History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

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.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Changes within living memory

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• 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.

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.

What to look for

Provide students with two simple drawings: one of a child fetching water from a well, and another of a child using a modern tap. Ask them to write one sentence comparing the two tasks and one sentence explaining why the task changed.

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

Activity 02

• 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.

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.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you have to help your family before school. What is one job you do now? What is one job a child might have done 100 years ago?' Encourage them to use vocabulary like 'chore' and 'appliance' in their answers.

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

Activity 03

• 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.

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.

What to look for

Show images of old toys (e.g., hoop and stick, spinning top) and modern toys (e.g., tablet, action figure). Ask students to point to the toys they think children played with a long time ago and explain one way playing then was different from playing now.

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

Activity 04

• 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.

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.

What to look for

Provide students with two simple drawings: one of a child fetching water from a well, and another of a child using a modern tap. Ask them to write one sentence comparing the two tasks and one sentence explaining why the task changed.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

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.

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.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

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

  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.

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

  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.

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

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

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play