Daily Tips for Families

Today's Tip for Families

03-18-2023

Create a Time Line to Help Your Child Relate to History

Most children don’t have much sense of history. They often divide time into two basic eras: “Before I Was Born” and “Since I Was Born.” Creating a time line is an activity that can help students see the connections between their own personal history and the history of the country or the world.

To help your child make a time line, unroll a roll of shelf paper along the floor. Cut off a piece of paper about three feet long. Using a ruler, have your child draw a line along the center of the paper from one end to other. Make marks along the line to divide it into equal segments—the same number of segments as years of your child's age.

Next, do some research together to fill in important personal dates, such as the day your child was born, first walked, started school, etc. Write these dates, in chronological order from left to right, above the line. Encourage your child to add photos or drawings to make the time line more meaningful.

Then, below the line, fill in important events in history, also in chronological order from left to right, that have occurred since the birth of your child. Display the finished time line in a special place for all to see.

Brought to you by:

West Point Consolidated School District