Learning Objective: Students will follow the sequence of events as they learn about the history of Hot Wheels.
Lizzie Renaud
Hop in the Nosey-mobile!
How did Hot Wheels zoom into the world? Real cars had to be invented before Hot Wheels could exist!
Cars were invented in the 1880s. At that time, many people had no idea what cars looked like.
Then, car makers had an idea. In the early 1900s, they started making small models of their cars. They showed the models to customers to help sell the real cars!
Toy Cars
By the 1950s, model cars were everywhere. Adults liked to collect them. Kids liked them too.
More and more toy companies started making model cars for kids, like Matchbox cars. Kids loved them! These little toy cars looked just like real cars.
The First Hot Wheels
Then came 1968. A man named Elliott Handler was watching his son play with Matchbox cars. He thought, “I could make better toy cars.”
So he did. His cars had bright metallic colors. They had big tires. They rolled fast!
Elliott named his cars Hot Wheels. Everyone was wild for them. Hot Wheels took off!
Hot Wheels Today
Dara Kordulak
Today, there are Hot Wheels race cars, motorcycles, and monster trucks. There are Barbie cars and Batmobiles.
Some Hot Wheels glow in the dark. Some light up! You can also buy a lot of cool racetracks. What kinds of Hot Wheels would you want?
Eraser Timeline
R.E. Olds Transportation Museum
1900s: Model car
Courtesy of The Strong National Museum of Play
1950s: Matchbox toy car
Courtesy of The Strong National Museum of Play
1968: First Hot Wheels
CTRPhotos/Getty Images
Today: Tons of Hot Wheels!
Implementation
1. Use the Before-Reading Resources
2. Read the Article
Reading Focus: Sequencing (20 minutes)
3. After-Reading Skills Practice
(All pages below can be printed from our website.)
You can use these skills pages to practice other skills. (15 minutes each)
