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Anachronism is when something does not belong in a group or something that is out of place, specifically when something does not belong with the time. For instance, telephones did not exist during the time of dinosaurs. If you watch a cartoon or a movie about dinosaurs and you see a telephone, then that telephone is out of place because dinosaurs did not have telephones. You can think about it in terms of things that are out of place because either they did not exist at the time, or they are out of place because they are no longer used. An example would be typewriters, or machines where you have to put paper in a machine and then press keys that stamp the letter on the paper. Computers and printers have replaced typewriters, so it is unusual to see someone using a typewriter.

Anachronism can also be events or actions that are out of order or out of place. Events out of order or out of place happen in science fiction a lot, especially in stories about time travel. Imagine if you could go back in time and you traveled to a time before you were even born. If you traveled in time before you were born, then you would be out of place. You would be visiting a time before you even existed. In that situation, you would be the person or thing out of place and out of time.

We see anachronism in movies many times. Anachronisms could come from language that is not right for the setting or the time period. An anachronism might come clothing that might not have existed at the time, or clothing that people might not have actually worn at the time. For instance, if you watch a movie that takes place in the 1700s, the characters in the movies should not be wearing clothes of today. Similarly, they did not have the same buildings and materials we have now. Thinking about what someone in the 1700s might have access to, you shouldn’t see large skyscrapers or concrete roads in a movie that takes places three hundred years ago. Today, we have snap buttons on some of our clothes. Those did not exist three hundred years ago, so if you watch a movie that takes place three hundred years ago, snap buttons on clothing would be out of place.

Think about the Disney movie Brave, which is about a princess in medieval Scotland, which takes place about 1,200 years ago. Even though the movie takes place that far back in time, the characters use metal forks, wear plaid clothing, and play the bagpipes. All of these items did not exist at the time. Therefore, these items are out of place and are anachronisms in the movie.

We also have anachronisms in the present, although we usually don’t think of anachronisms in the present day. One example of something out of place in our time would be a telephone where you have to drag the numbers to dial a phone number. Even phones with cords attached to them are becoming unusual in our society. We usually have cordless phones or wireless phones in our homes.

Anachronism Worksheets

This bundle contains 5 ready-to-use Anachronism worksheets that are perfect to test student knowledge and understanding of Anachronism. You can use these Anachronism worksheets in the classroom with students, or with home schooled children as well.

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Link will appear as Anachronism Examples & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 10, 2017

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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