Children's Daily Routines: Past vs. Present

Active learning works well for this topic because children from Year 1 benefit from concrete comparisons between their lives and those of children long ago. Handling real objects, sorting images, and acting out routines make abstract historical changes tangible and memorable.

• Year 1
• History
• 4 activities
• 25 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Compare daily routines of children today with those of children 100 years ago, identifying at least three key differences.
2. Explain how specific inventions, such as the washing machine or telephone, changed children's daily chores.
3. Classify household tasks performed by children in the past as essential or non-essential for survival.
4. Justify a preference for living in the past or present, using at least two specific reasons related to daily life.

Role Play

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

Sorting Cards: Past and Present Routines

Provide picture cards showing activities like scrubbing floors or using tablets. In small groups, children sort cards into 'past' and 'present' piles and justify choices with evidence from class displays. Groups share one surprising difference with the class.

Prepare & details

What jobs do you think children had to do at home a long time ago?

Facilitation Tip: During Sorting Cards, arrange students in small groups so quieter voices are heard when discussing whether tasks belong to the past or present.

Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging

Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Role Play

⏱ 40 min·Pairs

Role Play: Morning Routines

Divide class into pairs to act out a modern morning then switch to a 1920s version using props like aprons and buckets. Pairs perform for the group and note three differences on sticky notes. Conclude with whole-class vote on preferred routine.

Prepare & details

How is your morning today different from a child's morning a hundred years ago?

Facilitation Tip: In Role Play, model one routine first so students see the contrast between modern and historical actions before trying it themselves.

Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging

Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Role Play

⏱ 45 min·Whole Class

Timeline Wall: Daily Changes

As a whole class, build a shared timeline on the wall with drawings of routines from 'now' to '100 years ago'. Children add personal contributions after viewing source images. Discuss how positions show change over time.

Prepare & details

Would you rather have lived in the past or now? Why do you think that?

Facilitation Tip: For the Timeline Wall, use a long rope marked with key dates so students physically walk along it to place their routine cards in order.

Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging

Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Role Play

⏱ 25 min·Individual

Artefact Hunt: Home Chores

Hide replica artefacts like a candle or coal scuttle around the room. Individually, children find one, draw it, and write or say what past chore it links to and the modern equivalent.

Prepare & details

What jobs do you think children had to do at home a long time ago?

Facilitation Tip: When hunting artefacts, provide magnifying glasses to encourage close observation of differences in tool materials and designs.

Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging

Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Teaching This Topic

Start with familiar routines to build confidence before introducing historical contrasts. Use primary sources as evidence, not decoration, to help children see how historians work. Avoid overemphasizing difficulties of the past, as this can lead to unbalanced views; instead, highlight both continuities and changes. Research shows that comparing similar roles (like chores or play) helps children notice subtle differences more effectively than broad generalizations.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like children confidently distinguishing past and present tasks, using evidence to explain changes, and showing curiosity about everyday life differences. They should articulate specific examples from both eras in discussions and written tasks.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Sorting Cards, watch for children grouping ‘school’ only under the present because they assume all past children never attended.

What to Teach Instead

Remind students to look at the dates on old school photos and ask them to notice attendance patterns marked on class registers in the photos.

Common Misconception

During Role Play, listen for children saying, ‘Children in the past had no fun.’

What to Teach Instead

Pause the role play to point out the toys on display and ask students to name one fun activity from history, then one from today.

Common Misconception

During Timeline Wall, watch for students labeling all past routines as ‘harder’ without considering improvements.

What to Teach Instead

Ask students to point to a change on the timeline that made life easier, such as the invention of taps or washing machines.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Sorting Cards, ask students to glue one past task and one present task onto a Venn diagram, writing one word to describe how they are the same and one word for how they are different.

Discussion Prompt

After Role Play, ask students to turn to a partner and describe one job they act out from history and one from today, using the word ‘chore’ in their sentences.

Quick Check

During Artefact Hunt, ask students to hold up an artefact and explain one way it is different from the modern version they use at home, such as a metal bucket versus a plastic jug.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to invent a modern version of a historical toy or chore tool, explaining how it improves on the old version.
• For students who struggle, provide sentence starters on cards such as ‘In the past, children…’ or ‘Today, children…’ to scaffold their comparisons.
• Deeper exploration: Invite a local historian or older community member to share memories of their childhood routines for a firsthand comparison.

Key Vocabulary

Chore	A routine task, especially a household one, that a child might be expected to do.
Appliance	A device or piece of equipment designed to perform a specific task, typically a domestic one, like a washing machine or vacuum cleaner.
Coal scuttle	A container, often metal, used for carrying coal to a fire.
Penny	A small unit of British currency, representing a much larger portion of a family's income a century ago than it does today.