Grade 5 · Social Studies · Lesson 10

Timelines and Eras

A TIMELINE is a long line that helps us picture the past. The OLDEST event sits on the LEFT, the most RECENT event sits on the RIGHT. To save space, historians group big stretches of time into ERAS — chunks of history that share something in common, like the kinds of tools, governments, or technology people used.

What this lesson teaches

1Order historical events on a timeline from oldest to most recent
2Match each major era to its key features and time range
3Use BCE and CE correctly when reading dates
4Explain why historians group long stretches of history into eras

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