.3). Language Arts - Standard 4: Writing Process (K.4.3). Procedures: Day One: Remind students of the train songs and stories in Lesson One. Invite students to share their train experiences. Ask them if there are places in the community where they can see real trains. Have students describe the places where they have seen trains. Help students to name and describe places such as a railroad crossing or train station. Explain to students that trains were once very important in most communities and that many people had jobs working on the railroads and on trains. Ask students if they can think of any train-related jobs. Most will probably be able to think of the engineer, stationmaster or conductor. Use the toy train sets in the room to demonstrate different types of train jobs. Day Two: Use storybooks and picture books to find more train jobs. Write the words on the chalkboard and help students to identify beginning letters and sounds. Discuss what each train worker does. Identify the places where these people do their jobs. For example, the stationmaster works in the train station. The engineer works on the train. Assessment: Pretend that different parts of the classroom are the places where train workers do their jobs. The play area might be the "train station." The teacher's desk and a row of chairs might be the "train" and two lines of painter's tape on the floor could be the "railroad tracks." Label these places with pictures and words. Each student should choose a job and match it to the work place by going to the appropriate area of the classroom. To help students understand the nature of their jobs, use props or costumes, such as a hat for an engineer, a bandanna for a brakeman or a suit jacket for a conductor. Have students tell about their jobs. Performance Criteria: Each student should be able to: Match the job to the place where the job is performed. Briefly tell about the job. Train of Thought Journal: Culminate the experience by discussing these questions with students: What train job do you like the most? Why? Label pages of the Big Book of Trains with the words for different jobs, such as "Engineer," "Stationmaster" or "Conductor." Remind students of the meaning of these words. Ask them to draw pictures that go with the words. Tips for the Teacher: In Experience One, students examine places and jobs in their community and consider the importance trains and railroads have in the local economy. This may be a good time for a field trip to a train station or another site to look for evidence of trains and their impact on the local community. It is also a good time for students to learn about safety rules around railroad tracks and crossings and to do more research into community history. It would be hard to overestimate the importance of trains and railroads to Indiana communities in the past. Some communities actually had their origin with the arrival of a railroad line. Some existing communities experienced considerable growth due to their location on or near a train route. Others declined when transportation routes failed to develop nearby. While trains are still important today, they are not as central to everyday community life as they were in the past. Good highway systems and airplanes have made train travel less popular, and some products can be transported more efficiently by truck. Trains are still important in transporting heavy loads over long distances. Railroads can move bulk products, such as grain, coal and steel, using much less fuel than other forms of transportation. An interdependent system of highways, railways and water routes helps Indiana move and sell its products around the world. Bonus - Extending Experiences: Try these experiences to extend students' learning: Help students become familiar with train crossing signs and signals. Use painter's tape to make tracks and railroad crossings on the classroom floor and practice railroad safety rules. Play "Mr. Train, Mr. Train! Where have you been?" Make flash cards with the names of Indiana towns and cities. Individual students or teams ask the question, draw a card, locate the city on an Indiana map and identify its region. Research local history to find out if railroads were significant in the development of the community. Also, students may want to examine the ways that products come into and leave their community today. County historical societies, local historians, business people and community officials would be helpful resource persons. The Santa Train: A very special train visits Appalachian communities in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee just in time for Christmas. The Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Santa Special begins a 110-mile journey from Pikeville, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn. It stops at 29 communities along the way, leaving goodwill and gifts of toys, clothes and candy for children who come to see the train with their families. Santa's helpers on the train, including business people, country singers, teachers and other volunteers, make sure that every child gets a present. This tradition, sponsored by local businesses, began in 1943 and continues today. Students may want to participate in a service project to provide donations for the Santa Special or help to organize another "Goodwill Train" to benefit their own community. For example, a "train" of boxes could be decorated and set up in a central location so that students can fill them with canned goods for a local food bank. For information on how to help the Santa Special, contact the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, Santa Special, 151 East Main Street, Kingsport, TN 37660.