Your next great Lessn starts here.

Then and Now: Home and School – Homes long ago vs. today – Think about materials used and size of homes. – Schools in the past vs. now – Classrooms, subjects, and tools used for learning. – Time travel adventure – Imagine going back 100 years, what do you see? – Spot the differences – What has changed in our homes and schools? | This slide introduces the concept of comparing and contrasting homes and schools from the past to the present. Encourage the students to visualize the differences in building materials, sizes, and styles of homes. Discuss how schools have evolved in terms of the physical environment, subjects taught, and the resources used for teaching. Engage the students with a ‘time travel’ imagination exercise to help them think about the changes over time. Finally, prompt them to identify and articulate the differences they have learned about. This will help them understand the concept of change over time and the factors that influence these changes.

Understanding ‘Then and Now’: Home and School – ‘Then’ means the past – Long ago, before you were born – ‘Now’ is the present time – Today, the time we are living in – Comparing ‘then’ and ‘now’ – How were homes and schools different in the past? – Learning from the past and present – We discover changes and how they affect us | This slide introduces the concept of ‘Then and Now’ to first graders, helping them understand the difference between the past and the present. Start by explaining that ‘then’ refers to a time before they were born, which could include when their parents or grandparents were children. ‘Now’ refers to the current day. Encourage students to think about their daily lives and how they might differ from the lives of children in the past. Discuss how comparing ‘then’ and ‘now’ can teach us valuable lessons about how homes, schools, and daily activities have changed over time. Use simple examples like transportation, communication, or school materials to illustrate these changes.

Homes Then: A Look Back in Time – Homes long ago: one big room – Imagine living in a house with just one room for everything! – Materials: wood, bricks, mud – People used what was around them to build their homes. – Viewing old home pictures – We’ll see how different they looked compared to our houses now. | This slide aims to introduce first-grade students to the concept of homes in the past, emphasizing the simplicity and resourcefulness of early construction. Start by discussing the idea of living in a single room and how families shared space. Explain the materials used to build homes and how they were chosen based on availability and climate. Show pictures of old homes to give a visual understanding and ask the students to compare with their own homes, noting the differences and similarities. This will help them appreciate the advancements in housing and understand how people adapted to their environment using the resources available to them.

Homes Now vs. Then – Modern homes have many rooms – Each room has a special purpose – Built with materials like concrete – Concrete is strong for building – Glass is common in today’s homes – Glass windows let in light – Spot the differences from old homes | This slide aims to help first graders understand the evolution of homes from the past to the present. Start by explaining that modern homes are designed with multiple rooms, each serving a different function such as sleeping, eating, and playing. Discuss how materials like concrete and glass are commonly used in construction today because they are durable and let in light. Encourage students to think about the homes they live in and how they might be different from homes long ago. Ask them to observe their own homes and identify materials and design features that represent modern living. This will help them grasp the concept of change over time in a tangible way.

Schools Long Ago – One-room schoolhouses – All students shared one room regardless of age – Mixed-age learning – Older students often helped teach the younger ones – Chalkboards instead of whiteboards – Teachers wrote lessons on chalkboards – Limited number of books – Students had to share books because there were not many | This slide aims to give students a glimpse into what schools were like in the past. Emphasize the differences in the physical environment, such as the one-room schoolhouse where all children, regardless of age, learned together. Highlight the use of chalkboards for writing and the scarcity of books, which made learning quite different from today. Encourage students to imagine what it would be like to learn in such a setting and to appreciate the resources they have available now. Discuss how older students would sometimes help the younger ones, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.

Schools Now vs. Then – Modern schools have many rooms – Each grade has its own space to learn – Technology is in today’s classrooms – Computers and projectors help us study – Our classroom vs. old schoolhouses – Think about the desks, board, and lights | This slide aims to help first-grade students compare and contrast modern-day schools with those from the past. Emphasize the structure of contemporary schools, with separate classrooms for each grade, allowing for a more organized and grade-specific learning environment. Highlight the role of technology, such as computers and projectors, which are now integral to the educational experience. Encourage students to observe their own classroom and think about how it differs from old schoolhouses, considering aspects like furniture, lighting, and teaching tools. This will help them appreciate the advancements in education and how they contribute to their daily learning experience.

Daily Life: Then and Now – Past daily activities – Cooking over fires – People used wood fires for cooking – Handwashing clothes – Scrubbing clothes in water without machines – Modern appliances – Stoves and washing machines make work easier | This slide aims to compare and contrast daily life activities from the past to the present, specifically focusing on cooking and washing clothes. In the past, people cooked over open fires, which required gathering wood and starting a fire each time they cooked. They also washed clothes by hand, which was time-consuming and required a lot of physical effort. Today, we have modern appliances like stoves, which allow us to cook with the turn of a knob, and washing machines that clean our clothes with the push of a button. This evolution in household technology has made daily tasks much easier and quicker. Encourage students to think about how these changes have improved our lives and to discuss other modern appliances they use at home.

Class Activity: Then and Now Collage – Create a ‘Then and Now’ collage – Choose pictures or draw past and present – Use magazines or your own drawings – Focus on homes and schools – Look for old and new styles of buildings – Share with the class – Tell us the story of your collage | This activity is designed to help first graders understand the concept of change over time, specifically relating to homes and schools. Provide a variety of magazines and drawing materials for students to choose from. Assist them in finding and selecting images that represent homes and schools from the past and the present. Encourage creativity and storytelling as they share their collages. Possible activities: 1) Comparing old and new school objects, 2) Drawing their own home and imagining it in the past, 3) Creating a timeline with pictures of schools from different eras, 4) Discussing how learning has changed with technology, 5) Sharing stories from relatives about their school days.