UNIT 6: THINGS THAT GROW - WEEK 3-4 - Cars - Creative Arts Centers

Sep 29, 2026

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Creative Arts centers lesson plan for Unit 6 “Things That Grow,” Weeks 3–4, centered on creating cars. The plan links enduring understandings and essential questions about systems and how people impact environments. It provides vocabulary and materials (e.g., wheel components, axle parts, tape or clothespins, paper towel tubes, skewers/straws) plus an introduction that uses illustrations and diagrams to prompt student noticing. During centers, children collaborate, follow visual instructions, compare models, document processes, and extend play into Blocks. Differentiation includes voice output support and sensory/fine-motor material variety.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Intro to Centers

During Centers

Thinking and Feedback

Documentation and Provocation

Differentiation/Accommodation

UNIT 6: THINGS THAT GROW / WEEK 3-4 Cars Enduring Understanding(s): • People impact their environment in different ways. Essential Question(s): • What do systems need in order to function successfully? Standard Connection: ELA.L.PK4.1c ELA.SL.PK4.2 M.MD.PK4.3 M.CC.PK4.4b S.ES.PK4.3b S.T.PK4.3 SS.OW.PK4.2 SS.FC.PK4.7 PD.SHS.PK4.3 PD.SHS.PK4.5 VA.CR3a.1.PK VA.RE7a.2.PK | Materials | Vocabulary | | | --- | --- | --- | | ● Make Way for Ducklings
● How To Make A Car (see Resource 1)
● additional car images (see Resource 2)
● wheel template resource copied on cardboard or 4 washers 1.5 inches or larger (see Resource 3)
● Use templates provided or use Beautiful Stuff (plastic lids, spools, cardboard pieces, small boxes, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, straws, unsharpened pencils, wooden dowels, etc.)
● tape or mini clothespins (8 per car)
● paper towel tube, cut in half
● skewers or straws cut to 3.5 inches | axle: connects the wheels to a vehicle
bumpers: protect a car from getting dented or scratched
bustling: very busy
chassis: the frame or body of a vehicle
diagram: a picture to help the reader understand the text
joints: where the wheels attach to a vehicle
lug nuts: attach and hold a wheel to a vehicle
tire: a ring of rubber that covers a wheel
traffic: movement of something from one place to another, usually vehicles | | | Intro to Centers | | | --- | --- | | Preparation: Set up materials. | | | “In Make Way for Ducklings , Mr. and Mrs. Mallard looked for a safe place to live. What do you notice?” | Show illustrations.
Children respond. | | “The city was bustling-very busy-with traffic. Officer Michael stopped the cars so they could cross the street.” | | | “Here are images of cars and city traffic. What do you notice?” | Show images.
Children respond. | | “Cars have bumpers , lights, and tires. Here is a diagram of a chassis-underneath the car body. What do you notice?” | Show diagram, pointing to chassis parts.
Children respond. | | “Axles connect the wheels. Lug nuts and joints attach the wheels. Tires cover the wheels.” | | | --- | --- | | “Today in Creative Arts, you can create cars with these materials.” | Show materials. | During Centers: Encourage children to collaborate (one child creates the chassis, and another child creates the car body) . Encourage children to follow the visual instructions. Compare and contrast children’s cars/chassis to the diagram/illustrations/images, etc. Encourage children to create descriptions/diagrams of their cars. Encourage children to use their cars in Blocks in the Boston Public Garden. Guiding Questions During Centers: • “How is your car similar to or different from your friend’s/the illustrations/images?” • “How did you use the materials to construct your car?” • “How are the instructions for building a car similar to or different from a recipe/diagram?” • “How can you show the number of your cars’wheels/headlights/bumpers/doors?” Thinking and Feedback: Invite children to share their processes. Encourage children to describe any challenges they might have encountered. Documentation: Collect samples of the children’s work as well as photographs of their process; use the documentation to launch a discussion during Thinking and Feedback. Provocation: Arrange and document a field trip to an auto body shop/auto supply store/car dealership. Invite a community/family member who is a mechanic, car salesperson, etc. , to visit the classroom. Differentiation/Accommodation: For Intro to Centers, children with limited verbal skills can use a pre-programmed voice output device to answer questions about the story. (Keep in mind these will likely be closed-ended questions, as those are easiest to program into devices.) This can also be used to help children answer Guiding Questions. During Centers, provide a variety of materials to meet the children’s fine motor and sensory needs. St

FAQs

What materials are needed for the children to create cars?

The plan lists items such as wheel templates, wheel connectors (axle-related materials), tape or mini clothespins, paper towel tubes, skewers or straws cut to length, and additional craft materials like cardboard pieces, plastic lids, spools, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, straws, and wooden dowels.

How should children participate during the Creative Arts centers?

Children are encouraged to collaborate—one child makes the chassis while another builds the car body—and to follow visual instructions. They also compare their cars to diagrams/images and create descriptions or diagrams of their cars.

How does the lesson support students with limited verbal skills?

For the Intro to Centers, children with limited verbal skills can use a pre-programmed voice output device to answer questions, typically closed-ended ones, and to help respond to guiding questions.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Asher