Transport Through Time
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Project Overview
Learning about transport through the ages will both satisfy the children's interests and LWS curriculum coverage of history in the summer term.
The project will cover:
how the invention of the wheel changed transportation
the impact that trains and boats had on travel
how the Wright Brothers advanced air travel
We will design and build transport for the future and present all our learning in a museum style exhibition with the Robins as tour guides.
Project End Goal
To understand how transportation has changed and improved over time
Project Steps
Step 1: What did early transport look like?
Step 2: How did boats and ships change transportation?
Step 3: Who helped to develop airplane and space travel?
Step 4: What will vehicles look like in the future?
Links to the Curriculum
Understanding the World - Past and Present
Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now.
Understand the past through settings, characters and events.
Literacy
Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.
Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.
Maths
Select, rotate and manipulate shapes to develop spatial reasoning skills.
Compose and decompose shapes so that children recognise a shape can have other shapes within it, just as numbers can.
Compare length, weight and capacity.
Physical Development
Use a range of small tools, including scissors.
Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.
Expressive Arts and Design
Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form, and function.
Share their creations, explaining the processes they have used.
Friday 16th May update
The Robins have been thinking about the following questions...
What is transportation?
We all shared a memorable journey we had taken.
Can you talk about what was invented to help with this?
How did people travel before cars?
We thought about walking or travelling on animals such as horses and camels!
People in the past then started to think about how animals could travel with heavy loads.
How did the wheel change travel?
We experimented rolling circles as well as other 2D and 3D shapes down a slope and discovered that the circle was the fastest.
We learnt that the first wheel was in fact a potters wheel.
Wooden wheels were made for transportation.
Can you remember how the design of the wheel made them lighter and why this was important?
We are beginning to build a timeline....
people began to make simple wheels about 5,500 years ago
the 1st motor car was invented in 1996 by Karl Benz
steam train travel began around 200 years ago
people were making rafts with sails 5,000 years ago
The Wright Brothers invented the 'flyer' aeroplane in 1903
In 1961 Yuri Gagarin travelled to space in the Vostok
We shared the story 'The Boy Who Sailed the World' by Julia Green.
We then set about experimenting with sinking and floating and what materials make the best boats. We started to think about why big ships float.
Can you explain why something so heavy doesn't sink?
We are using our woodcraft skills to make our own cars.
We used a saw and the palm drills.
Friday 13th June 2025 update
The Robins have been fascinated by the life and engineering excellence of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We know that Brunel, along with other engineers helped advance the development of transportation.
Ask your child to talk to you about what they remember about Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Can you continue your research at home?
Where can you find information?
We have learnt about the Wright Brothers and their aircraft, The Wright Flyer.
We are making a model of The Wright Flyer.
We have taken inspiration from these engineers to design our own vehichles for the future.
Can you describe your vehichle?
What are its' special features?
How will it be powered?
We have explored forces and how things move in the following ways:
We made peg cars...
We made propeller boats...
Thank you to our families for coming in to help us.
We finished our cars and we are so happy with how they look!
Austen's family showed us around their camper van.
We couldn't believe how a house could fit into a van!
We have got another couple of unusual cars coming to school next week for us to explore...
Here we are experiencing a 1920's Bentley and a bomb disposal vehicle from the 1970's.
copy_24E8E57A-97F5-47F4-8763-9FEF430FA93B.movTransport Through Time has been such a great project. We have had so much fun and learnt so much. We really could have gone on and on with this project. We hope you could see our enthusiasm for 'Transport Through Time' at exhibition and that you enjoyed the museum experience!
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