Success Comparison

This worksheet helps students in Grades 4 and 5 strengthen historical reasoning, reading comprehension, critical thinking, and classification skills by comparing ideas of “success” in Early America and today. Students read ten statements describing various conceptions of success and classify each as reflecting either historical or modern values, exploring how the American Dream and cultural expectations have evolved over time.

Learning Goals

• Comparing Past and Present Lifestyles (Grades 4-5) – Students identify differences in priorities, goals, and daily life across time periods.
• Understanding Changing Cultural Values – Learners analyze how ideas about success shifted from survival and self-sufficiency to education, technology, and financial stability.
• Reading and Classifying Information – The activity reinforces careful reading, attention to detail, and categorization skills.
• Identifying Patterns Across Time – Students develop critical thinking by recognizing trends and continuities in societal values.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with elementary social studies and ELA standards.
• Engaging Comparison Activity – Classification format encourages active learning and reflection.
• Builds Historical Awareness – Helps students understand how cultural expectations and definitions of success change over time.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Works well for independent practice, small-group discussion, review lessons, or assessment.
• Low-Prep Printable – Ready for classroom or homeschool use with minimal preparation.

This Success Comparison worksheet helps students explore how the American Dream has evolved by analyzing historical and modern perspectives on achievement. By classifying statements and identifying cultural trends, learners strengthen comprehension, critical thinking, and historical literacy while gaining insight into shifting societal values.

This worksheet is part of our The American Dream Worksheets collection.