Gardens and Outdoor SpacesActivities & Teaching Strategies
Students learn best when they connect abstract ideas to personal experiences. Talking about gardens and outdoor spaces gives them a tangible way to explore changes over time through objects, photos, and family stories they can relate to.
Learning Objectives
- 1Compare the primary uses of gardens and outdoor spaces in the past with their uses today.
- 2Identify specific changes in garden functions over living memory.
- 3Explain why outdoor spaces are important for families, citing examples from both past and present uses.
- 4Classify common garden items and activities as belonging to either a past or present context.
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Class Timeline: Garden Changes
Draw a large timeline on the floor with chalk or paper. Children add drawings or sticky notes showing past uses like vegetable patches and present ones like swings. Discuss and sequence as a group, then photograph for display. End with children sharing one change they notice.
Prepare & details
What were gardens mainly used for in homes a long time ago?
Facilitation Tip: During the Class Timeline, have students place images on a large roll of paper so they can physically see the sequence of changes over time.
Setup: Groups at tables with document sets
Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template
Small Group Photo Comparison
Provide paired photos of old and modern gardens. Groups list similarities and differences on charts, using prompts like 'What do people do here?'. Share findings in a class gallery walk. Extend by drawing their own garden then and now.
Prepare & details
How are gardens today the same as or different from gardens long ago?
Facilitation Tip: For the Small Group Photo Comparison, ask students to hold enlargements side by side to spot details they might miss on a screen.
Setup: Groups at tables with document sets
Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template
Pairs Family Interview
Children prepare 3 questions about grandparents' gardens with sentence starters. Pairs practise interviewing each other first, then call home for real responses. Compile answers into a class book of stories.
Prepare & details
Why do you think having an outdoor space is important for families?
Facilitation Tip: Guide the Pairs Family Interview by giving students a simple prompt sheet with three clear questions to keep the conversation focused.
Setup: Groups at tables with document sets
Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template
Individual Garden Sketch
Each child sketches a past garden based on class learning, labelling uses like 'grow food'. Then sketch a modern one. Pair up to explain changes, focusing on one key difference each.
Prepare & details
What were gardens mainly used for in homes a long time ago?
Facilitation Tip: Encourage students to sketch outdoor spaces from memory first, then add details after discussion to reveal what they already know.
Setup: Groups at tables with document sets
Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template
Teaching This Topic
Teach this topic by grounding it in lived experience. Use family stories as primary sources to humanize history, and let students compare their own outdoor spaces to those of the past. Avoid presenting garden changes as a simple before-and-after story. Instead, highlight continuity: children played then and play now, though in different ways. Research shows students retain more when they actively categorize and sequence, so timelines and photo comparisons work better than lectures for this content.
What to Expect
Students will confidently describe how gardens served different purposes in the past compared to today, using evidence from photos, interviews, and timelines. They will explain similarities and differences with clear examples.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionGardens in the past looked exactly like gardens today.
What to Teach Instead
During Small Group Photo Comparison, watch for students assuming all old photos show flower beds or swings. Redirect them to look for practical items like coal bunkers or washing lines, and ask them to describe what these objects were used for.
Common MisconceptionOutdoor spaces were only for work long ago, never play.
What to Teach Instead
During Pairs Family Interview, watch for students who only ask about chores. Redirect them to include questions about games or toys, and remind them to share examples of play they know about from their own family stories.
Common MisconceptionNothing has changed in how families use gardens.
What to Teach Instead
During Class Timeline: Garden Changes, watch for students placing events too far apart or too close together. Redirect them to sequence photos and discuss what inventions (like tumble dryers) freed up space for play areas.
Assessment Ideas
After showing pictures during the Small Group Photo Comparison, ask students to sort them into two labeled piles: ‘Used a long time ago’ and ‘Used today.’ Listen for their reasoning to assess understanding of past functions.
After the Pairs Family Interview, have students share one question they asked their partner about their grandparent’s garden. Record their questions to assess curiosity and focus on past uses.
During the Individual Garden Sketch activity, collect students’ papers divided into two columns. Assess whether they drew accurate examples for each time period, such as a vegetable patch on the past side and a patio on the today side.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge students to create a short comic strip showing a child’s day in a garden 50 years ago versus today.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters like ‘I think this was from the past because...’ for students to use during the photo comparison.
- Deeper exploration: Ask students to research one garden tool or practice (e.g., drying laundry on a line) and present how it changed family routines.
Key Vocabulary
| Vegetable patch | An area of a garden specifically used for growing vegetables to eat. In the past, this was very common for families to grow their own food. |
| Clothesline | A rope or wire stretched between two points, used for hanging laundry outside to dry. This was a common sight in gardens before tumble dryers. |
| Patio | A paved outdoor area adjoining a house, often used for dining or relaxing. Patios are a more modern feature in many gardens. |
| Living memory | The period of time that a person can remember. For Year 1, this often refers to the time when their grandparents or older relatives were children. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for History
5E Model
The 5E Model structures lessons through five phases (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), guiding students from curiosity to deep understanding through inquiry-based learning.
Unit PlannerThematic Unit
Organize a multi-week unit around a central theme or essential question that cuts across topics, texts, and disciplines, helping students see connections and build deeper understanding.
RubricSingle-Point Rubric
Build a single-point rubric that defines only the "meets standard" level, leaving space for teachers to document what exceeded and what fell short. Simple to create, easy for students to understand.
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