Past, Present, Future, step by step
A timeline puts events in order, oldest on the left.
- THE PASTEverything that has already happened. It cannot change.
- THE PRESENTRight now — this second. It is always moving.
- THE FUTUREWhat has not happened yet. Nobody knows it for certain.
- ORDER MATTERSOn a timeline, left is earlier and right is later. Always.
your own timeline
- born → first steps → started school → today → next birthday
Words that signal time: before, after, then, next, finally, long ago, one day.
Questions about the Past, Present, Future poster
- What’s on the Past, Present, Future poster?
- 4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. A timeline puts events in order, oldest on the left. THE PAST — Everything that has already happened. It cannot change.; THE PRESENT — Right now — this second. It is always moving.; THE FUTURE — What has not happened yet. Nobody knows it for certain.; ORDER MATTERS — On a timeline, left is earlier and right is later. Always.. Words that signal time: before, after, then, next, finally, long ago, one day.
- Who is the Past, Present, Future poster for?
- Past, Present, Future is filed under 2nd Grade (ages 7–8), so it matches what that year asks a child to remember. It is equally useful to an older student revisiting social studies, and to the parent or teacher answering the question at the kitchen table.
- When should you use the Past, Present, Future poster?
- Draw a timeline of their own life. It makes the idea concrete fast. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Past, Present, Future belongs on the wall where that social studies work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Past, Present, Future?
- Landforms, Maps and Globes and My Community sit alongside Past, Present, Future in the 2nd Grade set. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.LandformsMaps and GlobesMy Community
- Is the Past, Present, Future poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Past, Present, Future downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the 2nd Grade set. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Past, Present, Future poster print at?
- Past, Present, Future is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Past, Present, Future loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Past, Present, Future on the same wall.
Browse every 2nd Grade poster, or start from the full catalogue.