Timeline

In my opinion, a fantastic way of introducing History in the class in the Social Science Area is by bringing their own personal history to the class. It is a way of raising awareness in the students about what the concept of time and history really implies. We usually do it in two different ways and through two different activities.

In the first activity the kids will have to design, complete and decorate their own personal time line. They have to think about their own past, and about the most important events that have happened throughout this (short) period of time. Then they will post these ideas on a poster and explain them marking the events on the timeline.

The second activity is the creation of a poster or display about an old loved person in their family, which is usually a grandfather or grandmother. This way they can contrast the differences between two periods of time, about the characteristics that each period have and the differences in education, culture, food and even politics through history.

It is a fantastic way for our students to understand how life has changed in the last 50/60 years in Spain and the perfect way to introduce concepts such as: lifespan, recent history, cultural differences, etc.

Lourdes Santamaría