Grade 2: Social Studies

Time capsule  

 Inspire your child to see themselves as part of history by building a time capsule! Time capsules are a fun way to bring history to life and to think about artifacts, historical evidence, and primary sources.  

Ask your child to collect 5–10 artifacts that represent their life, like a postcard from a family trip, a picture of their bedroom, or a ticket stub from a movie or play. Ask them what major events they have lived through—what artifact could they include to represent each event? Give examples of possible artifacts like a surgical mask representing the Covid-19 pandemic or an article about a recent news story. 

Help your child list their artifacts on paper and write a few sentences explaining why they chose each one. Date the list and find a container for the items. Write directions for when to open the capsule on the outside of the container. Traditional time capsules are buried, but an old shoebox hidden in a closet will also work!  

As you work on this project together, talk with your second grader about what kids from other time periods might have included in their time capsules. What might a kid growing up in the 1980s have included? What about a kid during the Great Depression? Or the Civil Rights Era? Share what you would have included if you were making a time capsule in second grade!