Purpose
Students will investigate how life has changed—and stayed the same—by exploring a Then and Now Mystery Box and listening to stories from older family members and Neighborhood House Association Senior Center residents. With fourth-grade partners, they will compare work, clothing, manners, stories, games, traditions, schools, and community roles using conversations, pictures, objects, drawings, labels, and sentence frames. Students will practice kind listening, turn-taking, shared decision-making, and changemaker-focused peer feedback as they revise a class Then and Now gallery and rehearse songs and stories. The project culminates in a celebration at the senior center where students perform, share picture cards and gallery work, and reflect on a new fact, an interesting moment, a past-to-present connection, and how they collaborated.
Learning goals
Students will compare life long ago and today—including work, school, clothing, games, traditions, community helpers, and daily routines—using stories, pictures, objects, and interviews. They will ask and answer questions, listen carefully to older family members and Neighborhood House Association Senior Center residents, and describe similarities, differences, and connections through drawings, labels, speech bubbles, and simple sentences. Students will collaborate with fourth-grade partners, practice kind feedback and revision, and reflect on their listening, turn-taking, learning, and contributions. They will apply their learning to create a Then and Now gallery and a revised song-and-story performance that shares family stories and builds connection with senior center residents.
Products
Students will create family-interview picture cards using drawings, labels, and shared captions to compare life long ago with life today. With 4th-grade partners, they will assemble these cards, object observations, and compare-and-contrast speech bubbles into a class Then and Now gallery for families and community visitors. After a gallery walk and kind peer feedback, students will revise one detail for clarity and rehearse songs and short stories. The project will culminate in a Songs, Stories, and Smiles Gathering at the Neighborhood House Association Senior Center, where students perform, share picture cards, and complete a drawing or sentence-frame reflection.
Launch
Begin with a “Then and Now Mystery Box Walk” featuring safe old and new objects, pictures, clothing, and school or community items. Ask, “Did you know some of these things were not invented yet when your grandparents were children? Who is older—your family members or Google?” In mixed groups with fourth-grade partners, students observe, guess each item’s use, and sort it into “long ago,” “today,” or “both,” using kind turn-taking and compare-and-contrast language. Close by recording students’ questions about how life has changed and introducing the question, “How can family stories, pictures, and conversations with seniors help us compare long ago and today?”
Exhibition
Host a “Then and Now Celebration Walk” where kindergarteners guide families, fourth-grade partners, and Neighborhood House Association Senior Center residents through a gallery of drawings, labels, speech bubbles, interview picture cards, and shared captions. At the senior center, students present a short “Songs, Stories, and Smiles” performance and share one comparison between long ago and today. Display photos and early drafts alongside revised work to show the learning process, then invite each student to share a drawing or sentence frame about a new fact, an interesting moment, and how they collaborated kindly.
