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Past and Present Worksheets for Kindergarten

12 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Then and now poster, matching, long ago or now sorts, school and home long ago read-alouds, growing up in order and a grown-up interview, with keys.

Download the past and present worksheets

Then and now poster and matching

A then and now poster for the wall, plus a matching page and its cut and paste twin that pair each old way with the new way that does the same job.

  • Preview of the printable “Then and now matching” worksheet: matching things people used long ago to the things we use for the same job todayView all 2 pages

    Then and now matching

    Matching things people used long ago to the things we use for the same job today

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages332 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Then and now cut and paste” worksheet: matching things people used long ago to the things we use for the same job today (cut and paste)View all 2 pages

    Then and now cut and paste

    Matching things people used long ago to the things we use for the same job today (cut and paste)

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages359 KB

Long ago or now sorts

Sort pictures into long ago and now, with a pencil-only page and a cut and paste page, then circle the toys a child long ago could play with.

School and home long ago

Short read-alouds about a one-room school and family life long ago, each with picture questions to circle.

  • Preview of the printable “School long ago Read-Aloud” worksheet: listening to a story about school long ago and comparing it with school todayView all 2 pages

    School long ago Read-Aloud

    Listening to a story about school long ago and comparing it with school today

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages377 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Home long ago Read-Aloud” worksheet: listening to a story about home life long ago and comparing it with home life todayView all 2 pages

    Home long ago Read-Aloud

    Listening to a story about home life long ago and comparing it with home life today

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages369 KB

My past and present

Children compare their own past and present, put the stages of growing up in order (two ways) and interview a grown-up about long ago.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these past and present worksheets

Kindergartners are just starting to understand that the world was different before they were born. Past and present worksheets give them a simple way in: look at how people did an everyday job long ago, then look at how we do the same job now. A candle and a light bulb both give light. A horse and a car both get people around.

Begin with the then and now poster and talk through each row. Then children practice with a draw-a-line matching page and a cut and paste page that pair each old way with its new way. The long ago or now sort asks them to decide on their own, with a pencil-only version and a cut and paste version. Read-alouds about school long ago and home long ago add a little more detail, with picture questions children answer by circling.

Children also look at change in their own lives. They draw themselves as a baby and now, put the stages of growing up in order, and take an interview page home to ask a parent or grandparent what life was like when they were little. Every page with one right answer has an answer key on page 2.

Standards

  • C3 D2.His.2.K-2Compare life in the past to life today.
  • C3 D2.His.1.K-2Create a chronological sequence of multiple events.
  • C3 D2.His.3.K-2Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.3Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.5.ASort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

How to use them

  1. Hang the then and now poster and talk about one row a day. Ask, "What job does this do? How is the new way easier?"
  2. Use the matching page as a quick check, or the cut and paste page for a hands-on center. Both have the same pairs.
  3. Read the read-aloud passages to the class, then read each question while children circle their answer.
  4. Send the Ask a Grown-Up page home. Share the answers in class and compare: who walked to school, who rode a bus?
  5. Pair the growing up pages with baby photos if families are happy to send them in.

Teaching tips

  • "Long ago" is a hard idea at five. Anchor it to people children know: "when Grandma was little" and "before Grandma was born."
  • Some long-ago things are still used today. People still light candles and ride horses. The question is what people used for the job back then.
  • Pre-readers work from the pictures. The short words under each picture are for the adult to read aloud.
  • Use the words then, now, long ago, past and present often, so children hear them in many settings.
  • On the writing lines, children trace the dotted starter and then finish the sentence with their own words or a drawing label.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What do kindergartners learn about past and present?

They learn that life long ago was different from life today, and that some things stay the same. They compare everyday things, like light, travel, school and toys, and they notice how they themselves have changed since they were babies.

How do you explain then and now to kindergarten?

Pick one everyday job, like lighting a room at night. Show how people did it long ago with a candle and how we do it now with a light bulb. Ask what is the same and what is different. The then and now poster has six of these pairs.

Are there answer keys?

Yes. Every page with one right answer, including the matching, sorts, read-aloud questions and growing up pages, has an answer key on page 2 of the PDF.