Unit Plan 20 (Grade K Social Studies): Long Ago and Today
Compare past and present through transportation, communication, and homes, helping kindergarteners identify changes using pictures, materials, workers, and simple timelines.
Focus: Help children notice and compare life “long ago” and “today” by looking at transportation, communication, and homes. Students examine pictures and simple stories about the past, compare them to modern examples, and begin to recognize that people use materials (natural resources) and workers’ skills (human resources) to make things in every time period.
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Area: Social Studies (History • Economics • Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 20–30 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students become “History Helpers” who compare how people traveled, talked to each other, and lived in homes long ago and today. Using photos, artifacts, and stories, they practice noticing differences and similarities between past and present. Children also begin to see that all these things—old and new—are made from materials and created by workers who use tools and skills.
Essential Questions
- How can we tell if something is from long ago or from today?
- How are transportation, communication, and homes different now than in the past?
- What materials and workers are needed to make things people use?
- Why is it important to remember how life was long ago?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Use words and pictures to tell the difference between things from long ago and today.
- Look closely at photos and simple artifacts to describe past vs. present transportation, communication, and homes.
- Name natural resources (like wood, stone, metal) used to make items in the past and present.
- Identify that people (workers) use tools and skills to build homes, make vehicles, and create communication tools.
- Create a simple “Long Ago / Today” comparison page and explain one way life has changed.
Standards Alignment — Kindergarten (C3-based custom)
- K.C3.Hist.2 — Distinguish past and present with photos, artifacts, and stories.
- K.C3.Econ.5 — Identify natural and human resources used to make things.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can tell if a picture shows long ago or today.
- I can say one way transportation, communication, or homes are different now.
- I can point to something and say what material it is made of (wood, metal, plastic).
- I can tell how workers help make things people use.
- I can share my comparison picture and explain one change using my own words.