2nd Grade History Units: School, Trades and Inventions
2nd Grade History Units: School, Trades and Inventions
Second-grade teachers who want history lessons with more substance than a coloring sheet can start with School Then and Now, a $24.99 unit with three ready-to-teach sub-units. Each sub-unit has a lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with reading passage and word bank, a project or source activity, an answer key and slides. Old Trades & Crafts and Inventions That Changed the World extend it well.
See School Then and Now →A strong 2nd grade history unit from Teach Lessons is School Then and Now ($24.99), part of a Grades 1–4 series. It has an overview and three sub-units, each with a step-by-step lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with a detailed reading passage and word bank, a project or primary-source activity, a complete answer key and slides. Old Trades & Crafts and Inventions That Changed the World pair well with it for a second-grade selection.
The resources
School Then and Now Unit, Grades 1–4
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
School Then and Now Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Old Trades & Crafts: from Smith to Baker Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Inventions That Changed the World Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Timelines & Measuring Time Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
The real problem
Where second-grade history usually gets stuck
Second graders have moved past the very first steps. Most can read a short passage, write a sentence or two and talk about the difference between now and long ago. That is exactly why first-grade material starts to feel thin: a page with three pictures to circle no longer holds them. At the same time, an ancient-empires unit written for older students has too much text and too many names. Second grade sits in between, and good material for it is surprisingly hard to find. The topics that work best tend to be about how ordinary life changed: how children learned, how people made bread, shoes and tools, how a single invention changed daily work. These connect to what students see every day, and they invite questions such as why things changed and whether everything changed for the better. The practical problem is time. Second grade is heavy on reading and math, and history is often squeezed into one or two sessions a week. Whatever you use has to be ready to teach, quick to set up and clear enough that you are not rewriting it at night.
Why it fits
Why this selection fits second grade
One suggested second-grade set. The units are written for Grades 1–4 and leave the grade choice to you.
- School Then and Now starts from something every student knows well: their own classroom and school day.
- Detailed reading passages give second graders real text to work with, supported by a word bank.
- Old Trades & Crafts follows work from smith to baker and asks how things were made by hand.
- Inventions That Changed the World shows how one new tool can change how people live and work.
- Projects and source activities let students make, sort and compare instead of only filling in blanks.
- Answer keys for every worksheet make checking work quick when history time is short.
Getting started
Your first weeks with School Then and Now
A suggested way to begin. The unit does not include a calendar, so pace it to your own timetable.
- Read the overview the night beforeThe overview shows you the three sub-units and what each one covers. Ten minutes with it tells you which pages to print and which slides to queue up.
- Teach sub-unit one with the slidesUse the step-by-step lesson plan and slides to introduce school long ago. Let students guess what an old classroom object was used for before you explain.
- Pair readers for the worksheetPut a confident reader with a student who still needs support. The word bank helps both, and you can circulate rather than read every passage aloud.
- Use the project to compareThe project or source activity is where students put school then and school now side by side. Keep finished work for a hallway or classroom display.
- Line up the next unitOnce the first unit is done, choose whether Old Trades & Crafts or Inventions That Changed the World comes next, depending on what your class asked most about.
What to buy
What to buy for second grade
Start with School Then and Now at $24.99. For a fuller second-grade selection, add Old Trades & Crafts and Inventions That Changed the World; the three units together cost $74.97. If your class needs more practice ordering events, Timelines & Measuring Time is a good fourth unit. These units are sold individually, so there is no bundle discount, and TEACHMORE15 applies only to Complete Curriculum products, not to these units. You can buy one unit, teach it, and decide on the rest later.
Honest limits
Limits to know before buying
These units do not assign themselves to second grade; the selection here is a suggestion, and you judge which passages fit your readers. They do not include a year plan or set pacing. Craft materials, any objects you bring in, and printing are on you. Compare the topics with your second-grade social studies requirements before deciding. If several second-grade teachers want to use them, send Teach Lessons a short message first, since the licence covers your own teaching. Within 7 days, a unit that does not suit can be exchanged for store credit of equal value; there is no cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Are these units aligned to second-grade standards?
No standards alignment or endorsement is claimed for these units. They are written for Grades 1–4, and then-and-now topics like school, trades and inventions are common in early elementary social studies. Compare each unit overview with your state or district expectations for second grade before buying.
Is the reading level right for second graders?
The worksheets are differentiated and each comes with a detailed reading passage and a word bank. Many second graders can manage the passages with some support. For students who are not there yet, read the passage together, or let them work with a partner while you use the slides with the whole group.
What do students do in the Old Trades & Crafts unit?
The unit looks at old trades from smith to baker. Like every unit in the series, it has three sub-units with a lesson plan, worksheet with reading passage and word bank, a project or primary-source activity, an answer key and slides. Students compare how things were made by hand with how they are made today.
How much time does one unit take?
The units do not set a schedule. Each unit has three sub-units, and how long each one takes depends on your class and how much time you give history each week. Teach the first sub-unit, note how long it took, and use that to plan the next two.
Can I teach the inventions unit before the school unit?
Yes. Each unit stands on its own. Starting with School Then and Now is just a suggestion because it begins with something students know directly. If your class is already curious about machines and tools, Inventions That Changed the World works fine as a first unit.
What happens after I buy?
You get a download link by email right after purchase, and the files also appear in your customer account under Orders. Print the worksheets and answer keys, and open the slides on your classroom screen. You can download them again later if you lose the files.
Make second-grade history more than a filler page
Open the School Then and Now unit to see the lesson plans, worksheets and slides it contains.
See School Then and Now →