History · Year 1 · Our School and Local Area · Summer Term

Local Shops: From Grocers to Supermarkets

Exploring the transformation of local high streets and shopping habits over time.

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

About This Topic

This topic traces changes along local high streets from independent grocers, butchers, and bakers to large supermarkets, using evidence within living memory. Year 1 pupils explore key questions: what shops existed long ago, how people bought food before supermarkets arrived, and which old businesses remain open. They examine family stories, old photographs, and maps to compare past and present shopping habits. This meets KS1 History standards for changes within living memory and significant local events or lives.

Pupils practise core historical skills like asking questions, observing artefacts, and sequencing events on simple timelines. The topic links to their daily routines, such as family shopping trips, fostering a sense of place and community identity. It encourages empathy by considering how changes affected people's lives, from queueing at counters to self-service trolleys.

Active learning suits this topic perfectly because concrete experiences make time tangible for young children. Local walks to spot enduring shops, role-playing grocer visits with props, or interviewing relatives provide direct evidence that sparks discussion and builds accurate mental models of change.

Key Questions

1. What types of shops do you think were in our local area a long time ago?
2. How did people buy their food before supermarkets were built?
3. Can you spot any old local businesses in our area that are still open today?

Learning Objectives

• Compare the types of shops found in their local area today with those that existed in living memory.
• Explain how people purchased goods before the advent of large supermarkets.
• Identify specific examples of historical local businesses that still operate in their community.
• Sequence key changes in local shopping habits over time using visual aids or simple timelines.

Before You Start

Identifying People and Places in Our Community

Why: Students need to be familiar with their current local area and the types of places within it before exploring historical changes.

Basic Sequencing of Events

Why: Understanding that events happen in order is crucial for grasping the concept of change over time.

Key Vocabulary

Grocer	A shopkeeper who sells food and other household supplies. Long ago, these were often small, independent shops.
High Street	The main street in a town or village, typically containing shops and businesses. This is where many local shops were located.
Supermarket	A large self-service shop selling foods and household goods. These became common later than smaller, local shops.
Living Memory	Events or changes that people alive today can remember. This is important for understanding how shops have changed.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Local shops have always looked the same as today.

What to Teach Instead

Pupils often assume no change occurred in living memory. Local walks with overlaid photos and family interviews provide contrasting evidence, prompting them to revise ideas through peer talk. Active sharing of artefacts builds evidence-based thinking.

Common Misconception

Supermarkets have always existed everywhere.

What to Teach Instead

Children may think big stores were always normal. Sequencing activities with dated images and grandparent stories reveal gradual change. Hands-on timeline building helps them visualise progression and question assumptions.

Common Misconception

No old shops from the past still operate.

What to Teach Instead

Pupils overlook continuity amid change. Spotting surviving businesses on walks, then verifying with photos, corrects this. Group mapping reinforces that some elements persist, deepening understanding of historical layers.

Active Learning Ideas

High Street Walk: Past and Present Maps

Lead a supervised walk along the local high street. Pupils sketch current shops on clipboards, then overlay teacher-provided historical photos to note changes. Back in class, pairs compare maps and label new or vanished shops.

45 min·Whole Class

Family Stories: Shop Drawings

Send home a simple prompt sheet for adults to share memories of old local shops. Pupils draw the described shops and food buying methods. Share drawings in a class gallery walk to spot patterns.

30 min·Individual

Timeline Chain: Shop Changes

Provide images of grocers, markets, and supermarkets. Small groups sequence them on a paper chain, adding labels for 'then' and 'now'. Hang chains to form a class display and discuss reasons for changes.

40 min·Small Groups

Role Play: Grocer vs Supermarket

Set up two shop scenes with props like scales and baskets. Pairs act out buying bread from a 1950s grocer, then a modern supermarket. Switch roles and note differences in a group debrief.

35 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Visiting a local bakery or butcher shop today and discussing with the owner if their family has owned the shop for a long time, comparing it to how people bought bread or meat decades ago.
• Looking at old family photographs that show different shops on the local high street and discussing what the people in the photos might have been buying.
• Interviewing a grandparent or older relative about their childhood shopping experiences, focusing on specific items they used to buy and where they bought them.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Show students pictures of different shops, some old-fashioned (e.g., a cobbler, a milkman) and some modern (e.g., a large supermarket, a chain coffee shop). Ask them to sort the pictures into two groups: 'Shops from a long time ago' and 'Shops from today'. Discuss their choices.

Discussion Prompt

Ask students: 'Imagine you needed to buy milk 100 years ago. Where would you go and how would you get it?' Encourage them to use vocabulary like 'milkman' or 'local shop' and describe the process.

Exit Ticket

Give each student a piece of paper. Ask them to draw one shop that used to be in their local area but is not there anymore, and label it. Alternatively, they can draw a shop that is still there and has been for a long time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can teachers source photos of old local high streets?

Contact the local library, museum, or historical society for free digital archives or prints of high streets from the 1950s-1980s. Community Facebook groups or council websites often share resident photos. Print a class set and laminate for reuse in activities, ensuring images show clear shop changes to spark pupil questions.

What if some pupils lack family shopping stories from the past?

Prepare a class bank of anonymised stories and photos from willing parents or school staff. Invite a local elderly resident for a short talk. Use picture books like 'The Shop on the High Street' to fill gaps, ensuring all pupils access relatable evidence through shared class resources.

How does this topic align with UK National Curriculum History for Year 1?

It directly addresses KS1 objectives: changes within living memory (e.g., shop transformations) and significant local events or lives. Pupils develop enquiry skills via questions, evidence observation, and basic chronology. Links to personal, family, and local history make it accessible and foundational for later units.

How can active learning help Year 1 pupils grasp changes in local shops?

Active methods like high street walks, prop-based role plays, and family interview drawings let pupils handle real evidence, making abstract time changes concrete. Collaborative mapping and timelines encourage talk that refines ideas, while dramatisation builds empathy for past habits. These approaches boost retention and confidence in historical enquiry over passive listening.