History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Personal Toy Histories and Comparisons

Active learning helps Year 1 children connect emotionally with the topic by talking about their own experiences first. Handling toys, sorting images, and creating drawings makes abstract comparisons concrete and memorable for young learners.

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

• 15–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Whole Class

Circle Time Share: Favourite Toys

Children sit in a circle and pass a toy basket. Each child holds a favourite toy, shares why they love it, and passes it on. Record key words on a class chart for later comparison. End with a group vote on most surprising reason.

What is your favourite toy and why do you love it?

Facilitation Tip

During Circle Time Share, sit in a circle with the same number of chairs as children to signal everyone has a turn and avoid dominance by a few voices.

What to look for

Give each child a picture of a historical toy (e.g., a wooden spinning top) and a picture of a modern toy (e.g., a remote-control car). Ask them to draw one way the toys are different and one way they might be the same.

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

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Pairs Draw and Compare: Then and Now

In pairs, children draw their toy next to a historical toy image provided. They label differences like colour or material. Pairs share one comparison with the class.

Do you think a child from a long time ago would enjoy playing with your toys? Why?

Facilitation Tip

For Pairs Draw and Compare, give each pair two different toys to draw side by side so the contrast is clear and discussion is focused.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you met a child from 100 years ago. What would you show them about your favourite toy? What would you ask them about their favourite toy?' Record their ideas on a chart.

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Small Groups

Small Groups Sort: Toy Timeline

Provide toy pictures from now, grandparents' time, and great-grandparents' time. Groups sort them into a timeline strip, discuss changes, and present to class.

How could you find out about the toys children played with in the past?

Facilitation Tip

During Small Groups Sort, provide a mix of toy images and replica artefacts so children can handle real materials like wood and cloth.

What to look for

Show students a collection of toy images, some historical and some modern. Ask them to point to or name toys that a child from 'a long time ago' might have played with, and explain their reasoning.

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

Activity 04

• Think-Pair-Share
• 15 min · Individual

Individual Family Interview: Old Toys

Children take home a simple interview sheet to ask family about past toys. Next lesson, they share findings and add to class display.

What is your favourite toy and why do you love it?

What to look for

Give each child a picture of a historical toy (e.g., a wooden spinning top) and a picture of a modern toy (e.g., a remote-control car). Ask them to draw one way the toys are different and one way they might be the same.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with children’s lived experiences to build empathy and curiosity about the past. Use real artefacts and replicas to reduce abstraction, as research shows hands-on materials improve historical understanding in KS1. Avoid over-reliance on images alone, as they can distort scale and texture perceptions for young learners.

Children will confidently describe their favourite toys and explain at least one difference between past and present playthings. They will use vocabulary like materials, function, and fun to compare toys accurately.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Circle Time Share, watch for children who think all toys are the same because they share a name like 'doll' or 'car'.

  Ask the child to describe what their doll or car looks like, what it’s made of, and how it moves. Encourage others to ask, 'How is your toy different from one you’ve seen before?'

• During Pairs Draw and Compare, watch for children who assume old toys were 'boring' because they look simple.

  Give pairs a replica cup-and-ball set to try. Ask them to describe how hard it is to catch the ball and whether they think it’s fun. Compare their experience to drawing a remote-control car.

• During Small Groups Sort, watch for children who think all old toys were made of wood.

  Provide a mix of fabric, metal, and rubber toys in the sorting tray. Ask children to feel the materials and explain how they change over time, such as soft cloth to hard plastic.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share