Long Ago and Now Compare and Contrast Artifacts Writing Activity

Teach students how to compare and contrast life long ago and now with this engaging social studies and writing resource. Students explore artifacts and inventions from the past and present as they sort, discuss, cut and paste, draw, and write about how objects have changed over time.

This resource is designed for second and third grade students and includes a series of lessons, interactive activities, sorting cards, notebook pages, and scaffolded writing options to help students understand similarities and differences between long-ago artifacts and modern-day inventions.

What’s Included

This Long Ago and Now resource includes:

• Teacher notes about compare and contrast
• Interactive mini-book comparing artifacts from long ago and today
• Cut-and-paste mini-book activities
• Color sort cards
• Black-and-white sort worksheet
• Interactive notebook sort
• Cut-and-paste images and phrases
• Scaffolded writing pages
• Primary line writing pages
• Straight line writing pages
• Options for students to draw or use cut-and-paste images
• “If I Lived Long Ago…” writing sheet

Skills Covered

Students practice important social studies, reading, and writing skills, including:

• Comparing and contrasting
• Identifying similarities and differences
• Understanding long ago and now
• Learning about inventions and artifacts
• Sorting past and present objects
• Using visual evidence
• Building social studies vocabulary
• Writing about historical changes
• Explaining ideas with pictures and words
• Completing scaffolded writing responses

Ways to Use This Resource

Use these compare and contrast activities during:

• Social studies lessons
• Past and present units
• Long ago and now lessons
• Compare and contrast mini lessons
• Interactive notebook activities
• Writing centers
• Whole-group instruction
• Small group review
• Independent practice
• History or community units
• Cross-curricular writing activities

The variety of formats makes it easy to introduce the concept, practice sorting artifacts, and move students into writing about how inventions and everyday objects have changed.

Why Teachers Love It

Teachers love this resource because it combines social studies content with meaningful compare-and-contrast writing practice. The sorting cards and interactive notebook pieces give students hands-on ways to explore past and present artifacts, while the scaffolded writing pages support students as they explain their thinking.

With primary lines, straight lines, drawing options, and cut-and-paste images, this resource offers flexibility for different writing levels and classroom needs.

Standards Connection

This resource is geared toward second and third grade students and aligns with Second Grade California Social Studies Standards. It can also be used in other grades and states as needed for lessons about past and present, inventions, artifacts, and comparing life long ago with life today.

Long Ago and Now: Compare and Contrast Artifacts & Writing Activity is a helpful elementary social studies resource for teaching students how to compare inventions, artifacts, and everyday objects from the past and present. With sort cards, an interactive mini-book, notebook activities, scaffolded writing pages, and cut-and-paste options, this resource is perfect for second grade and third grade lessons on long ago and today, past and present, inventions, artifacts, and compare-and-contrast writing.