After reading books about changes in people’s lives, students will discuss some changes (causes) and the effects of those changes. The class will create a Cause and Effect chart to list some effects of various changes (moving to a new home, moving to a new school, getting a new sibling, losing a pet, etc). Higher-level students will then take the class Cause and Effect chart and expound upon it, adding new causes and their effects, but also thinking more deeply to find other effects that were not thought of in the whole-class lesson for causes already listed. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

In this lesson, students will understand that change occurs over time and has an impact on individuals. Students will be able to define change. They will identify changes in themselves and others. They will identify life changing events and how they affect their lifestyle. They will identify the characteristics of each season and identify the way each season influences the way people live, work, dress, and play.

Students will discuss and learn about how to cope with some of the common changes that take place in families. Teachers should use use the "Family Changes" template as a springborad to create their own grade level appropriate questions about family changes (a new sibling, a new job, a new house, a new school, etc.).

This video explains that it takes time for hearts to heal and that talking about their feelings and sharing happy moments helps families get through difficult times, such as the death of a loved one.

The "I Grow" activities in this lesson will help students understand the abstract concept of time passing. Students will listen as the book When I Was Little by Jamie Lee Curtis is read aloud. They will then write and illustrate a book about themselves using a predictable pattern of text such as, "When I was little, I ____________. Now I ____________."

This chapter introduces students to history by exploring the ideas of past, present, and future. Students learn about timelines and eventually construct their own timeline of important events in their lives. Through it all they learn about how people learn about the past.

In this lesson, students will explain that we can look at how things are similar and different at the same time. Students will orally explain things that are similar and different by comparing and contrasting examples that are similar and different in the class. Students will chart things that are similar and different between long ago and today.

For this lesson, students discuss what life events bring change into their home and how family meets their needs and wants.

This inquiry leads students through an investigation of their families as a way to begin understanding the concepts of past and present. By answering the compelling question "What do family stories tell us about the past?" students learn about change over time. Through the use of family artifacts (e.g., photographs, marriage licenses, family trees, keepsakes), students learn that such items can reveal information about how life in the past differs from life in the present and how their families have changed over time.