Long-ago photographs - introducing the Then-and-Now routine

Greeting + Calendar Circle. Mark today on the timeline. Teacher holds up two photos side by side: 'I have a photo from 1925 and a photo from this year. They are BOTH photos of a school. What do you NOTICE?'

• Hold the 1925 photo and the 2026 photo at arm's length apart
• Pause for student gasps and noticings
• Affirm noticings without labeling correct/incorrect yet

Look at these two photos. The LEFT one is in SEPIA - a brownish color that old photos often have because of how they were made long ago. It shows a school in 1925. The RIGHT one is in COLOR. It shows a school today. Both are SCHOOLS. But many things look DIFFERENT. We will use our NOTICE-WONDER routine from kindergarten and ADD a new step: COMPARE. We'll ask: what is the SAME, what is DIFFERENT?

• See - we COMPARED. Some things changed (clothes, gear). Some things stayed the same (children in groups).

  model Teacher demonstrates: 'I notice 1925 children have very tidy clothes, hair parted carefully, no backpacks. 2026 children have colorful sneakers, backpacks, water bottles. Both show children together in groups.'

  prompt Look at the 1925 school photo (left) vs. 2026 photo (right). NOTICE 3 things about each.
• COMPARE: same purpose (showing the lesson), different tool.

  model Teacher points: '1925 - black slate, chalk. 2026 - flat screen, touch. Both teach the lesson.'

  prompt Now look at the 1925 chalkboard vs the modern interactive whiteboard.

• Name ONE thing that changed between 1925 and today.
• Name ONE thing that stayed the same.

M-1-F-CUL-02-A Photograph

5x7 sepia-tone print of a 1925 one-room schoolhouse interior (public-domain Library of Congress image #LC-USF34-008100-D or similar). 12-15 children of varying ages seated at wooden desks in rows, slate chalkboards visible, kerosene lamp on teacher's desk, woodstove in corner, American flag with 48 stars, no plumbing or electronics visible. Source line printed below: 'Library of Congress, 1925.'

M-1-F-CUL-02-B Photograph

5x7 color photo of the class's actual current classroom from this week - same composition angle as the 1925 photo. Tables (not rows), backpacks on hooks, water bottles, tablets, interactive whiteboard, posters with diverse student art, plants. Caption: 'Our classroom, this week.'

• In pairs, examine the home then/now pair (1920s kitchen vs. 2026 kitchen). Each pair lists 2 changes and 1 sameness.

  scaffold Sentence frame: 'Then ___; now ___'
• Place a sticky-note observation on the MG-3 T-chart in the HOME row

  scaffold Pre-cut sticky notes; teacher-modeled placement

M-1-F-CUL-02-C Chart Physical / non-image

36x48-inch laminated T-chart on easel. LEFT column 'LONG AGO (about 100 years)' over sepia thumbnail. RIGHT column 'TODAY' over color thumbnail. Five row-labels SCHOOL/HOME/TRANSPORT/COMMUNICATION/PLAY. Velcro photo-pocket pairs filled across lessons 4-10.

MG-3 Chart

Mounted on classroom wall at child-eye-height (24-36 inches) with laminated surface for repeated dry-erase use.

• Tell me ONE change between 1925 and today. Tell me ONE thing that stayed the same.

• Add 'then' and 'now' to Word Wall
• Preview: tomorrow we'll walk our neighborhood and find one OLD place

• Tonight, find ONE photo at home (or on a phone) that looks OLD. Bring or describe it tomorrow. What is different from now?