History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Local Shops: From Grocers to Supermarkets

This topic comes alive when children step outside and explore real places. Walking the high street with old photographs and maps lets pupils see change in action, making abstract ideas about the past feel immediate. Active learning helps Year 1 pupils grasp how life differs from long ago without relying on abstract explanations alone.

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

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 45 min · Whole Class

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.

What types of shops do you think were in our local area a long time ago?

Facilitation Tip

During the High Street Walk, ask children to hold an old photo next to the actual shop while you narrate the timeline aloud to connect the image to the present.

What to look for

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.

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

Activity 02

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 30 min · Individual

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.

How did people buy their food before supermarkets were built?

What to look for

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.

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

Activity 03

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 40 min · Small Groups

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.

Can you spot any old local businesses in our area that are still open today?

What to look for

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.

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

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 35 min · Pairs

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.

What types of shops do you think were in our local area a long time ago?

What to look for

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.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should balance storytelling with concrete evidence. Use dated photographs and artefacts to anchor narratives, and avoid overloading pupils with too many dates. Research in early years history highlights that personal stories and local walks build stronger understanding than abstract timelines at this age.

Successful learning looks like children noticing differences between past and present shops, using family stories and maps to support their ideas. They should explain their choices with simple historical vocabulary and listen respectfully to peers’ experiences.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During High Street Walk, watch for pupils assuming shops have always looked the same. Correction: Overlay old photographs on current shopfronts while walking, asking children to point out differences and similarities. Guide them to revise their assumptions by describing what has stayed or changed.

  During Family Stories: Shop Drawings, watch for pupils who assume no old shops survive. Correction: After children draw their family’s remembered shop, ask them to mark which ones still exist in the neighbourhood. Discuss why some shops remain and others do not.

• During Timeline Chain: Shop Changes, watch for pupils thinking supermarkets have always existed everywhere. Correction: Use dated images in the timeline activity to show that supermarkets appeared gradually. Ask children to place images in order and explain how their town’s shops grew over time.

• During High Street Walk, watch for pupils believing no old shops from the past still operate. Correction: Point out surviving businesses on the walk, then have pupils verify with photographs. Ask them to find one shop that has been in the same place for many years and explain how they know.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inside-Outside Circle
• Role Play