Unit Plan 26 (Grade K Social Studies): Tools and Technology Through Time
Explore how tools and inventions changed from past to present, helping people work, communicate, and do important jobs in the community.
Focus: Help children explore how tools and inventions have changed over time and how they help people work and communicate today. Students compare past and present photos of tools (phones, mail, transportation, work tools), talk about who uses them, and learn that people work jobs to earn money and help others.
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 “Technology Detectives” as they examine old and new tools people use to work and communicate. Through stories, photos, and matching games, they distinguish past vs. present and notice how inventions like phones, mail, and vehicles have changed. They also connect tools to workers and jobs, building the idea that people use tools at work to help others and earn money.
Essential Questions
- How can we tell if a tool is from long ago or today?
- How do inventions help people work and talk to each other?
- Who uses these tools at their jobs?
- How do workers use tools to help others and earn money?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Use photos and simple stories to say whether a tool is from the past or present and explain one way they know.
- Identify at least two tools that help people work and two tools that help people communicate.
- Match workers (e.g., mail carrier, teacher, construction worker) to tools and places of work.
- Explain, in simple language, that people work jobs to earn money and help others.
- Create a simple drawing or mini-poster comparing one tool long ago and the similar tool today, and describe who uses it at work.
Standards Alignment — Kindergarten (C3-based custom)
- K.C3.Hist.2 — Distinguish past and present with photos, artifacts, and stories.
- K.C3.Econ.3 — Explain that people work jobs to earn money and help others.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can tell if a picture shows a tool from long ago or today.
- I can name some tools that help people work and talk to each other.
- I can match a worker to the tools and place they work.
- I can say that people work to earn money and help others.
- I can draw and explain a tool then and now and who uses it at work.