In this paper we describe the action research projects of two second-grade teachers. Using the state-mandated content on famous Americans, the teacher/researchers developed foundational levels of historical thinking in their second grade students. To develop temporal understanding, the first teacher employed a time line of visual images to place the historical figures in their social context. The second teacher used multiple storybook accounts of these famous Americans to lay the foundations for further investigations in historical inquiry. We suggest that at the second grade level both the concepts of narrative and historical empathy are in the process of development and that a curriculum centered on the transmission of historical content can also develop these ideas. (Contains 2 footnotes.)