Kindergarten through Grade 5 Curriculum

This curriculum packet is free to use for educational purposes and was made possible by grants from:

Cars in Your Classroom Contents

Teacher Materials

• The History of Cars (Background Information for Teachers)
• The Physics of Cars (Background Information for Teachers)
• Cars in Your Classroom Vocabulary
• Cars in Your Classroom Resources
• Collaborative Work Skills: Assessment Rubric
• National Science Standards Addressed
• Mathematics Standards Addressed
• Pre and Post Test - 3rd - 5th Grade

Kindergarten - Second Grade

Lesson	Students Will:	Skills
Car Words	Become familiar with some words associated with cars by reading “Car Words” and completing a word search.	Reading, Vocabulary, Understanding Systems
Parts of a Car	Identify some of the external parts of a car as they participate in a reading activity and label a car diagram.	Reading, Writing, Listening, Understanding Systems
Classifying Cars	Practice identifying characteristics and sorting objects using a variety of toys with wheels.	Observing, Matching, Comparing, Sorting
Counting Cars	Use mathematical skills and problem solving to sort and count cars and other vehicles.	Observing, Comparing, Sorting, Counting
Memory Matching	Practice their memory and observation skills as they play a matching game.	Observing, Matching, Communicating, Cooperating
Car Shapes	Count and color different shapes as they create a car or fire truck	Counting, Sorting, Coloring, Cutting, Gluing
Candy Car	Build a candy car as they review shapes and colors.	Sorting, Creating, Writing
Push It or Pull It	Understand the difference between a push and pull and be able to relate the word force to these actions.	Observing, Comparing, Cooperating, Writing
Don't Lose Your Marbles	Explore the effects of force and seatbelt safety.	Observing, Cooperating, Drawing
The Wheels on the Car	Sing to the Tune of “Wheels on the Bus”	Understanding Systems, Listening, Singing
A Car Named Lars	Sing to the Tune of “Sipping Cider”	Understanding Systems, Listening, Singing
Carpool Counting Rhyme	This finger play and rhyme can be used to show word meaning through simple actions and finger movements.	Listening, Communicating, Counting
Road Sign Scavenger Hunt	Become familiar with the colors, symbols, shapes and meaning of common road signs.	Observing, Matching, Sorting, Coloring
Kindergarten - Fifth Grade
Lesson	Students Will:	Skills
Cool Cars to Color	Become familiar with four popular vintage cars (1960 Corvette, 1965 Mustang, 1966 Beetle, 1908 Model T) as they color and compare designs. Older students will research at least one car to discover how it has changed over time.	Exploring History, Observing, Comparing, Coloring, Reading, Writing
Traffic Light Tag	Understand the changes in motion associated with the colors of a traffic light and demonstrate their ability to react quickly to change their own motion and speed.	Observing, Communicating, Comparing, Large Motor Skills
Simons Says Drive To School Role-play	Recognize some of the actions involved in owning and operating a car.	Communicating, Large Motor Skills, Following Direction
Third - Fifth Grade
Lesson	Students Will:	Skills
A Few Words About Cars	Read “A Few Words About Cars” to gain a very basic understanding of car history and technology, and they will complete fill-in-the blank and word search activities to reinforce vocabulary.	Reading, Writing, Understanding History and Technology
Making Car Connections	Discover how our society has evolved to be a car society and discover the important role that cars play in how we live our lives.	Questioning, Discussing, Writing, Understanding the Role of Technology in our Society
Keying Out Cars (and other vehicles)	Begin to understand classification and dichotomous keys by sorting a variety of transportation vehicles.	Observing, Comparing, Matching, Sorting
Car Classification	Identify similarities and differences in vehicles while collecting, organizing and recording data on a Venn diagram.	Reading, Writing, Comparing, Observing, Classifying and Identifying Characteristics
Family Cars	Interview at least two adult family members (preferably from different generations) about the cars they remember from their childhood and the first cars they themselves owned as adults.	Questioning, Communicating, Calculating, Researching
Cooperative Car Creations	Work cooperatively in pairs to design and build a car. In the process they will practice problem solving and critical thinking skills while working with limited materials.	Observing, Predicting, Experimenting, Communicating, Cooperating, Creating
Corvette in the Classroom	Learn to work from scale to make a life-size drawing of a Corvette and will also learn how to work with coordinates on a graph.	Measuring, Graphing, Cooperating, Art
A Few Words About Force and Motion	Practice reading and demonstrate comprehension skills while becoming familiar with some of the vocabulary they will encounter as they learn about the physics of cars.	Reading, Writing
Click It!	Participate in an inquiry activity that will help them understand the concept of inertia. They will also understand why seat belts are important.	Investigating, Observing, Predicting, Communicating, Comparing
Ramp It Up	Begin to understand the difference between potential and kinetic energy and conduct an investigation to discover how a toy car’s vertical position or height on a ramp affects the distance it travels.	Investigating, Measuring, Recording, Predicting, Cooperating, Calculating, Graphing
Focus on Friction	Conduct investigation to compare how a variety of objects move down a ramp at different rates of speed depending on the amount of friction there is between the object and the ramp.	Investigating, Predicting, Measuring, Observing, Identifying, Questioning, Communicating
Loaded Up	Conduct an investigation to learn how the weight of a moving object affects the force of friction.	Investigating, Measuring, Observing, Predicting, Communicating, Comparing
Classy Car Engine	Act out the series of actions that take place to cause a car engine to start and run.	Understanding Systems, Communicating, Cooperating, Reading
Into the Air	Observe how gravity and air resistance affect different objects.	Investigating, Observing, Predicting, Communicating
Powered By Junk	Be able to define recycling, identify items that can be recycled, determine if their family recycles, and use recyclable materials to build a toy vehicle.	Observing, Matching, Sorting, Communicating, Creating Art