My Timeline and Me

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

If you have not already guessed, it is a number line.

Number lines are useful in math when you are trying to find where a number is compared with another number, and it's useful for trying to count.

Let's look again at the number line.

Answer these questions out loud.

• What number comes before 5?
• What number comes after 8?
• What is the largest number on the number line?
• What number is between 7 and 9?
• Starting at 2, how many spaces do you have to move to get to 6?
• What numbers on the number line are less than 3?

Today, you are going to learn about a specific type of number line called a timeline.

• Have you heard of a timeline before?

Timelines are helpful to see a span or length of time. Look at this George Washington Timeline. You can see a straight line with numbers below it, just like the number line above.

Instead of counting from 0-10 like the number line above, this timeline shows a period of time in years and counts from the year 1730 to 1810. This particular timeline is showing the life of George Washington.

On timelines, the date on the left is the oldest, and as it moves to the right, the dates are more recent. So, 1730 — the first date — is when George Washington was born. You will also notice that this timeline, like all timelines, has a title.

• Can you guess where the title is in this timeline?

If you pointed to "George Washington Timeline," then you are correct.

Look at some more timelines.

• Here is an example of an Ancient Egyptian Timeline.
• Here is a 13 Colonies Timeline.

After looking at the timeline examples, tell why you think timelines are helpful.

Then, watch this fun Baby Dragon video.

• Were you able to understand Baby Dragon's life story using the timeline?

Move on to the Got It? section to make a timeline using actual dates!