How do I teach 'then and now' in first grade?
How do I teach 'then and now' in first grade?
Compare one everyday thing at a time, such as a classroom, a kitchen or a toy, using photos and real objects, and let first graders say what changed and what stayed the same. Start with their own families before going further back. This page covers the misconceptions to expect, classroom moves, a five-lesson sequence and a bundle of six ready units on then and now.
See the Then and Now bundleTeach then and now by comparing one familiar part of life at a time: school, homes, toys, work or getting around. Show a photo or object from long ago next to one from today and ask two questions: What is different? What is the same? Record answers on a two-column chart with drawings. Begin with the children's own families through photos and interviews, then reach further back. Keep the tone curious rather than judging, so past is different, not worse.
Ready-made material
Then and Now Social Studies Bundle, Grades 1–3
6 resources in one download: $89.99 instead of $149.94 bought separately.
The first cover is the main resource; the others are related options. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Then and Now Social Studies Bundle | School, Family, Trades, Inventions, Timelines & Sources | 6 Units | Grades 1–3
Elementary History Curriculum | All 20 History Units | Grades 1–4
Early American History Bundle | Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims & Pioneers | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Thanksgiving and Fall Bundle | Pilgrims, First Peoples, Autumn Crafts | Grades K–4
Why it is hard
What trips first graders up
First graders have only a few years of memory, so 'then' can mean last summer or the age of dinosaurs. Mixing those is normal. When a child says his dad rode a horse to school, he is not joking; he has no scale for how long ago 'when Dad was little' was. A second trap is the idea that the past was simply worse. Students see an old kitchen and conclude people were poor, sad or not smart, because they had no microwave. That stops real thinking about how people solved problems with what they had. Third, children notice only the obvious change and miss what stayed the same. Families still ate together, children still played, people still went to school. Without the 'same' column, then and now becomes a list of missing gadgets. Photos cause their own confusion. Black-and-white images lead some children to believe the whole world lacked color. In class, the lesson can also slip into a craft with no comparison at all, such as coloring an old car. The comparison needs to be the work, spoken out loud and recorded on a chart everyone can see.
What works
Moves that make then and now concrete
These work best with real objects and pictures students can handle and point to. Pick a few and repeat them through the unit.
- Hold up two objects, like a rotary phone picture and a cell phone, and ask same or different.
- Keep one two-column chart per topic with pictures, and add to it every lesson.
- Send home a three-question interview for a grandparent or older neighbor about their school days.
- Explain black-and-white photos directly: cameras then could not capture color, but the world had it.
- Act out a morning routine from long ago, such as fetching water, then from today.
- Use sentence frames: Long ago people ___. Today people ___. Both ___.
Step by step
A five-lesson sequence for first grade
These lessons move from the children's own lives outward. Plan roughly 30 minutes each; stretch any lesson that sparks good talk.
- Me then and me nowStudents compare a baby photo or drawing of themselves with today. What can they do now that they could not do then? Introduce the words then, now, past and present.
- Family life long agoShare answers from the family interviews. Sort picture cards of homes, meals and chores into then and now columns, and add one same item together.
- School then and nowShow a photo of an old classroom. Students spot differences in desks, clothes and tools, then name what is still the same, such as reading and recess.
- Work and tradesCompare a blacksmith or baker long ago with a worker today. Students mime the old way, then the new way, and say which tools changed.
- Make a class bookEach student draws one then-and-now pair with a sentence frame. Bind the pages into a class book and read it aloud to another class. Keep it in the class library.
Ready-made option
Six then-and-now units in one bundle
The Then and Now Social Studies Bundle ($89.99; the six units cost $149.94 separately) covers this whole topic for Grades 1–3: School Then and Now, Family and Daily Life Then and Now, Old Trades and Crafts from smith to baker, Inventions That Changed the World, Timelines and Measuring Time, and Traces of the Past on historical sources. Like the rest of the elementary history series, each unit has an overview and three sub-units with a lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with reading passage and word bank, a project or source activity, an answer key and slides. If you want then and now plus the rest of history, the Elementary History Curriculum ($169.99) includes all 20 units.
Honest limits
What the bundle does not cover
The bundle supplies lessons and worksheets, but the strongest then-and-now material is local and personal: family photos, an old object from a grandparent, your town's historic pictures. You gather those. In first grade you will also read the passages aloud. Check the units against your state's first-grade social studies standards; the store makes no alignment claim. The licence covers your own classroom, so a short message to Teach Lessons is needed before sharing with your team. You can exchange the bundle for store credit of equal value within 7 days if it is not right for you, but there is no cash refund.
Good to know
More teacher questions
How far back should then go in first grade?
Start with the children's own lives and their grandparents' childhoods. That is far enough for most of the year. Once students can say what changed between their grandparents' time and today, you can add a much older comparison, such as a medieval trade, and mark it further left on a class timeline.
What if a student has no family member to interview?
Offer alternatives without making it a big deal. A school staff member, a neighbor or a recorded interview you play for the class all work. You can also interview an older colleague in front of the class and let students ask the questions. Every child should be able to take part without explaining their family situation.
Does a then-and-now unit match first-grade standards?
Change over time often appears in early-grade social studies, but each state words it differently, and the store does not claim its units align with any state's standards. Read your state's first-grade expectations and match specific units to them before you plan. Where a standard is not covered, add a short lesson of your own.
How do I avoid students calling the past dumb or poor?
Ask how people solved problems with what they had. Washing clothes by hand took skill and strength; a slate saved paper. When a student calls something old silly, ask what it was good for. The same column on your chart helps, because it shows how much stayed familiar.
Can I teach then and now around Thanksgiving?
Yes, and it can make the holiday more thoughtful. Compare daily life for Native communities and the Pilgrims with life today, using accurate, respectful information. The Thanksgiving and Fall Bundle ($49.99) has full units on Native Americans and the Pilgrims plus two fall art activities.
What should first graders produce at the end?
Keep it visual and oral. A drawing pair with a sentence frame, a page in a class book or a short show-and-tell about a family object all show understanding. A long written answer is not needed in first grade. Save the drawings in a folder to show growth across the year.
Two pictures and two questions
Put something old next to something new, ask what changed and what stayed, and first graders will do the rest.
See the Then and Now bundle