INQUIRY 4

TRANSPORTATION TIME

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INQUIRY PROBLEM:

Can you match the time to the transportation? You are moving from the East Coast of the United States to Washington State. What form of transportation would you use during these time periods: 1805, 1850s, 1890s, 1910s, 1940s, 1980s, 2001?

DESCRIPTION

Classroom Innovation Activity

History Lab Exhibit:
Transportation Time

TOPIC AREAS

• Oregon Trail
• Railroad
• Air Travel
• Technological innovation
• Distance traveled over time

MATERIALS NEEDED

• www.historylab.org
  "Time Resource Kit"
• Paper, crayons, pencils, pens
• Storyboard worksheet
• United States and Washington state maps

IMPLEMENTATION

1. Introduction Activity: Print out pictures of the forms of transportation in the "Transportation Time" section of the Time Resource Kit (www.historylab.org). Have the students correlate the images, matching a mode of travel, related encounter, and the amount of time it would take to travel across or around North America using that form of transportation.
   TIME: 15 minutes
2. Pose the inquiry problem to the students. Write the years listed above on small slips of paper that students will draw from a hat.
   TIME: 15 minutes
3. Have the students research and select a form of transportation for their year as well as identify a period-suitable route. Students then make a storyboard drawing that shows the mode of transportation, an encounter along the way, distance traveled, and the amount of time the journey would take. Students also list three time-appropriate items they would take with them.
   TIME: 1-2 hours
4. Construct an illustrated timeline of transportation for the class, using the storyboard images created by the students. Place markers on the timeline for each year noted as well as where the students feel the timeline should be divided into past, present, and future.
   TIME: 30 minutes - 1 hour
5. Bonus: Students may speculate on a mode of transport either for the year 2010, basing their visions on solid scientific research, or for the year 2050 creating an artistic view of future transportation modes. Add these transportation images to the timeline.

REFERENCES

BOOKS
Washington: Images of a State's Heritage. Schwantes, Morrissey, Nicandri, Strasser. Spokane: Melior Publications, 1989.

Washington : The Spirit of America (Art of the State). Nancy Friedman. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999.

Visual Timeline of Transportation. Anthony Wilson. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995.

Transportation: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources. Jim Harter. New York: Dover, 1984.

In the Beginning: The Nearly Complete History of Almost Everything. Brian Delf & Richard Platt. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995.

Author: SL
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