Grades 2–5
Dear Diary: A Day in History
A creative writing template: kids write a diary entry as a historical figure about one important day, with a checklist of facts to include and a sketch.
Social studies worksheet · Historical figures
A Time Traveler Visits Today
A then-and-now thinking page: kids imagine a historical figure visiting today and write what would amaze, confuse or please them, and what they would tell us.
- Grade level
- Grades 2–5
- Time
- About 25 minutes
- Topic
- Historical figures
- Answer key
- Not needed: answers vary
- Kids practice
- Researching people from history, Biography, Cause and effect, Using sources
What kids do
“Imagine a person from history visits your town today. What would surprise them? Fill in the chart.”
Printed on the sheet:
- My time traveler:
- They come from the year:
- What would they think?
- Something from today
- What they would think or say
- The thing that would surprise them most:
- One thing they could teach us:
Teacher tip
Ask what would surprise the person most.
How to use it
- Read a picture book biography aloud before the sheet.
- Model finding facts in a book or a kid-safe website.
- Use finished sheets for a quick gallery walk or a partner share.
Watch for
Kids who copy whole sentences from a book. Teach them to write facts in their own words.
Talk about it
- How is our life different because of them?
- How does this connect to where we live?
Take it further
Hold a wax museum where kids dress up and share facts as their person.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More historical figures worksheets
Grades 2–5
Biography Research Organizer
A one-page biography organizer for any historical figure: dates, a portrait, 3 facts, a challenge they faced and sources.
Grades 2–5
Life Timeline
A 6-stop timeline template for any historical figure, with a year, an event and a little drawing for each stop.
Grades 2–5
Historical Figure Trading Cards
Make two fold-over trading cards for people from history: a portrait on the front and their stats on the back.
Free for teachers
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