Engage your Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4 students with this comprehensive Then and Now History Activities Pack, perfect for social studies and HASS lessons exploring changes over time. Aligned with the Australian Curriculum (ACARA) for HASS (Years 2-4) and the US Common Core Standards for Social Studies (Grades 2-4, History and Culture), this hands-on resource helps students compare life in the past with today through interactive activities, real photographs, and digital QR code links.
 
Ideal for units on Changes in Technology or historical studies, this pack offers a variety of no-prep and low-prep activities to spark curiosity and deepen understanding.
 
What's Included:
 
Lesson Plan Ideas and Instructions: Teacher-friendly guides to streamline classroom implementation.
 
Informational Texts: Reading passages with comprehension questions for each topic, tailored for young learners.
 
Research Activities: 5 Ws flashcards and research sheets with updated QR codes linking to topic-specific videos (refreshed December 2024).
 
Visual Resources: Real photographs, clipart flashcards and sorting images for each topic.
 
Interactive Activities: Venn diagram, timeline cut-and-paste, simple cut-and-paste worksheets, and an interactive flipbook.
 
Creative Components: Diorama of life in the past, coloring pages, and an interview-a-family-member activity.
 
Display Materials: Small flashcards for use on classroom walls or in student notebooks.
 
Skills and Topics Covered:
 
Historical Inquiry: Develop research skills using the 5 Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why) to explore past and present.
 
Critical Thinking: Compare and contrast historical and modern technologies using Venn diagrams and timelines.
 
Cultural Awareness: Understand societal changes on the following topics...
Stoves
Classrooms
Music Players
Telephones
Lighting
Transport
Washing Dishes
Writing Tools
 
Why Teachers Love This Resource:
 
Curriculum-Aligned: Meets ACARA HASS and US Common Core standards for Grades 2-4, ensuring seamless integration into lessons.
 
Engaging and Interactive: Captivates students with hands-on activities, real photographs, and QR code-linked videos.
 
Versatile Use: Perfect for social studies, HASS, or technology units, suitable for whole-class, small groups, or individual work.
 
Time-Saving: No-prep and low-prep materials streamline lesson planning for busy educators.
 
What Teachers Are Saying:
 
"Engaging end-of-year activity. It also covered the TEKs very well"
 
"An extremely fun resource for my students! They were asking all kinds of fun questions after seeing the old visuals!"
 
"I love anything that is hands-on and able to color, cut and paste into our notebooks. This way if my students need to go back, they can always return to their notebooks for the information!"
 
How to Use:
 
Students can engage with informational texts, complete research using QR code-linked videos, create timelines, or build a diorama to imagine life in the past.
 
Activities such as the "interview-a-family-member" task and Venn diagrams encourage critical thinking and foster personal connections to history. Perfect for Changes in Technology units, NAIDOC Week, or general history lessons.
 
Save 30% by purchasing the Then and Now Resources Bundle!
 
QR Code Note: All QR codes were updated in December 2024 to ensure functionality. If purchased before this date, please re-download to access the latest links.
 
Digital Option: Prefer a digital format? Click here for the Google Slides version of this pack.