Illustration of a person from back in the day talking on one of the first inventions of the phone
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If You Lived 150 Years Ago . . .

You’re about to hear the story of a brave girl who lived 150 years ago. First, imagine what life was like back then.

From the February 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Children will identify ways in which life 150 years ago was different from how it is today.

Lexile: 440L
Featured Skill: Vocabulary, Main Idea,
Vocabulary: suspenders, trestle
Topic: Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two ideas or pieces of information in a text RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meanings of words RI.1.5 Know and use various text features to locate information RI.1.6 Distinguish between information from words and information from images RI.1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas SL.1.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with peers and adults
TEKS Standards
  • Social Studies (15) Science, technology, and society. The student identifies individuals who created or invented new technology and understands how technology affects daily life, past and present. The student is expected to: (A) describe how technology has affected the ways families live; (B) describe how technology has affected communication, transportation, and recreation.

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Underwood Archives, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo

This is a school picture. People didn’t smile for photos back then.

1. You Would Dress Like This

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Suspenders

Back then, girls wore dresses all the time.

Boys wore baggy pants. They used suspenders to hold up their pants.

2. You Would Not Have A Phone

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The first phones looked like this.

The first phones were invented around that time. But people did not have them in their homes yet. 

You would not have email either!

3. You Might Ride In A Big Train

 Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

There were no cars back then. If you wanted to go far and fast, you could take a train.

Sometimes trains went over bridges like this train trestle. 

Lizzie Renaud

What would happen if a train bridge broke? Click here for the true story of a girl’s race to save a train!

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Slideshows (1)
Activities (2)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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Slideshows (1)
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Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus

Nonfiction text features

Vocabulary

suspenders, trestle

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

Whole Group

Pairings and Text Connections

  • In this issue: “Big Read-Aloud: Kate and the Midnight Express”
  • Suggested books: Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K. Wetterer

Before-Reading Resources

 
  • Video: The History of Getting Around (5 minutes) Build background knowledge on transportation.
  • Vocabulary Slideshow (5 minutes) suspenders, trestle

Suggested Reading Focus

Nonfiction text features (20 minutes)
  • Tell students they will be learning about what life was like 150 years ago. Have students make predictions about the types of things they use, wear, or do in daily life today that might have been different in the past. Review the vocabulary slideshow to explore this concept.
  • Walk your students through the nonfiction features of the page. Take a close look at the pictures and ask students to share what they notice.
  • Read the mini article. Pause to check for understanding with each of the bolded vocabulary words.

After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Skills: Key details/critical thinking (15 minutes)

Extension Craftivity

Skills:  Writing (15 minutes)

  • Have students collaborate in small groups to write a short, fictional paragraph from the point of view of someone living 150 years ago. What are some daily objects or activities that would be different (i.e., electricity, transportation, play)? How would they spend their time? What would they wear?

Text-to-Speech