History: calendars, timelines, and family traditions (grade 1) · lesson

Days, weeks, months, years

A calendar

💡 Days make weeks, weeks make months, and months make a year.

A week has 7 days. They go Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and on to Saturday.

A year has 12 months. January is first. February is next.

On a calendar, days before today are in the past. Days after today are in the future.

🧠 How to think about it

Today is Tuesday. To find yesterday, go back one day. That is Monday. To find tomorrow, go up one day. That is Wednesday.

🏡 Try it at home

Look at a calendar together. Find today. Point to yesterday and tomorrow. Find your birthday month.

Born, school, birthday

💡 Life events go in order, and the earlier year came first.

A life has events in order. First you are born. Then you learn to walk. Later you start school.

Years tell order too. 2019 came before 2021.

A kid born first is older.

🧠 How to think about it

Look at the two years. Which is smaller? 2019 is smaller than 2021. So the kid born in 2019 is older.

🏡 Try it at home

Make a timeline of your child's life on a long strip of paper. Draw being born, first steps, and starting school.

A letter, a book, and Grandpa

💡 Photos and letters from back then show what really happened.

A photo from a birthday party shows what it looked like. It was made that day.

A letter Grandma wrote long ago tells about her life then.

A storybook made now is not from back then. It might guess.

People who lived long ago can tell us what they saw.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask: was it made back then, by someone who was there? A photo from that day was. A new book was not.

🏡 Try it at home

Find an old photo of your family. Ask a grown-up who is in it and when it was taken.

Pancakes, cake, and songs

💡 A tradition is a thing a family does again and again.

A tradition is done again and again. We sing a song on each birthday.

Each family has its own ways. Some eat the same food each New Year.

Families come from many lands. They bring foods and games to share.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask: does it happen again and again? Pancakes each Sunday do. Losing a sock one time does not.

🏡 Try it at home

Talk about one tradition in your family. Draw it. Ask a grown-up where it came from.