School Life in the Past: Objects and RoutinesActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works for this topic because handling real objects from the past creates immediate curiosity and engagement. When pupils touch slates, dip inkwells, and mimic old routines, abstract historical changes become tangible and memorable.
Learning Objectives
- 1Compare the features of historical school objects, such as slates and inkwells, with modern learning tools.
- 2Explain the purpose of specific historical school objects and routines based on observable features.
- 3Identify key differences between classroom routines of the past and present.
- 4Classify historical school objects based on their function in the classroom.
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Stations Rotation: Artefact Handling
Prepare 4-5 stations with replica objects like slates, inkwells, and old books. Pupils handle items safely, draw them, guess uses, and note one difference from today. Groups rotate every 7 minutes and share findings in a class circle.
Prepare & details
What do you notice about old school objects — what do you think they were used for?
Facilitation Tip: During Station Rotation, place a modern pencil or whiteboard at each table to anchor comparisons and prompt talk about differences.
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Role Play: Past Routines
Model routines like dipping pens in ink or clapping for lessons. Pairs practise writing on slates, cleaning them, and lining up for assembly. Debrief with what felt different from today.
Prepare & details
Why do you think some of these old school things are not used any more?
Facilitation Tip: For Role Play, provide simple props like a ruler for a cane or a ribbon for a dunce cap to help pupils step into historical roles accurately.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Timeline Build: School Then and Now
Display photos or drawings of past and present classrooms. Whole class adds sticky notes or drawings to a large timeline, sequencing objects and routines with teacher guidance.
Prepare & details
How is learning at school today different from learning at school long ago?
Facilitation Tip: When building the Timeline, give each pair five sticky notes to label key moments, ensuring every child contributes evidence to the shared sequence.
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Family Link: School Stories
Pupils ask family one question about their school days, draw a picture, and share in pairs. Compile into a class display book.
Prepare & details
What do you notice about old school objects — what do you think they were used for?
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Teaching This Topic
Teachers approach this topic by letting pupils observe first, explain second, and question third. Avoid telling them what changed; instead, let the objects and their own comparisons reveal differences. Research shows that when children handle artefacts and then articulate their ideas aloud, misconceptions surface naturally and can be addressed through guided discussion.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like pupils confidently describing past objects and routines, comparing them to today’s tools, and explaining why changes occurred. Their discussions should show growing understanding of continuity and change in school life.
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 MisconceptionDuring Station Rotation, some pupils may assume old school objects were toys or less serious than modern tools.
What to Teach Instead
During Station Rotation, circulate and prompt pupils to test each object’s function by trying to write with the slate or dip the quill, then ask, ‘Do you think children treated this like a toy or a tool? Why?’
Common MisconceptionDuring Role Play, children may giggle or misrepresent old school punishments as funny rather than serious.
What to Teach Instead
During Role Play, set clear ground rules and guide pupils to perform routines like reciting times tables or cleaning slates seriously. Afterward, hold a class discussion: ‘How did it feel to follow those old rules? What does that tell us about school life then?’
Common MisconceptionDuring Timeline Build, pupils may assume all changes were improvements and nothing from the past was useful.
What to Teach Instead
During Timeline Build, place a modern whiteboard marker next to a slate on the timeline. Ask, ‘What stayed the same in school life? What do we still use today?’ to encourage balanced comparisons.
Assessment Ideas
After Station Rotation, provide each student with a picture of an old school object. Ask them to draw a line from the object to a word that describes its use, then write one sentence comparing it to something they use at school today.
During Station Rotation, hold up an inkwell and a modern pen. Ask students, ‘What is this old object? What do you think it was used for? How is it different from the pens we use now? Why do you think we don’t use inkwells anymore?’
During Station Rotation, circulate and ask individual students, ‘What do you notice about this object? What job did it do in school long ago? Can you show me how someone might have used it?’ Listen for accurate descriptions of materials, purposes, and routines.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask students to design a new school object for the future, explaining how it would improve learning compared to past and present tools.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters on cards, such as ‘This object was used for…’ or ‘In the past, children…’, to support speaking and writing during object handling.
- Deeper exploration: Invite students to research a specific historical event like the introduction of school uniforms or the shift from slates to paper, then present a short fact to the class.
Key Vocabulary
| Slate | A flat, dark writing surface, often made of stone, used with chalk for writing and drawing before paper notebooks were common. |
| Inkwell | A small container, usually made of glass or ceramic, that held ink for dipping pens into when writing. |
| Chalk | A soft, white, powdery rock used for writing on blackboards or slates. |
| Primer | A beginner's book for learning to read, often containing simple stories and alphabet lessons. |
| Recite | To say something aloud from memory, such as times tables or poetry, as was common in past classrooms. |
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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