When my son was young, he LOVED trains.  He would play for hours with his Thomas trains, and I think the Thomas videos taught him such wonderful vocabulary.  He stuck with this fascination for about a year and a half from age 3-5, and like many children, he jumped to a knew topic all at once. The train days were done.  Fast forward, and my little guy is all grown…sigh!  Oh how I wish I could go back to the train days and do it all again. Anyone else feel that way??

Children in the early years love active play, and using themes they love as a means to teach them helps them get “on the road to reading”.

Transportation as a theme is probably best suited for Pre-K and Kindergarten, but do older children lose interest in motorized vehicles, planes, helicopters, and such?  I don’t think so, and as children get older, these topics might transfer into topics like The Industrial Revolution, biographies about early inventors, space travel, or geography.

If these are familiar topics to you, and you’d like to share your ideas for the upper grades, please do!

The image to the left includes the books, activities, and links that I’ve used and recommend.  You can print the page below for your files or keep it in E-form in order to access the file links. Just click on it, and it will open as a PDF.

On the recommended reading list, I included a few authors that I think nail the spirit of young children and whose work stays true to the developmental stage are Donald Crews and Byron Barton. These authors’ books should be perfect for any K-1 classrooms using a transportation theme.  I also love the books by Mo Willems, Chris VanDusen, and you have to use the classic, Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel. 

One of the best places to find great ideas for any topic is Pinterest. I still laugh at the thought of my beginning years BEFORE Pinterest. Oh, it’s so much easier now! So here’s my board on Transportation. I hope you find a few ideas you like.