Tick Tock Timeline

Name: Grace Johnson

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Time Allotted: 45 minutes (Can be split)

Subject: Social Studies

Materials Required:
White Board access
White Board Markers
Inquiry Event Cards (2 per student)
Masking Tape
String
Start sign
End sign
Giant Timeline Images
Giant Timeline Rubric
White paper (1 per student)
Colored Pencils/Markers
Students Pencils
My Life Timeline Rubric
White Board
Projector
Tape/Glue sticks (accessible for each student)
Scissors (1 per student)
Michigan Content Expectations:
K-H2.0.2: Create a timeline using events from their own lives (e.g., birth, crawling, walking,
loss of first tooth, first day of school).
Objectives:
1. TLW Create a giant timeline using events from the book The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss by
ordering pictures that represent events on a giant timeline (string) during the class period.
2. TLW Create a timeline using events from the learners own life by earning 4 out of 5
proficiency points based on a rubric through the creation of a graffiti poster by the end of the
class period.

Assessment:
Informal Formative: Throughout the lesson, the teacher will be constantly making observations
and asking questions on the information that the lesson pertains to. During the Inquiry and CGI
activities and discussion, the teacher will be able to interact with the students and cultivate
excellent conversation within the classroom.
Data: Mental data to help within teaching
Formal Formative: GIANT TIMELINE: While learning about timelines, the students will apply
their knowledge to the book The Cat in the Hat by demonstrating a Giant Timeline. The class
will be given pictures of items that the Cat added during the story, and they will need to stand in
order on a piece of string. The teacher will check the rubric for the activity to make sure the class
has the events in the correct order. This serves as an example for them and will help the students
to remember how to create timelines. There is no grade that comes from this activity, and it is for
the students and teachers use to monitor progress for the final objective.
Data: Evaluation rubric of activity. Who is struggling? Has the class understood the basic idea of
timelines?
Formal Interim: MY LIFE TIMELINE: As the interim assessment for this lesson, the students
will be creating a timeline of events from their own lives. The students will brainstorm ideas for
their timeline and then display their timeline in a combination of picture and phrase format. The
timelines will be graded based on a One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish rubric. There are 5
possible points that can be received on the timeline. The students receive a point for correctly
identifying the Start, End, and 3 events that have happened so far in their life. Earning 5 out of 5
points is the equivalent to Three Fish and should be marked as Mastery in the teachers
book. Earning 4 out of 5 points is the equivalent to Two Fish and should be marked as
Proficient in the teachers book. Earning 3 or fewer out of 5 points is the equivalent to One
Fish and should be marked as Needs Improvement in the teachers book.
Data: Timelines that reflect the students knowledge of what a timeline is and how it is set up.
Does my class understand the basics of timelines?
What Now?
If the majority of the students in the class have not grasped this concept, a lesson to re-teach
and/or reinforce the concept will occur within the next few days. If the majority of the students in
the class do understand the concept of timelines at a proficient level, then the lesson will not be
re-visited as a whole class. The concept will be brought back up during rotation stations the
following day in homogenous groups based on performance on this activity. Go back over what
timelines are and have the students work with cut-outs of pictures from The Cat in the Hat which
were used the day before.

Instructional Procedure:
1

Anticipatory Set:

3 minutes

Inquiry: Next, hand each student a pair of Event Cards. Let them know that one of them
is the beginning, and one is the end. Do not decide which is which for them. The students are
to think about which is the start, end, and what events probably took place in between. After
about 30 seconds, have the students pair up and talk about what they think and why they
think so. After they have discussed this, it is time to have a class discussion. CGI: Open up a
discussion about what the students chose. When a student tells you what they think, ask them
why they came to that conclusion. There is no right or wrong answer. Ask more questions
about their decision that explores all possibilities.
2

State Purpose and Objective of Lesson:

1 minute

Tell the class that today they will learn about timelines. They will be using the book
The Cat in the Hat to learn more about how timelines work. Let them know that it is
important to understand timelines because everyones life can be organized in a timeline.
Their goal for the lesson will be to make their own timelines in the end.
3

Instruction:
a

Direct Interactive Instruction:

10 minutes
To begin, the teacher will explain the basics of what a timeline is. Explain
that timelines go from left to right. Also, they can be explained by saying the Start
is on the left side, and the End is on the right side. Have a line drawn on the board
and demonstrate what this means. Tell the students that people use timelines to
explain the order that events happen in. Explain that we can make timelines for many
different people and events that happen. Read The Cat in the Hat to the students.
Have them sit on the carpet during the story so that they can see the book. At the
beginning, do a Picture Walk [1.] with the book. First, the teacher will use different
phrases and questions to prompt my students when they are looking at the pages. The
teacher will use phrases such as, What is happening on this page?, What do you
think might happen?, and Do you notice anything different? There will be specific
illustrations that the teacher has in mind when going through the book that will
benefit the discussion about timelines later on. During the Picture Walk, the teacher
should be excited and stimulate thinking with the observations mentioned. The
teacher will then read the book through once (or twice) to the students.

b Guided Practice:

10 minutes

Tell the students they are going to practice creating a timeline from the story The
Cat in the Hat. Place your long piece of string on the floor. Tape either end down to
keep it from moving. Then tape signs that say Start and End on their respective
ends of the string. Hand a picture of an object that the Cat from the story added to his
balancing act to each student. Tell the students that their job is to figure out the order
in which they need to stand on the string for the objects to be in order. Show pictures
from the book that signify a new objet being added and allow the students to respond
by standing on the line when their object is spotted. To assess whether or not the
students understand the basics of timelines, check your rubric at the end of this
activity and ask the students where timelines begin, end, and which direction they go.
Once this has been done, have a timeline for a different Dr. Seuss book projected
up on the board. Ask the students to look at the two different timelines, and think
about how they are similar and different. Use a Word Web [2.] for both of the books.
For each book, write the title in the middle, and then write events and describing
words about the story around the outside of the titles. Once the webs have been
completed, ask students to raise their hands and explain the similarities and
differences that they see in the two timelines. Write these down on the board and/or
circle them on the word webs so the students can see the process. After having a short
discussion about the webs, have everyone return to their seats.
c. Modeling:
4 minutes
Once the students are back at their seats, tell them that they get to create a
timeline of events from their own lives. Hold up a Cube template [3.]. Explain that
each student will receive one eventually. Tell the students that they will use the cube
to write and/or draw notes about events that they would want to put on their own
timelines. Demonstrate this by writing and drawing simple pictures on different
squares in the cube of a baby (birth), college, and being a teacher. Show the students
how to create the cube, and then explain that they will be creating a graffiti timeline
poster after their cube is complete. Demonstrate this by drawing a timeline on the
board. Mark the ends as Start and End. Then draw or write in 3 events from life
such as birth, college, and being a teacher. Explain to the students that they will be
reminded of each step once they complete the different pieces

d. Independent Practice:

15 minutes

Hand out the cube templates to the students. Have them fill out the
templates with their different life events. When they are done with the template,
show them how to cut out the template and glue/tape it together to form the cube.
Next, prompt them to choose at least three events to use on their graffiti piece.

Hand each student a sheet of white paper for the Graffiti poster [4.]. Have
colored pencils/markers out for their use as well. Tell the class that they are going to
make their own timelines as a graffiti poster. Their directions are to first draw a
timeline with the words Start and End in the right places. Then, tell them to use
their cubes with the events they already thought of. Make sure they know it has to be
something that has already happened. Tell them that after they think about it for a
little while, they need to either draw OR write them on the timeline in order.
Encourage them to use a lot of different pictures and to fill the space that they have.
Allow them to get up and move around to another table if they wish. They are to hand
in their graffiti timelines when they are finished.
4

Differentiated Consideration
Struggle to complete activity/assessments: If a student is struggling to understand and
complete their work, make a point to give them further instruction while the students
are doing independent work.
Still not proficient near end of lesson: If a student is still nowhere near proficiency at
the end of the lesson, you will need to give them more detailed instruction and place
them in a group that will dive deeper into the concept during rotations stations. This
way, you can address the issues with a group of students who need extra practice.
Multiple Modes or Multiple Intelligences:
-Visual Learners: There are many visual aspects to this lesson. One of the major
benefits for visual learners is the option to draw pictures and use the Cube during the
lesson.
-Tactile Learners: The timeline and cube strategies are placed in the lesson to benefit
the tactile learners in the classroom. Make sure to allow them to use these pieces to
enhance their learning.
-Kinesthetic Learners: Allow the kinesthetic learners to use independent practice to
their benefit. Give them the option to take a lap around the room before they find
their seat between parts of the lesson. Also, they are allowed to stand/sit wherever
they want during independent practice.
-Interpersonal: Emphasize the group time at the beginning of the lesson in order to
allow interpersonal students to have conversations with one another. This way, they
will get the chance to say things that they may not be able to say in the group
discussion.

Closure:
2 minutes
To close, ask students to think about the school day, and what is left for them to
finish. At that point, ask the students to explain what is next on their school day timeline.
Reference the Daily Schedule as needed. For fun, ask a student what their timeline is for a
typical Saturday or Sunday.
6

References:

Fenster, J. (2011, December 9). One Fish, Two Fish, Old Fish, New Fish? [Image]. Retrieved
from http://ctstatepolitics.blogspot.com/2011/12/one-fish-two-fish-old-fish-newfish.html.