Second Grade · History · week 6

Then and now: daily life

Compare daily life today with daily life during a parent's or grandparent's childhood.

Daily life has changed a lot over time. The way people talked to friends, watched shows, traveled, and did schoolwork used to look very different than it does now.

Comparing "then" and "now" helps you see change clearly. Some things changed a lot, like phones. Other things barely changed at all, like eating breakfast before school.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Pick one everyday activity -- getting ready for school, doing homework, having fun after dinner -- and ask a grandparent how THEY did that activity as a kid.
  • Make a simple two-column list together: "Then" on one side, "Now" on the other, for 4-5 activities.
  • Point out that change is not automatically "better" or "worse" -- it is just different, and both then and now had good things about them.
  • Notice together which things have NOT changed much -- that is just as interesting as what has.
Talk about it:
  • What is one big difference between your daily life and your grandparent's?
  • What is one thing that has stayed about the same?
  • Would you rather have grown up then, or now? Why?

Mastery looks like: They can name real, specific differences and similarities between daily life today and daily life in an earlier generation.

Common stumbles: Assuming everything was completely different long ago, or that "now" is automatically better in every way.

Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of History for this learner.
← Back to todayAll coursesYear planner