Six event cards, mixed up, go onto a blank timeline from 1775 to 1795 on this 5th grade social studies worksheet. The events run from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to the Bill of Rights in 1791, with the Articles of Confederation in 1781, the Constitution written in 1787 and ratified in 1788, and James Madison's amendments in 1789. Part 2 has four questions, two of them subtraction. The 3-page file ends with an answer key.
“Place historical events in order on a timeline with an even scale.”
Part 1 asks students to order six events between 1776 and 1791 on an axis marked every year.
“Work out how many years passed between two events.”
Questions 1 and 3 subtract 1776 and 1787 from 1791.
Six dated event cards and a timeline with six empty boxes joined to the axis by lines. Students write each date and event into a box in order from earliest to latest.
Four questions with writing lines. Two ask for the years between events, one asks whether the Constitution or the Bill of Rights came first, and one asks what happened in 1789.
The six events in order, the 15 and 4 year gaps with the subtraction shown, and short answers for the other two questions.
Read the scale
Show students that each small tick is one year before they start. The boxes for 1787, 1788 and 1789 sit close together, so the ticks stop mix-ups.
Cut and sort
Print a spare copy and let students cut up the cards to sort on the desk before they write. It makes the 1787 to 1789 group easier to place.
Constitution dates
Ask which of the 1787, 1788 and 1789 events happened to the Constitution itself and which came after it.
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