History: sources, timelines, and changing neighborhoods (grade 2) · lesson

Primary and secondary sources

An old letter and a new book

💡 A primary source was made by someone there; a secondary source came later.

A primary source was made at the time by someone who was there. Diaries, letters, and photos are primary sources.

A secondary source was made later by someone who was not there. A new book about the past is secondary.

A source tells about its own time. An old letter can tell what Grandma did that summer.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask two questions. When was it made? Was the maker there? A photo from 1903 was made then. So it is primary.

🏡 Try it at home

Look at a report card or photo from a grown-up's childhood. Talk about why it is a primary source.

School, library, park, bike path

💡 A timeline puts events in order, with the oldest on the left.

A timeline is a line with dates. The oldest events are on the left.

To put events in order, look at the years. The smallest year goes first.

To find how many years passed, count up from the first year.

🧠 How to think about it

Mia was born in 2017. She started school in 2022. Count up: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022. That is 5 years.

🏡 Try it at home

Make a family timeline with five events. Put the years on it from left to right.

Then and now on Main Street

💡 Comparing then and now shows what changed and what stayed the same.

Long ago, people rode horses on Main Street. Now they drive cars. That is a change.

Some things stay the same. Kids still go to school.

Numbers show change too. A street with 3 houses that now has 30 has many more people.

🧠 How to think about it

Look at two times. List what is different. Then list what is the same. The word "still" means it did not change.

🏡 Try it at home

Ask a grown-up how your town looked when they were a kid. Find one change and one thing that stayed the same.

Foods and a stock show

💡 People who move to a community bring foods and traditions that change it.

When new families move to a town, they bring foods and traditions. The town gets more kinds of food.

Towns have events too. Each January, Denver holds the National Western Stock Show.

"Stock" means farm animals like cattle. The show has animals and a rodeo.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask: what did people bring? Then ask: how is the town different now? New foods mean more choices for all.

🏡 Try it at home

Cook or taste a food from a culture that is new to you. Talk about where it comes from.