History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Clothing and Fashion Through Time

Active learning helps Year 1 pupils grasp time-based change by letting them handle real or replica clothing and images. Moving clothes, sorting them, and role-playing with dolls makes abstract ideas about the past feel concrete and memorable for young learners.

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

• 25–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Pairs

Sorting Task: Old Clothes vs New

Gather images or fabric samples of past and present children's clothes. In pairs, pupils sort items into 'long ago' and 'now' piles, then label differences like material or style. Groups share one finding with the class.

What do you notice about the clothes children wore in the past compared to what you wear?

Facilitation Tip

During the Sorting Task, give each pair a mix of real or replica clothes and ask them to place them on two labelled sheets: ‘Long Ago’ and ‘Today’ before discussing their choices.

What to look for

Provide students with two pictures: one of a child in early 1900s clothing and one of a child in modern clothing. Ask them to draw one line connecting a clothing item from the past to a similar item today, and write one word describing a difference between the outfits.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 40 min · Small Groups

Timeline Walk: Fashion Changes

Create a floor timeline with decade markers and clothes pictures from 1920s to now. Small groups walk it, stopping to describe changes and add sticky notes with their own clothes. End with a class vote on biggest change.

How are the clothes children wore long ago different from your clothes today?

Facilitation Tip

For the Timeline Walk, lay out images on the floor in order and have pupils step along it while you narrate key changes in one sentence per decade.

What to look for

Hold up a picture of a historical garment (e.g., a heavy wool coat from the 1920s). Ask students to give a thumbs up if they think this is a 'long ago' item and a thumbs down if it looks like something worn 'today'. Follow up by asking why.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 35 min · Small Groups

Doll Dress-Up: Era Relay

Set out dolls with era-specific outfits in baskets. In small groups, pupils race to dress dolls correctly for a decade, using picture clues, then parade and explain choices to the class.

Why do you think clothes have changed over time?

Facilitation Tip

In the Doll Dress-Up relay, set a timer of 60 seconds per era and rotate groups so every child handles multiple garments and styles.

What to look for

Show students a collection of clothing items or pictures from different decades. Ask: 'What do you notice about these clothes? How are they different from what you wear to school? Why do you think these changes happened?' Encourage them to use new vocabulary like 'material' and 'style'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 25 min · Individual

Family Fashion Hunt: Photo Share

Pupils bring or draw family photos of old clothes. Individually sort into a personal timeline, then in pairs discuss changes. Compile into a class display book.

What do you notice about the clothes children wore in the past compared to what you wear?

Facilitation Tip

During the Family Fashion Hunt, model how to ask family members about one item and where it came from, then display photos on a class washing line to share findings.

What to look for

Provide students with two pictures: one of a child in early 1900s clothing and one of a child in modern clothing. Ask them to draw one line connecting a clothing item from the past to a similar item today, and write one word describing a difference between the outfits.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with a short shared reading of a story about a child from 1910 to set the scene. Avoid long lectures; instead, use artefacts and images to anchor discussion. Research suggests young children learn time best through concrete, sensory experiences rather than abstract timelines alone. Keep language simple and repetitive, pairing each clothing item with one clear reason for change.

Pupils will confidently compare past and present clothing, explaining simple reasons for change using words like ‘material’ and ‘style’. They will show curiosity about differences and connect changes to real-life events such as technology and war.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Sorting Task, watch for pupils who group all old clothes together and assume they looked the same every day.

  Prompt them to look closely at the labels on replica dresses or shirts for ‘Sunday best’ or ‘school wear’ to see variety by occasion, then ask them to re-sort with these labels in mind.

• During the tactile fabric station, some pupils may say all old clothes felt scratchy or dull.

  Have them sort swatches into three piles: ‘soft’, ‘medium’, ‘rough’, then share findings to discover that cottons and silks could be very smooth even long ago.

• During the Timeline Walk, some pupils may claim clothes only changed because people became bored.

  Pause at the 1940s and point to war-time fabric rationing posters, then ask them to suggest other reasons and record ideas on sticky notes for later discussion.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation