History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

The Evolution of Dolls and Action Figures

Children learn best when they can touch, compare, and talk about real objects. This topic comes alive when students handle replicas or photographs, not just listen to descriptions. Active sorting, play, and design tasks help them notice details and ask questions about how and why toys changed over time.

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

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 30 min · Small Groups

Sorting Station: Eras of Toys

Provide trays with images or replicas of rag dolls, 1970s action figures, and modern ones. In small groups, children sort into 'past', 'present', and 'future' piles, then label differences in materials and joints. Share findings in a class circle.

What do you notice about how old dolls look compared to dolls today?

Facilitation Tip

During Sorting Station, place two labeled trays labeled ‘before 1950’ and ‘1950 and after’ so students physically move each toy into the correct era.

What to look for

Show students images of three different toys: a rag doll, a 1950s plastic doll, and a modern action figure. Ask them to point to the oldest toy and explain one reason why they think it is the oldest, using vocabulary like 'material' or 'construction'.

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

Activity 02

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role-Play Rotation: Play Through Time

Set up three stations with era-appropriate toys: rag dolls for imaginative stories, vintage plastic for posing adventures, modern for battles. Groups rotate every 10 minutes, acting out play and noting how toys change actions. Debrief differences.

How are dolls and action figures the same as or different from each other?

Facilitation Tip

Set up Role-Play Rotation with clear time signals so each group spends exactly seven minutes at each station, keeping the rotation smooth and focused.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'How are the ways people play with dolls and action figures today similar to or different from how children might have played with them 100 years ago?' Encourage students to use examples from the toys they have seen.

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

Activity 03

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 25 min · Pairs

Design Challenge: Future Dolls

Children draw and label a doll or action figure from the future, adding features like flying wings or robot parts. Pairs share ideas, discussing links to today's toys. Display on a class timeline.

What do you think dolls and action figures might look like in the future?

Facilitation Tip

Ask Design Challenge teams to sketch their future doll on one half of the paper and write a sentence explaining one special feature on the other half.

What to look for

Give each student a small piece of paper. Ask them to draw one feature of a toy from the past and one feature of a toy from today, labeling each with a single word (e.g., 'soft', 'plastic', 'moving arms').

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

Activity 04

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 20 min · Whole Class

Venn Diagram: Old vs New

As a whole class, draw a large Venn diagram on the board. Children suggest similarities and differences between old rag dolls and new figures, using sticky notes from observations. Vote on future predictions.

What do you notice about how old dolls look compared to dolls today?

What to look for

Show students images of three different toys: a rag doll, a 1950s plastic doll, and a modern action figure. Ask them to point to the oldest toy and explain one reason why they think it is the oldest, using vocabulary like 'material' or 'construction'.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Focus on small, concrete comparisons rather than abstract timelines. Research shows that when children handle real or replica objects, they notice details they would miss in pictures alone. Avoid long lectures; instead, ask open questions that start with ‘How is this different?’ or ‘What can you do with this that you couldn’t do before?’. Model curiosity yourself—pick up a rag doll and say, ‘I wonder how children made faces on these without plastic.’

By the end of the activities, students will name at least two material or design differences between old and new toys. They will describe how these changes affect how toys are played with and manufactured. Their talk and charts will show clear comparisons, not just guesses.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sorting Station, watch for students who think all old toys look alike. They may group rag dolls and plastic dolls together because both have faces.

  Have students place a rag doll and a plastic doll side-by-side on the table, then ask each pair to list two ways the materials feel different and one way the faces are made differently.

• During Role-Play Rotation, watch for students who say rag dolls were ‘worse’ than modern toys because they lacked features.

  Prompt students to act out a scene with the rag doll, then with the modern figure. Ask which felt easier to ‘love’ or ‘hug’ and why, guiding them to value softness and simplicity.

• During Venn Diagram, watch for students who draw two separate circles with no overlapping labels.

  Ask pairs to share one way their toys are alike before filling in the overlap, reminding them that both dolls and action figures are meant for pretend play and dressing up.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inside-Outside Circle