Classifying Transportation Objects

In this lesson the students will sort, classify, and label transportation items by various attributes.

A lesson plan for grade K English Language Arts and Mathematics

By LuAda Skaggs

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Related topics

• Learn more about English language arts and mathematics.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• be exposed to the concept of recognizing attributes.
• sort and classify objects by various attributes.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

30 minutes

Materials/resources

• A large (20-30), varied, assortment of transportation items. Be sure that the objects gathered are of various colors, sizes, materials, and represent different modes of transportation. I have picked these up at dollar stores, McDonald’s, and yard sales. You may want to ask the students to bring in items from home. These items may be kept in a large container for use during this lesson.
• Several 3×5 index cards for labeling
• Pencils or markers
• A substantial open floor area
• Chart paper and markers

Technology resources

None

Pre-activities

This lesson is part of my unit on bus rules and transportation. Prior to this lesson, in a whole group setting, the students have been exposed to various books, charts, and a discussion exemplifying various modes of transportation used to move people and things. Following this the teacher should lead the students in a brainstorming session where the class makes a list of transportation items i.e. car, cement mixer, jet ski, etc. This should be in no particular order. The teacher should write the list on large chart paper as the students help to “sound out” the words.

Activities

Following the whole group lesson, the children are divided into smaller groups, or “centers”, of 5-6 students. This lesson should be teacher facilitated, with the students working cooperatively in this small group. They should be allowed to work together to reach their own conclusions as the lesson progresses. The children will sit in a circle, and the teacher should empty the tub of objects onto the floor in the middle of the circle of students. Spread the objects out so that they can all be seen by the group.

Begin the lesson by simply asking the children how the objects in the middle are alike. Following some verbal answers, ask how the objects are different. Then ask the students to name some ways that they could sort, or classify the objects into groups. You will need to modify your guidance of the students, depending on how much prior exposure the class has had to classifying. You may even need to give them an example or two at the beginning of the lesson until they understand this concept.

Some ways that the students may sort are by:

• color
• size
• number of wheels
• composition material (metal, plastic, wood, etc.)
• goes on land, water, air
• floats, does not float
• number of windows, doors
• contains people, no people

As the students sort the items into groups, they must label the groups by attribute. They need to “sound out” and write labels on the cards,and then label each group.

They may choose to draw a picture on their label as added reinforcement.

After sorting the items by an attribute the students should combine all the items again, before moving on to sort them another way. Each time they should sort and label, before moving on.
The teacher should observe, and contribute, as needed. Be sure to ask open ended questions, and serve only as a facilitator.

After completing the small group center work, gather the class and refer back to the brainstorming list which was completed earlier. Beside each mode of transportation listed there, ask the group to help you to list some attributes of each. This serves as a review and reinforcement to the small group lesson.

Assessment

The teacher should observe as the lesson progresses. The teacher may choose to make anecdotal notes of those students who seem to have difficulty understanding the concept. The following day the teacher will give each child a group of objects which the student will sort independently.

Supplemental information

Books, videos, and charts about transportation

Related websites

N/A

Comments

This is always a fun and enjoyable activity for my class. I leave the tub of objects and cards out for several days to allow the children to use them independently. This lesson lends itself well for a follow up lesson on patterning, using the objects which were used for classifying, and patterning by attribute.