Social studiesGrade 5ages 10–11
📷 Once and now
An old photograph can trick a child into thinking everything in it is still happening today; this lesson practices sorting what belongs to once from what belongs to now.
Try this lesson freeNo card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreWhat your child learns
- Once = what was. Now = what is today.
- Tools change because people invent new ones, and when a new tool is easier the old one is left behind.
- So a horse cart in a photo tells us it was taken before cars were cheap and common.
- The new does not erase the old. It comes after it, which is why we can order photos by what we see in them.
The mistake most kids make here
Thinking everything in an old photo is happening today.
Try one question
A photo with a horse cart in the street. This is mostly…
A horse cart
- now on every street
- once, before cars everywhere
- only tomorrow
Answer
once, before cars everywhere — That's it. Once cars became cheap, nearly everyone who used a cart moved to them.
How Maya teaches it
Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.
Your child has it when they can: Say what in a photo belongs to once and what to now.
How to help at home
Pull out any old family photo, even one from twenty or thirty years ago, and ask your child what looks different from today: clothes, cars, hairstyles are all easy, visible clues.
Explain that tools and objects change because people invent easier ones, and once a new version is cheaper or simpler, the old one gets left behind, not because the old one stopped existing everywhere at once.
A photo with a horse and cart in the street tells you it was taken before cars became cheap and common, not that horses vanished forever. Say it plainly: the new doesn't erase the old, it just comes after it.
A good sign they've got it: given an old photo, they can point to a detail and explain why it places the photo in the past, rather than assuming everything old is one big blur.
Questions parents ask
- How do I explain once versus now to a ten-year-old?
- Use a real photo with a visible clue, like an old car model or clothing style, and ask what's different from today. A concrete detail sticks better than the abstract idea of past and present.
- Why did people stop using horses and carts?
- Once cars became affordable and widely available, most people who used a cart switched to a car because it was faster and easier, not because carts became impossible to use.
- Can a photo have both old and new details in it?
- Yes, and that's worth noticing together: a photo can show an old building next to a modern car, which is exactly why looking closely at more than one detail matters.
- How does Maya teach this?
- Maya shows a photo detail, like a horse cart in a street, and asks whether it belongs to once or now, so the reasoning behind ordering photos in time gets practiced directly.
No card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreMore Social studies lessons
- A source from beforeGrade 5
- A trade pathGrade 5
- A communityGrade 5
- Mountain valley coastGrade 4
- Precious waterGrade 4
- Hill and valleyGrade 4
- Old and new in a placeGrade 4
- A place name on a mapGrade 4
Sources: Israeli Ministry of Education – Homeland, society and civics curriculum, elementary (in Hebrew)