Train Sound

Ask the children if they’ve ever been to a train station.
Talk with the children about what they might’ve seen.

Ask questions like:

• How did you know when a train was approaching? (Trains make a steam whistle sound to warn people that they’re approaching.)
• What made the trains move? (Trains use different sources of energy to move, such as wood, electricity, gas, etc.)

Tell them that they’re going to play another choo choo train game!
Have the children line up and put their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them, just like they did last time.

Explain that when you say, “yellow light” they’ll make a “choo choo” sound and walk around the classroom.
When you say, “blue light” it means the train needs gas; they should stop and make a “bloop bloop” sound to refill train with gas.

Tip: If the children are ready for a challenge, make the game more difficult by adding the red and green actions from the choo choo train game you played in the previous beginner lesson.

Have each group pick a building card and build one of the models shown in the sidebar (e.g., a picnic area, gas station, and train).
When the children have finished building, ask them to work together to build a double-ended track (using eight track pieces is recommended).
Let’s start the train!

Use some LEGO^® DUPLO^® figures as passengers.
Tell the children that the passengers would like to go from the picnic area to the gas station.
Can you help them get to the gas station?

Talk to the children about the action bricks.

Ask questions like:

• Where did you place the blue action brick(s) and why?
• Where did you place the yellow action brick(s) and why? (Try to tie this back to Engage discussion; a steam whistle sound is a warning.)
• Can you describe the train’s journey? (i.e., the train started from…. and passed… and stopped at…)

Encourage the children to build a longer track and to create more stops.
Pique their interest in using all of the action bricks in appropriate places.

Ask questions like:

• What happened when the train went over the white brick?
• Think about how you placed the action bricks and models along the track. Can you describe the train’s journey?

The white action brick turns the train’s light on and off. Print out the tunnel image and position it over the track (see sidebar for an example).
Place the white action bricks on both sides of the tunnel and ask the children to observe what happens when the train goes through the tunnel.

Evaluate the children’s skills development by observing if they’re:

• Identifying cause and effect relationships
• Correctly sequencing numbers or events
• Observing and describing objects and events
• Asking questions about concepts related to science and technology