Google celebrates 100
years of traffic lights with a doodle
How
old are traffic lights?
The first ever
traffic lights were placed in London outside the Houses of Parliament. However, they were not electric. The lights were gas and police officers had
to operate them. They were also
extremely dangerous and in 1869, after a policeman was killed in an explosion,
they were removed.
In 1914, the
first electric traffic lights appeared in the USA. This system only used red and green
lights. An amber (orange) light was
added four years later.
And the
countdown timers on traffic lights that tell pedestrians nowadays if they have
enough time to cross the road are quite new.
They were introduced in the 1990s.
Traffic lights
may change again soon. A new system that
can tell how many people are waiting on the pavement to cross the road could
control how long traffic needs to be stopped for.
In your own words, explain what these
things are:
1
traffic lights
2 a
red light
3 a
countdown timer
4 a
pedestrian
5 a
pavement
Photos
of traffic lights
Students work in
pairs. One student in each pair looks at
the screen (if you have an electronic whiteboard) or at the photo you
show. The other student in the pair
looks the other way (they can’t see the picture).
The student who can see the picture
describes it to his/her partner.
Trafiic light with bird and bird’s nest.
Traffic light in rain
Caveman traffic lights and elephant
streetlights in Thailand
Traffic light tree
Snow covered traffic light
Cycle traffic light
New York street
Traffic light in fog
And to
finish, and add a lot of fun to your lesson, show students this video:
For more fun, you could put a red circle on
the floor and get them to dance!!!
Suggestions for definitions of words
- traffic lights
You find these
on the corners of roads, usually at the side of the street or above the
junction. They stop some of the cars,
cyclists or the pedestrians who want to cross the road. There are three lights (from top to bottom) –
red, yellow/ambar, green.
- a red light
It’s a signal to stop. This is at the top
of the three lights on a traffic light.
- a countdown timer
This is a clock, showing numbers. When it reaches zero, it’s time to stop or
go.
- a pedestrian
This person is on foot, not in a vehicle.
- a pavement
This is the part of a street where people
walk, not drive.
Tags:
travel, world events
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