Optional Activity: Forces at Work
Watch these big machines work. Think about what each machine does. Discuss with your class.
What does the dump truck do?
What does the truck-crane do?
What does the bulldozer do?
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Watch these big machines work. Think about what each machine does. Discuss with your class.
What does the dump truck do?
What does the truck-crane do?
What does the bulldozer do?
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Switch to non-narrated version
In this Read-Along lesson, Vivian watches a house being built and wonders why the builders need so many big machines. The lesson includes a short exercise where students act out the “work words” of their favorite machine. You can extend the lesson with the optional activity, Forces at Work, where students watch videos of construction equipment and practice using work words to describe what the machines are doing.
Preview optional activityThis activity does not require supplies.
As an optional activity, we include videos of three construction machines, like the ones Vivian saw in the story. The videos include songs about the construction machines and what they do.
We suggest you preview the videos. When you show them to your students, you may want students to act out what the machines do. After watching the videos, ask your students to describe what each machine does and identify the "work words" involved.
Student slideshow: English | Spanish
Teacher printout: English & Spanish
The excavator lifts dirt into the dump truck that carries it away.
The cement truck mixes cement, sand, gravel, and water to make concrete. Watch the builders pour the concrete.
You’ll find many more kid-friendly videos of trucks and trains at Things that Go TV.
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