History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

The History of Bathrooms and Hygiene

Students need to feel the contrast between past and present to grasp why hygiene practices changed. Active learning lets them handle old tools, act out routines, and sort images, which builds lasting memory of these differences.

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

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Small Groups

Timeline Build: Hygiene Changes

Provide images of privies, chamber pots, and modern bathrooms. In small groups, children sequence them on a class timeline strip, adding labels and drawings. Discuss key changes as a wrap-up.

What do you notice about how people kept themselves clean before homes had running water?

Facilitation Tip

During Timeline Build, give each group only three events so they must reason together about order, not simply place them in a line.

What to look for

Show students two pictures: one of an outdoor privy and one of a modern bathroom. Ask them to point to the picture of the older facility and state one thing they notice about it. Then, ask them to name one thing that is different in the modern bathroom.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Role Play: Past vs Present Bath Time

Pairs act out washing with a bucket and cloth, then switch to a modern shower with running water sounds. Record differences on a simple chart. Share one key change with the class.

How is having a bath or going to the toilet today different from how it was long ago?

Facilitation Tip

In Role Play, provide props like a small bucket and a washcloth so students physically experience the effort of past routines.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you had to use a bucket to wash yourself instead of a shower. What would be difficult about that?' Encourage them to think about the time it would take and how clean they might feel.

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

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Whole Class

Artifact Hunt: Old Hygiene Tools

Display safe replicas like a sponge, bucket, and privy model. Whole class rotates to touch and describe each item, noting how it differs from home tools. Draw favourites.

Why do you think having running water in our homes is so important?

Facilitation Tip

For Artifact Hunt, hide five replica tools in the room and let pairs find and match them to descriptions before sharing with the class.

What to look for

Give each student a piece of paper. Ask them to draw one item used for washing or going to the toilet from 'long ago' and one item used today. They should label each drawing.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 20 min · Individual

Comparison Sort: Cleanliness Cards

Give individual children cards showing past and present hygiene scenes. Sort into 'long ago' and 'today' piles, then explain choices to a partner.

What do you notice about how people kept themselves clean before homes had running water?

Facilitation Tip

When running Comparison Sort, include two modern items to prevent guessing by elimination and to anchor today’s standards.

What to look for

Show students two pictures: one of an outdoor privy and one of a modern bathroom. Ask them to point to the picture of the older facility and state one thing they notice about it. Then, ask them to name one thing that is different in the modern bathroom.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should avoid telling the story of hygiene as progress only; instead, frame it as a puzzle of constraints and solutions. Ask students to compare not just tools but also time, effort, and social rules. Research shows that when children physically engage with replicas, their recall of daily routines improves by up to 40 percent compared to passive listening.

Children will describe at least two ways hygiene was different in the past and today, using specific tools or routines from the activities. They will explain why these changes improved comfort or health.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Artifact Hunt, watch for students who assume all old tools were dirty or useless.

  Prompt students to feel the texture and weight of the replica washbowl or toothbrush, then ask them to explain how people used it despite its simplicity.

• During Comparison Sort, watch for students who think that privies and toilets are the same thing.

  Ask students to read the labels aloud and place a modern toilet image next to a privy image, then discuss why size and location matter for health.

• During Timeline Build, watch for students who place events in random order because they don’t understand cause and effect.

  Stop the group and ask them to explain how running water changed where bathrooms could be built, then reorder the cards together.

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Methods used in this brief

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• Role Play