SECTION C — CREATIVE LEARNING INQUIRY PROJECT “Moving with Transportation” Introduction Music and Movement brings together gross motor skills, auditory skills and coordination. The theme Transportation was chosen for this lesson, as it was keeping in line with the school’s theme for the school term. Transportation is a very popular topic as it relates to every day travelling. Children travel daily seeing different types of transportation, most children love to be in anything that moves. In this learning experience “Moving with Transportation”, we are using music and movement as the mean as it involves body movement, using cognitive skills and building vocabulary at the same time. And caters for children between the ages of 3-5 as the primary mode in assisting students to identify different types, sound and movement of vehicles. This learning experience encourages all students to move to songs relating to transportation, imitating the sound of a car, plain, boat and train well identifying them, as was mentioned before musical engagement stimulates the child’s coordination, supports social growth. This lesson was designed to be a dominant lesson and is ideal for any type of class setting while also encouraging inclusion. It also “responds to calls in the literature for educators to move beyond music as passive entertainment and toward intentional, developmentally grounded practice” (Bautista et al., 2024).
Lesson Plan Overview Theme Transportation — cars, trains, planes, and boats Mode Music and movement Age Group Preschool, 3–5 years Group Size Whole group of 15 students with small-group stations Duration 30–35 minutes Setting Open indoor movement space cleared for circle Materials Picture cards of a car/train/plane/boat, speaker, laptop, paper plate for toy steering wheel, space for movement. Procedure Introduction/Warm-Up: Teacher gathers all the students in a circle facing her and introduces the topic, leading the children in a simple movement and stretching activity “Head, shoulders, knees and toes”, to grab their attention for the beginning of class. Step 2: Teacher Chooses 4 children, each asks each child to choose a flash card with a type of transportation on it the child says what that type of transportation it is (car, train, boat or airplane) and imitates the sound of the vehicle. Car-Land-student goes “Vroom, vroom” Train –land goes “choo, choo” Airplane-air- goes “hummmm” Boat-sea- goes “thump thump” Students are given time to answer.
Step 3: Teacher marks four spots on the ground for each child to stand on. Inviting the student to move like a car steering and gliding from side to side, a train pulling the lever and chugging, a plane with arms extended moving his body up and down doing gentle turns. And a boat rocking from side to side. Music plays to match each movement. Students are given time to do the actions. Step 4: Teacher asks children to sing the wheels on the bus while doing the actions, adding new lines to the song: “The wheels on the bus go round and round and round and round and round all through the town” “The train on the track goes choo, choo, choo, choo, choo all through the town”. “The airplane in the sky goes up and down up and down, up and down all through the sky”. “The boat on the sea rock left to right left to right left to right all through the sea”. Step 5: Freeze and move-Teacher plays a song for all Children to dance and stops the music suddenly while all the other students freeze the student with a flash card will imitate how the vehicle moves. (Airplane-flys, car-steers etc.) Step 6 (Closure/Recall): Teacher settles children, forms back the circle, and gives each student the opportunity to say what they have learnt. Developmental Connections Physical Development Builds strong gross motor skill, as the children steer, rock, glide assisting with balance and also fine motor skills. According to Kadhim & Al-Husseini, 2024 “rhythmic musical movement has
been shown to support the refinement of motor coordination and balance in young children, as repeated rhythmic patterns give the body a predictable structure to organize movement around”. Cognitive Development This allows the children to differentiate between the different types of transportation, giving off a cause and effect when the music changes it leads to a different move also being able to recall by matching the vehicle to its sound. Randomized-trial evidence indicates that structured music activities in preschool can meaningfully strengthen executive function, self-regulation, and school readiness (Bentley et al., 2023). Emotional Development This encourages the children to choose their favorite vehicle, this supports self-expression. According to Bautista et al., 2024 “music and movement pedagogy is increasingly framed in the literature not merely as entertainment but as a deliberate tool for emotional engagement and regulation when educators plan it with intention”. Social Development The students moving around in a small shared space taking turns in displaying each type of transportation, how it moves and sounds, this shows good social interaction. Movement embedded in group musical play has been identified as a natural context for children's social interaction, since singing games and coordinated movement invite children to attend to and coordinate with their peers (Papazachariou-Christoforou, 2022).
Language Development Allows the children to describe sounds and how they move in sentences of two or four phases. Music and movement routines have been shown to support the development of key language skills in early years settings by pairing new vocabulary directly with physical action and repetition (Newman, 2023). Inclusive Practice This experience is designed using a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lens, which asks educators to build in multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression from the outset rather than retrofitting accommodations afterward (Hovey et al., 2022; Ewe & Galvin, 2023). • Multiple means of engagement: children may choose their preferred instrument or movement style at each station, and a visual schedule reduces anxiety around transitions for children who benefit from predictability. • Multiple means of representation: vehicle concepts are presented through sound, picture cards, spoken language, and physical demonstration together, so children can access the same content through their strongest channel. • Multiple means of action and expression: seated or standing versions of every movement are offered, scarves substitute for full-body actions for children with limited mobility, and volume-adjustable or visual (light-based) alternatives to loud instruments support children with sound sensitivities.
• Sensory supports: noise-reducing headphones and a designated low-stimulation “quiet station” remain available throughout, reflecting guidance that inclusive early childhood environments should be planned with every child's sensory profile in mind before the group ever meets (good2know, 2022; Brightwheel, 2026). • Language access: key vocabulary and instructions are paired with gesture and picture cues to support dual-language learners and children with speech or language delays. Taken together, these choices reflect the broader shift in early childhood practice toward proactively designed inclusion rather than individual retrofits, an approach that research associates with stronger participation and engagement across children with a wide range of abilities (Ewe & Galvin, 2023). Bloom's Taxonomy Objectives Blooms Taxonomy Objectives are scaffold from remembering through to creating are appropriate and seen in preschool classrooms. Adapted to be developmentally appropriate for preschool-aged learners (Anderson et al., 2001, as cited in Iowa State University CELT, n.d.). Level Learning Objective Remember Students will be able to recall the names (car, boat, airplane, train) of the vehicles, mode of transport and the sound they make, and the movement associated with each. Understand Students will be able to describe how each different vehicle looks and move as that from another (plane goes up and down, (boat rocks for side to side). Apply Students will be able to demonstrate the correct movement that matches each vehicle (steering, rocking etc.) Analyze Students will be able to Students will be able to compare the differences and similarities between two vehicles (the car and train are both land transportation, however the car drives on a road). Evaluate Students will be able to state their which vehicles is their favorite and giving an explanation for their choice.
Create Students will be able to use their imagination in creating their own vehicle movement and sound using two the vehicles from the lesson. Reflective Commentary I chose music and movement combined with transportation as it is easy to relate it with the students as they are very active and love moving their bodies. This teaching experience emphasizes how music and movement is more than just playing songs. It also had to do with what music would suit the movement of each vehicle. As we are aware children learn through sensory and physical experiences. And vehicles give a range of movement that is normal for children as they would always be moving around pretending to be vehicle whilst playing amongst themselves, especially the boys. This aligns with findings that early childhood educators often value music intuitively but need more structured guidance to plan it with clear developmental purpose (Bautista et al., 2024). A challenge I encountered was that the students got a little excited during the class once we started playing the music and doing the movements, there were students who seemed to have forgotten that we were still in class and doing a lesson., so it took some time to settle those over active ones causing this segment of the lesson to become overstimulated. In order to improve this lesson, I would establish a transitional move or gesture blowing a whistle or clapping hands 3 times in order for the students to understand that it’s time to get back to the lesson. This activity supported inclusion as all children were involved into the lesson, there was no discrimination against those that were developmentally challenged.
My commitment to my students are: I commit myself, my time and my knowledge, in ensuring that my students receive the best early education experience that they will remember and practice throughout their lives, as what would be taught will also prepare them for the future as they become adults. This is my personal goal and philosophy. Creating an environment that encourages independence and creativity. Planning my lessons focusing on differentiated learning. Promoting inclusion so that all students feel accepted, secured and loved. Establishing strong teacher-parent relationships. Preparing a curriculum that is simple, fun, adventurous, inclusive and creative. Providing quality education for all students.