History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Home Technology: From Radios to Tablets

Active learning works well here because children learn best about change over time when they can touch, move, and talk about real objects. Handling radios, tablets, and photographs makes abstract ideas about technology feel concrete.

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

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

Activity 01

• Mystery Object
• 30 min · Small Groups

Timeline Build: Home Tech Timeline

Provide images of radios, TVs, and tablets. In small groups, pupils sequence them on a class timeline strip, adding labels and drawings of family activities. Discuss changes as a class.

How did families listen to music or stories before televisions and tablets were invented?

Facilitation Tip

During Timeline Build, give each pair a set of labeled images and ask them to agree on the order before gluing down to encourage discussion.

What to look for

Give each student a picture of either a radio or a tablet. Ask them to draw one thing a family might do with that device and write one word to describe it.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Role Play: Family Evenings Then and Now

Pairs act out a 1950s family listening to a radio story, then switch to a modern family using tablets. Switch roles after 5 minutes and share observations on differences.

What do you notice about how families spent time together at home long ago compared to now?

Facilitation Tip

For Role Play, provide simple props like a radio made from cardboard and a tablet cutout to keep focus on gestures and voices rather than elaborate costumes.

What to look for

Show students a picture of a family gathered around a radio. Ask: 'What do you think the family is doing? How is this different from how families might spend time together today with a tablet?'

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

Activity 03

• Mystery Object
• 20 min · Individual

Object Hunt: Spot the Changes

Display photos or models of old and new tech around the room. Pupils work individually to find and note three differences, then share in whole class feedback.

How do you think technology has changed what we do at home?

Facilitation Tip

In Object Hunt, place items in a clear bag so pupils can feel shapes before seeing them, linking texture with familiar devices.

What to look for

Hold up images of different home technologies (radio, TV, tablet). Ask students to give a thumbs up if they think it is older technology and a thumbs down if they think it is newer technology.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Mystery Object
• 35 min · Whole Class

Story Circle: Grandparents' Tech

In a circle, pupils share family stories about old radios or first TVs, prompted by teacher questions. Record key changes on a shared chart.

How did families listen to music or stories before televisions and tablets were invented?

What to look for

Give each student a picture of either a radio or a tablet. Ask them to draw one thing a family might do with that device and write one word to describe it.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic by keeping comparisons concrete and personal. Avoid abstract timelines at first; start with what children know—grandparents’ stories or family photos. Research shows that using household objects as evidence helps children grasp change better than dates alone. Model curiosity by asking ‘How did people use this?’ rather than stating facts.

Successful learning looks like pupils confidently ordering devices on a timeline, describing differences between past and present family routines, and sharing stories from older relatives with clear examples of change.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Timeline Build, watch for pupils assuming all radios were big and clumsy.

  Place images of bulky tabletop radios next to tiny transistor radios and ask pupils to sort them by size before ordering on the timeline.

• During Role Play, watch for pupils saying families always sat together before technology.

  Ask pupils to act out both shared moments (listening to a story on the radio) and separate moments (each person using their own tablet) to balance the view.

• During Timeline Build, watch for pupils believing all homes had the same technology at once.

  Use varied family stories printed on cards to place alongside timelines, showing some had TVs earlier and others kept radios longer.

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Methods used in this brief

• Mystery Object
• Role Play