Master Timeline Skills: Put History in Order!

A timeline is a special chart that shows events in the order they happened, from the earliest to the most recent. When you use timeline skills, you can look at history and understand how one event led to another. For example, you can explore Canadian History by placing events like Confederation in 1867 and the formation of Nunavut in 1999 on a timeline.

Timelines help you see the big picture of history. Instead of just memorizing dates, you can understand the story of how things changed over time.

Chronological Order: This means putting events in time order, from the first thing that happened to the last. For example, if a fire started in 1666 and a new building was finished in 1708, you would list the fire first because it happened earlier.

Timeline: A timeline is like a line or chart that shows events arranged from earliest to latest. You can think of it as a map of time that helps you see when things happened.

Decade: A decade is a period of 10 years. For example, the years 2010 to 2020 make up one decade. When historians say "the 1670s," they mean the decade from 1670 to 1679.

Century: A century is a period of 100 years. The years 1900 to 2000 make up one century. Canada's Confederation in 1867 and the Canadian flag in 1965 both happened in the same century.

B.C.E. (Before Common Era): B.C.E. tells you about times long, long ago before the year 1. These dates count backward, so a higher B.C.E. number means it happened earlier in history.

Era: An era is a very long period of time that has special characteristics. The Ice Age is an example of an era. Historians use eras to group big chunks of history together.

Sequence: Sequence means the order in which things happen, one after another. When you tell a story about your day from morning to night, you are using sequence.

Historical Period: A historical period is a chunk of time when similar things were happening. For example, the time when French explorers were arriving in Canada is one historical period.

Time Interval: A time interval is the space or gap between two events. For example, the time between Jacques Cartier's exploration in 1534 and Samuel de Champlain founding Quebec City in 1608 is a time interval of 74 years.

Past, Present, and Future: These three words divide all of time. The past is everything that already happened. The present is what is happening right now. The future is what has not happened yet.

When you arrange events in chronological order, you start with the earliest date and move forward to the most recent. For example, Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River in 1534, Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608, and the Hudson's Bay Company started in 1670 so Cartier's exploration comes first on the timeline.

You can also use timeline skills to understand cause and effect. The Great Fire of London happened in 1666, and because of that fire, Sir Christopher Wren designed new churches in the 1670s. Seeing events in order helps you understand why things happened. This connects to what you will explore in Historical Connections: Causes in Time and Change.

You can practice timeline skills by reading a short passage about historical events and then putting those events in order from earliest to latest. Try it with Canadian history: Confederation (1867), Alberta joining Canada (1905), the Canadian flag (1965), and Nunavut forming (1999). Which came first?

You can also practice identifying time intervals. How many years passed between Confederation in 1867 and Nunavut's formation in 1999? Counting the gap between events helps you understand how much time passed in history. As you build these skills, you will be ready to explore Using Sources to find evidence that supports your timeline.

Before learning timeline skills, you may have already studied Early Communities, which introduced you to how people lived in the past. You also learned about Understanding Maps and Using Geography Tools, which help you understand where historical events happened. Now you can combine your knowledge of place and time to get a fuller picture of history.

Timeline skills connect to many other important topics in social studies. When you study Historical Connections, you use timelines to see how events from the past are linked to each other. In Historical Connections: Causes in Time and Change, you will go deeper into understanding how one event causes another over time.

You will also use timeline skills when you explore Community Stories, because every community has a history that can be placed on a timeline. When you learn about First Peoples and Newcomers, you will use chronological order to understand how Indigenous peoples and newcomers interacted over many centuries. And in Canadian History, timelines help you follow Canada's growth from Confederation to today.

Finally, when you use Using Sources, you will find dates and details that help you build accurate timelines. All of these topics work together to help you become a strong historical thinker.