Construction lovers of all ages will love this fun unit study based on the book, Roadwork by Sally Sutton. Written as poem with vivid imagery and lots of onomatopoeia (words that make the sounds they represent) the book captured the imagination of my boys immediately and has been read over and over in our home. Here are some extension activities for the book Roadwork to bring a little fun into your homeschool day.
Language Arts based on Roadwork
Rhyming Words: Each page has a set of rhyming words you can point out, read, and explore together. These are simple words and you can have fun thinking of more rhyming words for each set.
Onomatopoeia: Play with the concept of onomatopoeia together. Read the last three words on each page of Roadwork together with extra emphasis on the sounds evoked. Try to come up with more examples. Challenge each other to use onomatopoeia in conversation, perhaps at the dinner table. Have your children write a short poem ending in Onomatopoeia.
Math based on Roadwork
Counting: Count the number of construction vehicles in the book together. You might also count the people on each page and add up a total or count the steps it takes to build a road.
Classification: Group the vehicles a few different ways. Possibilities include color, size, whether they are used at the beginning, middle or end of the process, number of wheels, whether or not they have some type of shovel, etc.
Roadwork by Sally Sutton (Available at Amazon.com)
Science Activities Based on Roadwork
Plant Flowers: Road workers decorated the road with plants before the road was opened. Plant a few flowers or bulbs together to decorate your yard.
Nutrition: Talk about what makes a good lunch, and evaluate the lunch boxes of the construction crew. Make lunch together and be sure to include fruits and veggies.
Preschool Exploration based on Roadwork
Sensory Play: Find a few construction toys at the dollar store and give your child a bin of rice or sandbox to build a road.
Life Experience: Pack your lunch like the construction workers did and drive to a spot where you can watch construction at work.
Art Based on Roadwork
Oil Pastels: Oil pastels are a fun kind of crayon that show up beautifully on darker colors of construction paper. They are not as washable as regular crayons, but they are super fun and worth the effort. Have your child draw a Roadwork scene at night on black paper, or during the day on blue paper using oil pastels.
Collage: Give your child construction paper shapes or have them tear up shapes, use glue, and create a scene from roadwork. Look at pictures online of Eric Carle
Free Road Construction Printable Pack
Download our free coordinating printable pack for your Roadwork unit study. Includes 18 pages of rhyming word matching, coloring pages, graphing pages for classification, and more!
Click to download the printables here.
Graphics Credit: The graphics in our printable were purchased and used with permission from ©Dorky Doodles.
Additional Roadwork Resources
Melissa & Doug Construction Worker Role Play Set
Melissa & Doug Construction Site Peg Puzzle
LEGO DUPLO My First Construction Site 10518
Toy State Caterpillar Construction 8” Tough Tracks 2-Pack: Dump Truck And Excavator
About Amy
Amy lives with her husband and six beautiful children in Southern California. Besides blogging, Amy enjoys homeschooling, hiking, reading, singing, teaching, and serving Jesus above all else. You can find Amy blogging at Homeschool Encouragement, Homeschool Blogging and Homeschool Copywork.
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[…] lovers of all ages will love this fun FREE unit study based on the book, Roadwork by Sally Sutton. It includes some extension activities for language arts, math, science, and more […]