How do juicy oranges arrive at a grocery store in winter? Cargo trucks are on the road year-round. Create your own business fleet!

• 1.

  Watch some cargo trucks. What loads do they carry-furniture, animals, building materials, computers, food, mail, gasoline, or trash? Find out the names of parts on a cargo truck such as the cab, trailer, side-view mirrors, mud flaps, and axles. Many trucks have bright, colorful signs on the trailer's sides. The signs tell the name of the business and show a picture of what the truck is carrying.

• 2.

  Pretend you run your own business. What loads would your cargo truck carry? Choose a name for your business. Here are some ideas about how to make your own cargo truck. Use your imagination to make your own Trucks at Work. Design a whole fleet with recycled boxes to make your trailer and cab.

• 3.

  Cover your art area with newspaper. Using the sides of the boxes as patterns, use Crayola® Scissors to cut construction paper to cover them. Use Crayola School Glue to glue paper to your trailer and cab. Air dry.

• 4.

  Use Crayola Washable Markers and Crayola Gel Markers to design signs on both sides of your trailer and the cab. Bright colored letters outlined in another color will make your signs stand out.

• 5.

  Cut cab windows from white paper. Glue on to cab. Air dry.

• 6.

  For a chrome effect, use Gel Markers to outline windows and doors, and draw windshield wipers, door handles, and hinges. To make mirrors, glue aluminum foil to construction paper. Glue onto a folded paper strip (to make it stand out) and then onto your truck. Add other details to make your truck unique. Glue the cab to the trailer. Air dry.

• 7.

  Ask an adult to help you cut wheels from corrugated cardboard. How many wheels does your truck need? Use wheels as patterns to cut black construction paper tires. Glue tires to wheels. Air dry.

• 8.

  Use Gel Markers to draw fancy spokes on your wheels. Glue wheels to your upside-down truck. Air dry.

• 9.

  For axles, cut a thin, black strip of paper for each pair of wheels. Glue between wheels. Cut and glue mud flaps behind the last two pairs of wheels. Air dry.

• 10.

  Explain to your classmates what your truck carries, the type of truck it is, and why your business is important to people.

• 11.

  A cargo truck pencil or crayon holder would make a great gift. Have fun thinking of your own ideas for these terrific trucks!

Standards

• LA: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships.
• MATH: Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.
• SS: Identify examples of private and public goods and services.
• SS: Describe how we depend upon workers with specialized jobs and the ways in which they contribute to the productions and exchange of goods and services.
• VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
• VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resources include: Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemensha; Big Book of Things That Go by DK Publishing; The Truck Book by Harry McNaught
• Students work in small groups to focus on the types of products transported in trucks. Select a single product, a point of origin, and a destination. Draw a map illustrating the beginning of their truck adventure and the final stop. Highlight the route taken to deliver your selected product. How many miles did you trip cover?