All Activities
History

Then and Now

Overview

Children compare pictures or descriptions of daily life in the past with their own lives today, identifying what has changed.

Learning Objective
Children understand that daily life has changed over time by comparing how people lived in the past with how they live today.

Resources needed

  • Pictures of old and modern versions of the same thing — or teacher descriptions

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Show or describe how people cooked food long ago — open fire, no electricity.
  2. 2 Ask: how do people cook today? What is different?
  3. 3 Repeat with transport: walking and animals then, cars and bicycles now.
  4. 4 Repeat with one more example: communication, clothing, or school.
  5. 5 Ask: which way of doing things do you prefer? Why?
  6. 6 Ask: was life harder or easier in the past? Is that a fair question?
  7. 7 Draw one thing from the past and one from today side by side.

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Focus on one theme only — food, transport, or homes.
  • Bring in an object used in the past and compare it to a modern version.
  • Ask a grandparent to describe daily life when they were a child.
More information

Teach: then, now, before, today, changed, same, different, long ago. The side-by-side drawing makes abstract time concepts visual and concrete.

Use one comparison only for very young children. The concept of change matters more than the number of examples.

Can children name one way daily life has changed? Do they understand that people in the past were real people, not cartoon characters?

No pictures needed — teacher descriptions work equally well. Objects from around the classroom can represent then and now.

Children often think the past was black and white because of old photographs. Clarify that colour existed — only the cameras were different.

Then and now comparisons are the most intuitive entry point into historical change for young children. They make abstract chronological concepts tangible through everyday life.

Activity details
Early Years Easy 15–20 minutes 5 minutes prep Whole Class, Small Group Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Change Over Time Comparison Daily Life