Cars

By: Brianna Gitchuway

● In this picture, the children are
drawing their own cars and what
they want their cars to look like when
they are ready to build one
themselves. I put roads and car
books on the table for the children in
order for them to get more ideas.
● I read the stories to the group of
children that were drawing their cars
and had the other children building
cars with legos on the floor.
● I wanted to make sure all the
children were actively participating in
this activity.
● The first and second day, I observed the

children playing with legos on the table

in the classroom and asked them a

series of questions.

“What can we build with legos?”

The answers I received were “my mom

a present, a truck, and a car to take me

to my dads house.”

Because the children were interested in cars,

I asked the children to build their own cars with legos.

● The next day, I had the children
build something they think a car
drives on. I received answers
like: “a lily pad, a bridge, a road,
and water.” I wanted to have the
children elaborate more on the
bridge and road which cars drive
on. In this picture, one of the
children built a ramp and said,
“Before I get home, I go on a bridge
to get home.”
● Because I noticed the children were continuing to be fascinated in cars, I took
a step forward and asked them if they wanted to build their own car.
● I brought in materials such as: cardboard boxes, paint, scissors, glue, and
paint brushes.
● In this picture, a group of children

are painting their cardboard boxes

(cars), any color they want their car to

be. The children grabbed the paint

brushes and paint and painted their

cars.
● The next day after
their cars have dried,
I asked the children
“How will your car
move?”
● I got answers like,
“Wheels, tires,
cheerios, and shoes.”
● I then had the
children cut
cardboard pieces in a
circle to represent
tires.
● I had the children cut
their wheels and glue
them on their cars.
 Questions
○ What went well?
I believe the concept went well because the children were very interested in building their own cars.
They went home and talked with their parents are their cars and what they can bring from home in
order to put inside of their cars when they are finished.
○ What you would change or add
I would add having someone to come and talk with the children about cars and everything there is to
know about cars because the children were fascinated with how cars drive on the street and what
goes inside of the trunk.
○ How the children reacted. What aspects of language and literacy were enhanced during this
lesson? What was the level of engagement from the children?
Out of 11 children in my classroom, only 8 were fully interested in building their own cars and
wanting to show off their car project. Listening and speaking was big in this activity because in order for
the children to learn, they had to listen and also speak with each other on what they could add to their cars.
This then created a discussion between the children about what color their car will be and how many
wheels they wanted as well. The children were fully engaged because it was something they wanted to do.
I made sure I watched what they loved to play with and started my activity from there.
 References:
Machado, J. M. (2017). Early childhood experiences in language arts: Early literacy (11 ed.). Boston, MA.

Cengage Learning.

Schickedanz, J.A, Collins, M.F.( 2013). So Much More than the ABCs: The Early Phases of Reading and

Writing. Washington, DC: NAEYC.