History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Evolution of Home Lighting

Active learning helps Year 1 pupils grasp the evolution of home lighting by letting them handle replicas and experience contrasts firsthand. When children see, touch, and role-play with past and present lights, the differences between dim flickers and instant brightness become memorable and meaningful.

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

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Sorting Activity: Past and Present Lights

Provide pictures and safe replica objects of candles, oil lamps, and electric bulbs. In pairs, pupils sort them into 'past' and 'present' piles, then label one difference for each, such as 'smoky' or 'bright'. Pairs share one finding with the class.

What do you notice about the different ways people lit their homes in the past?

Facilitation Tip

For the Sorting Activity, group pupils in threes and provide one set of image cards per group to encourage talk and peer correction.

What to look for

Provide students with three picture cards: a candle, an oil lamp, and an electric bulb. Ask them to arrange the cards in order from oldest to newest and write one word describing each type of light (e.g., 'dim', 'smoky', 'bright').

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 30 min · Small Groups

Role Play: A Candlelit Evening

In small groups, pupils act out a family evening routine using dim torches or paper flame props for candles. Switch to classroom lights to compare, noting feelings of safety and ease. Groups perform and discuss for the class.

What do you think it was like to live in a house lit only by candles?

Facilitation Tip

In Role Play, hand out simple props like a candle holder, a cloth ‘oil lamp’, and a flashlight so children physically experience the limitations of each.

What to look for

Show students a photograph of a room lit only by candlelight. Ask: 'Imagine you are trying to read a book in this room. What challenges would you face? How is this different from your bedroom at night?'

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Individual

Timeline Builders: Lighting Journey

Pupils draw a simple three-step timeline: candles, oil lamps, electric lights. Add labels and one feeling, like 'scary dark'. Share timelines in a class display wall to spot patterns in changes.

How is lighting your home today different from how it was done long ago?

Facilitation Tip

During Timeline Builders, use large paper strips and sticky notes so groups can rearrange steps while keeping their work visible to the class.

What to look for

Hold up a replica candle and an electric light bulb. Ask students to point to the object that is safer and explain why in one sentence, using vocabulary like 'fire' or 'switch'.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 35 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Light Tests

Set up stations to test replicas: feel heat from candle model, smell oil lamp scent safely, flip electric switch. Small groups rotate, record one word per station on sticky notes, then whole class reviews.

What do you notice about the different ways people lit their homes in the past?

Facilitation Tip

At Station Rotation, position each station near natural light sources so pupils can see the difference in brightness when testing lamps and bulbs.

What to look for

Provide students with three picture cards: a candle, an oil lamp, and an electric bulb. Ask them to arrange the cards in order from oldest to newest and write one word describing each type of light (e.g., 'dim', 'smoky', 'bright').

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Begin with familiar objects like a torch or bedside lamp to anchor learning in children’s everyday experience. Use clear before-and-after contrasts, such as blowing out a candle versus switching on a bulb, to highlight change over time. Avoid over-explaining; instead, let pupils articulate differences through guided observation and short talk tasks.

By the end of these activities, pupils will confidently name early lights like candles and oil lamps and explain why electric lights changed daily life. They will use vocabulary such as ‘wick’, ‘smoky’, ‘switch’, and ‘fire hazard’ when describing safety and convenience.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sorting Activity: Past and Present Lights, watch for pupils who place the electric bulb first because they assume all past lighting was worse.

  Prompt groups to order the images by age and then discuss: ‘Why did people use candles for so long?’ Encourage pupils to point to features like portability and cost on the image cards.

• During Timeline Builders: Lighting Journey, watch for pupils who create a single jump from rushlights to electric bulbs.

  Provide intermediate image cards (e.g., rushlight, tallow candle, early Edison bulb) and ask pupils to place them between known steps, naming each transition with a sticky-note label.

• During Role Play: A Candlelit Evening, watch for pupils who assume electric lights solved every problem instantly.

  After role play, ask pupils to compare handling the replica candle with the electric flashlight, naming two advantages and two drawbacks for each in a quick class tally.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Role Play
• Stations Rotation