Lesson of the Day: ‘5 Things You Might Not Know About Truckers’
In this lesson, students will learn about the challenges facing truck drivers in America and why these workers are essential to keeping our economy going strong.
George Etheredge for The New York Times
In this lesson, you will learn about the challenges facing truck drivers in America and why these workers are essential to keeping our economy going strong. In a Going Further activity, we invite you to share your dream jobs and the kind of work you hope to avoid.
Warm-Up
What do you imagine the life of a trucker would be like? What might be the joys and challenges of driving across America’s highways alone for long distances?
With a partner, list the pros and cons of driving a truck for a living. Then, discuss whether you might ever consider being a truck driver when you are older.
Vocabulary
Here are 12 words you’ll find in this article that you may not know:
1. economic
2. central
3. haul
4. typical
5. circumnavigate
6. load
7. confront
8. median
9. dispense
10. enterprises
11. goods
12. function
Which words are you familiar with? Which are new to you?
You can find out what all the words mean, and practice using them, by checking out this list on Vocabulary.com.
The article also discusses the “supply chain disruption” that has been hurting our economy and leading to shortages of many things, including construction supplies, electronics and clothing. To learn more, you can read “4 Questions About the Supply Chain.” Or, explore our related lesson plan here.
Trucks haul more than $10 trillion of American goods per year, or more than 70 percent of all products shipped in the United States by value.
Without long-haul trucking and the people behind the wheel, huge enterprises like Walmart, Amazon and Home Depot simply could not function.
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