Lesson Plan Title : Learning About Timelines

Age Range: Kindergarten through Grade 2 (Early Elementary)

Overview and Purpose: Timelines are an important tool in helping us to understand history. In this lesson, students make a timeline of events that happened in their class.

Objective: The student will be able to

*create a class timeline listing six events that happened over the course of the year.

*create a timeline of his life using at least five important events.

Resources:

Chart paper

Markers

String

Construction paper

Activities:

Explain that the class is going to make a timeline of the events that have happened in the class over the year. Explain that timelines are used to help us understand when events happened in history. Help students brainstorm some events that happened in class. List them in any order on the piece of chart paper. Choose six or seven that will be easy for the students to place in the correct order. Give six students a marker and a half sheet of construction paper. Ask each student to write one of the events.

Ask students when during the school year each event happened. Write their answers next to the event on the chart paper. Give another set of students a half sheet of construction paper and ask them to write when each event happened. Have the students place the timeframe cards along the top of a piece of string that you have stretched along the wall and the event cards under the string.

After they have made a timeline as a class, have them make an individual one listing five events that happened to them. They should also list when they happened. They can tape string on a piece of paper and write above and below it to make the timeline.

Wrap Up:

This is a good activity to start at the beginning of the year. As significant events happen in class, add them to your timeline. At the end of the year, celebrate your class' achievements and review the importance of a timeline.