Writing an essay on a topic can be met with a lot of excitement if your child knows about the subject, or can be met with some trepidation if they are uncertain about a topic they need to think of before writing. Certain topics are easy to understand and write about, for example, what we plan to cover in this article – modes of transportation for kindergarten children and some examples of transport names in English. Now transportation is a topic that every child would love to know more about – they see cars, trucks, cycles, bikes, boats and even aeroplanes around them, so they do know what each type of transport does, but there’s a lot to discover about transportation besides them just being modes to ferry you from one point to another. In this article, we cover the different modes of transport in English, and delve a little deeper into facts about them as well.
What Is Transport?
Land, water or air! The meaning of transportation or the means of transport meaning is basically the way to move from one place to another. Buses, boats, trains and aeroplanes are the most common means of transport that children have heard of, which can help people move from one part of the world to another. Learning about all these modes of transportation is one of the first things children can do when they start communicating with their families.
When you want to get into transportation for kids at a personal level, you can start with how they were carried as babies in your arms, then, on a stroller to move around in lanes and streets near home, and then, in cars to travel in the city so so on. Also talk to them about how, when the time is right, they get to ride a tricycle or cycle to explore the area around them, and yes, this is a means of transport! This will help them understand the types of transportation and talk and slowly write about this naturally, through their own experiences.
There’s one more thing that little ones can learn thanks to transportation – verbs! Words like ‘going’ ‘cycling’ ‘riding’ are what will help kids understand the concept of transportation so much better, and these words, that act as connectors, will also teach them more about the English language.
What Are The Different Modes Of Transportation?
Depending on where you want to go to and the destination of choice, there are a number of vehicles that can be used to travel to different places. If you want to go by land, you can use the road- cars, busses etc. or even the train. If you want to go by sea, you can pick a ship, boat or yacht. If you want to travel by air, you take a plane.
Let us look at a list of different means of transport:
1. Land Transport
Land transport refers to the vehicles that can be used to ferry us around from one spot to another on land. Let’s take a look at some examples below –
- Car
- Bus
- Train
- Bicycle
- Truck
- Taxi
- Motorcycle
- Subway
- Scooter
- Tractor
2. Air Transport
Air transport refers to the vehicles that can be used to ferry us around from one spot to another via the sky. Let’s take a look at some examples below –
- Airplane
- Helicopter
- Hot Air Balloon
- Rocket
- Space Shuttle
- Blimp/Zepplin
- Gliders
- Hang-glider
- Sea Plane
- Jumbo Jet
3. Water Transport
Water transport refers to the vehicles that can be used to ferry us around from one spot to another via any water body. Let’s take a look at some examples below –
- Boat
- Cruise Ship
- Submarine
- Cargo Ship
- Yacht
- Canoe
- Gondola
- Catamaran
- Raft
- Hovercraft
Other Air, Water & Land Transportation Modes To Learn
Let us take a look at some other transportation vehicles that will help children understand this topic a little better. Here’s a chart on transportation to help –
| Air Transport | Water Transport | Land Transport |
| Aircraft | Bathyscaphe | Ambulance |
| Crop Duster | Cargo Ship | Auto Rickshaw |
| Helicopter | Dinghy | Bicycle |
| Hydroplane | Ferry | Compact Car |
| Jetpack | Galleon | Wagon |
| Jet | Ice Boat | Convertible |
| Airbus | Ketch | Crane |
| Concorde | Ocean Liner | Delivery Van |
| Hang-glider | Oil Tanker | Dray |
| Ropeway | Row Boat | Dump Truck |
| Biplane | Sail Boat | Earth Mover |
| Glider | Warship | Excavator |
| Cargo Plane | Cabin Cruiser | Fire Engine |
| Fighter Jet | Tanker | Garbage Truck |
| Blimp | Banana Boat | Limousine |
| Parachute | Windsurfer | Lorry |
| Hot Air Balloon | Air Boat | Jeep |
| Rocket | Kayak | Recycling Truck |
| Space Shuttle | Speed Boat |
Double Decker Bus
|
| Trawler | Trailer | |
| Cruise | Minibus | |
| Submarine | Race Car | |
| Catamaran | Trains | |
| Barge | Snowmobile |
Activities That Will Help Your Child Learn About Modes Of Transport
Let’s take a look at some activities that will help your child learn about modes of transport.
1. Pictures & Sounds
- What sounds do the various modes of transportation make? (train – whistle, truck- horn, police car – siren)
- What would these sounds look like if we were to draw them?
- Provide crayons and paper to experiment and play with the colours and shapes of transportation sounds!
2. Car Prints
- Using old toy cars and paint, let the kids dip the cars in bright paint.
- Then “drive” them across the paper to see what kinds of marks the tires on each vehicle make!
- It’s a fun and creative activity that your kids will love.
3. Shapes Of Vehicles
- It’s fun to see how many types of transportation vehicles can be made using basic geometric shapes (triangles, squares, circles, rectangles).
- Let the kids cut their shapes out of paper and arrange them to create vehicles.
4. Paper Airplanes
- Make paper airplanes in the simplest way.
- Ask your kids to colour them using bright colours.
- See how they fly.
- Make this a competitive game to see whose plane flies highest, or hands farthest.
5. Paper Boats
- Make boats using paper folding technique.
- Fill a bucket of water.
- Ask your kids to make them float on the surface.
- This will help them understand how and why things float.
6. Around The Neighbourhood
- Make a huge map of your neighbourhood area.
- Mark all the places that they know of and others they might not know of yet.
- Let the kids play with their toy cars on the map so that they can learn more about their neighbourhood.
7. Vehicles In A Day
- This is a fun activity to play when you want to distract your little ones!
- Make them look at all the different types of vehicles in a day, whether they are moving outside or even if they spot it on TV.
- Ask them to write down all the names.
- Bonus: This will also help with their spellings!
Interesting Facts About Modes Of Transport For Kids
Let us now look at some interesting facts when it comes to the different modes of transportation!
- The most popular car colour in the world is white.
- One of the oldest types of transportation is by boat! Sea traders long ago set out in small boats to trade their goods with other people. Did you know that today, ships still use the old sea trade routes?
- In some parts of the world, the most popular mode of travel for a lot of people is by walking or using animals, such as donkeys, horses and camels.
- Flying or using a plane is probably one of the most popular ways to reach faraway destinations. Did you know that over half a million folks are in the air at any one time at a stretch!
- If any new-age car drove at a speed of an average of 60 miles per hour, straight up in the air, it would reach the moon in less than a month! Wow, thats crazy, right?
Teach your child about all the different types of vehicles and enjoy your next family trip with the knowledge gained from these means of transport ideas and charts.
Also Read:
Diamond Shape Lesson for Children
Food Names In English for Kids
Living Things and Non-Living Things for Kids
