Word Trains
Developing Concepts of Print
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 0: Foundation for LiteracyAges:
3-6
Grade Range:
PreK KFood Groups:
Primary: Concepts of Print, Motivation for Literacy
Activity Description
Preparation:
1. Generate a few simple sentences of varying lengths (3, 4, and 5 words is ideal)
a. For example, The girl jumps. The dog is big. I went to the store.
2. Use construction paper to make colourful train headcars and boxcars for each sentence
a. Create one boxcar for each word in the sentences that youve generated
3. Write each word from the sentences on a cue card that will later be pasted onto a boxcar using sticky tack
4. Mount each train on the board, one on top of the other
Implementation:
1. Show students the trains on the board
2. Explain that trains can have several cars that each carry a different load
3. Have students count the number of cars on the first train
4. Explain that sentences are like trains: they are also composed of parts, and each part is one word
5. Share your 3-word sentence with students
6. Explain that each car in the train is going to carry one word from the sentence
7. Paste the word cards onto the boxcars, saying each word aloud as you paste it
8. Have students count the number of words in the sentence
a. Compare the number of words in the sentence to the number of boxcars on the train
b. Remind students that a sentence is made up of words, just like a train is made up of boxcars
9. Repeat this process with a 4-word sentence
10. Ask the students which of the two trains is longer and have students count the number of boxes, or words, on each train
11. Repeat the above steps with additional sentences
Adaptations For
English Language Learners/ESL:
- Focus on two-and three-word sentences
LD/Reading & Writing Difficulties:
- Point to each word to emphasize the left-to-right direction of reading
Cultural Appropriateness & Diversity:
- Ensure that each sentence is composed of words that are meaningful for all students in the class
Differentiated Instruction:
- Provide several examples of each type of sentence - Show further examples from various sources (e.g. books in the classroom, writing on the walls of the classroom) - Have advanced students find their own sentences in the classroom
Related References
Source: Adams, M., Foorman, B., Lundberg, I., Beeler, T. (1998). Phonemic Awareness in Young Children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
Evidence: Lenters, K. (2003). The many lives of the cut-up sentence. Reading Teacher, 56(6), 535-36.
Activity Objective
The goal of Word Trains: Developing Concepts of Print is to help students understand how written sentences work by using train cars to represent words.
What You Need
Prep Time:
30 minutes - Create simple sentences of varying lengths - Create a train head car and boxcars for each sentence - Write each word from your sentences on a cue card - Get sticky tack
Task Time:
10 minutes - Teacher shows students a train - Students count the number of cars in the train - Teacher shows how trains can represent sentences by placing one word in each car - Students identify the number of words in sentences and compare various sentence lengths
Materials Required:
Teacher: - Colorful construction paper - White cue cards - Markers - Sticky tack
What You Do
Teacher Role:
Direct instruction: - when introducing the idea that sentences are composed of words Facilitator: - during discussion and comparison of sentences
Student Grouping:
Whole class: - when introducing word trains and discussing and comparing sentence lengths
Assessment Ideas:
- Note students' ability to depict the difference between a word and a sentence, and to note which sentences contain more words
Quick Tips
Activity Extensions:
- Read a sentence orally and ask students to identify the number of words they hear prior to visually displaying the cards - Demonstrate how sentences can change by rearranging the word cards - Draw attention to the fact that there are spaces between words
Additional Comments:
- Use simple word cards to form sentences, or another graphic idea similar to Word Trains such as a word chain. - Use words that are familiar to students, such as sight words or classroom vocabulary.
Other Adaptations/Modifications:
- Homogeneous ability groups can be formed so that low-functioning students can be exposed to many three- and four-word sentences, and high-functioning groups can be exposed to sentences with more words.
