Time After Time: How Can We Use Timelines to Reconstruct the Past? Part 3

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Mathematics
Social Studies

Grade(s)

2

Overview

The lesson will focus on creating a timeline. The teacher and students will work together to collect data from teachers around the school. Using this data, students will work to complete a class timeline and formulate questions to ask others about their completed timeline. This lesson will require four 30-45 minute sessions to complete.

This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 2

SS10.2.3

Use various primary sources, including calendars and timelines, for reconstructing the past.

UP:SS10.3.13

Vocabulary

  • primary sources
  • calendars
  • timelines
  • reconstructing
  • past

Knowledge

Students know:
  • How to use a calendar.
  • How to interpret a timeline.
  • Vocabulary: primary sources, calendar, timeline, past, historical letter, artifacts

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Read a calendar.
  • Create and use a timeline.
  • Analyze a historical document.
  • Utilize maps, photographs, and other visual historic resources.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Primary sources play an important role in reconstructing the past.
MA19.2.17
MA19.2.22
ELA21.K.R1
ELA21.2.1
ELA21.2.2
ELA21.2.3

Primary Learning Objectives

Students will:

  • use timelines to reconstruct the past.
  • measure objects using standard units of measurement.
  • create a number line diagram (timeline) using whole numbers.
  • utilize active listening skills in a variety of contexts, following agreed-upon rules.
  • orally ask questions to get information.
  • demonstrate oral literacy skills by interviewing teachers from their school.

Procedures/Activities

Before Strategy/Engage: 10 minutes

TW= Teacher will

SW=Student will

  1. TW review previous lessons. (Time after Time lessons 1 & 2)
  2. TW state “I wonder when each teacher started teaching at ___________?  If we wanted to make a timeline, what would we need to do?” Insert your school name into the blank (see picture of completed timeline at the end of lesson).

1st 30-45 minute time period

  1. TW/SW develop a list of steps to complete a timeline.
  2. TW/SW start compiling a list of all teachers within the school on sticky notes. TW/SW organize or group the teachers by hallway or grade level to make data collection efficient. Students may reference a school map or directory to ensure all teachers/staff are included.  

2nd 20-45 minute time period

A few days prior to the lesson, TW will email the school to make teachers aware of the timeline project and that students will be coming to interview, and that the interview will only last about 2 minutes.

  1. TW assign students to a group of teacher/staff.
  2. TW/SW generate the survey they will ask each teacher. Example “Hi We’re from Ms. _________’s class and we are working on a timeline project. Can we ask you one question and take your picture? You get to approve the picture before we leave.”  
  3. SW practice speaking skills with the question before leaving to interview teachers.  
  4. TW send out student pairs/teams to interview 2-3 teachers. Tip/Idea: If there is a station or center time, this may be a good time to send pairs out for the short interviews. SW visit 2-3 teachers, so they will return by the next rotation.  
  5. TW/SW look at data collected.
  6. TW/SW make notes of what teachers still need to be interviewed if not completed in one day.  

3rd 30-45 time period

  1. Before the lesson, TW print pictures students captured of teachers around the school. Pictures should be about 2” X 2”.
  2. SW complete interviews for any teachers still needed for the timeline.
  3. SW type teacher names and years teachers’ worked into Google Docs or a word processing document.
  4. SW cut out names and years teachers’ worked to adhere to picture.  
  5. SW compare years and work to organize data collected into years.
  6. SW work together to determine a desired length and spacing for timeline. (5-6 inches works well with the picture size.)
  7. TW/SW work together to determine what the total length of the timeline would need to be.
  8. TW/SW draw the timeline on a long strip of bulletin board paper. TW/SW measure off 5-6 inches for each year.  
  9. SW paste pictures on the timeline.  
  10. TW ask students, "What can we learn from this timeline? Did it match what you thought you would learn?  What else can you learn?"
  11. TW/SW work together to create a list of questions to ask others about the timeline to display in the hallway for others. (Click here to view an example.)

 After/Explain, Elaborate:

  1. After all tasks have been completed, SW complete the exit ticket. https://goo.gl/cUOSFd
  2. TW/SW revisit the standard, reflect, and discuss what was discovered.

Assessment Strategies

Formative Assessment

TW informally assess students during group activities, whole class discussions, and while working on the class timeline. TW check the timeline for understanding: finding dates/events, ordering dates on the timeline, writing events with dates, and measuring equal distances between dates/events using this rubric: https://goo.gl/dn1uLS.

TW use completed exit ticket (https://goo.gl/cUOSFd) to assess student knowledge of timelines.

Acceleration

Students that need to expand on their understanding, can create a timeline featuring the famous Americans from the group according to their birthdates. They can create this digitally or on paper. This timeline can be shared with the group to deepen understanding of the past as it is related to the featured famous Americans.  

Students could also create a timeline about the invention of earmuffs by using the book Earmuffs for Everyone. This book tells the story of the invention of earmuffs over time. The dates are included in the illustrations. Students can use these dates to create a timeline titled The Invention of Earmuffs and explain how earmuffs have evolved to our modern-day version.

Intervention

If there are students that require additional help with understanding number order (years in timeline), they should be pulled in a small group to practice number order with the teacher prior to the group activity.

Total Duration

91 to 120 Minutes

Background/Preparation

Prior to teaching this lesson, students need to understand basic calendar skills such as the order of the days of the week and months of the year. Students will need some basic measuring skills. The teacher will need to email other teachers in the building to let them know of projects. The teacher will want to let other teachers know that students are going to be surveying teachers and asking what year they started teaching at your school.  

Materials and Resources

Student/Teacher Materials:

  • Paper

  • Pencils

  • Post-It notes

  • School map

  • Google Docs

  • Printer

  • Sharpies

  • Glue

  • Bulletin Board Paper

  • Earmuffs for Everyone by Meghan McCarthy (Acceleration book)

  • Exit Ticket: https://goo.gl/cUOSFd

  • Timeline Rubric: https://goo.gl/dn1uLS

Technology Resources Needed

Tablets with a camera or a digital camera (to take pictures for the timeline)

Approved Date

2017-04-09

Owner2

mandawalker
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