History · Year 1 · Our School and Local Area · Summer Term

The History of Our School Building

Examining old photographs and interviewing community members to trace the architectural and functional changes of the school.

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

About This Topic

This topic invites Year 1 pupils to explore the history of their school building through old photographs and conversations with community members. They examine architectural features like windows or playgrounds that have changed, and functional shifts such as room uses over time. These activities align with KS1 History standards on changes within living memory and local history, using the school as a familiar anchor to introduce basic chronology.

Pupils connect personal experiences to the past by comparing current school life with descriptions from interviews, fostering curiosity about how environments evolve. This builds skills in historical enquiry, observation, and simple sequencing, while developing respect for local heritage. Key questions guide discussions: estimating the school's age from clues, noting changes, and imagining past learning.

Active learning shines here because pupils handle real artefacts like photographs and speak directly with people who remember changes. Sorting images into timelines or role-playing old school days makes abstract time concepts concrete and engaging, helping all learners, including those new to History, retain details through multisensory involvement.

Key Questions

1. How old do you think our school building is, and what makes you think that?
2. What do you notice about how our school has changed over time?
3. What do you think learning at our school might have been like a long time ago?

Learning Objectives

• Identify architectural features of the school building that have changed over time.
• Compare photographs of the school from different time periods to identify changes.
• Describe how the function of specific school spaces (e.g., classrooms, playground) may have changed.
• Explain one way learning at the school might have been different for children in the past, based on evidence.

Before You Start

Introduction to Personal Information and Family History

Why: Students need to understand the concept of personal timelines and how family members have experiences from the past before exploring the history of a larger entity like a building.

Observing and Describing Objects

Why: The ability to carefully look at and describe objects, like photographs or parts of a building, is fundamental to historical observation.

Key Vocabulary

Photograph	A picture taken with a camera, often used to record how things looked in the past.
Architectural feature	A distinct part of a building's design, such as a window, door, or roof style.
Community member	A person who lives or works in the local area and may remember how the school used to be.
Chronology	The arrangement of events or dates in the order in which they happened.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Our school building has always looked exactly the same.

What to Teach Instead

Pupils often assume permanence in familiar places. Comparing photos side-by-side during sorting activities reveals gradual changes like extensions or new paint. Group talks help them articulate evidence, shifting views through shared observations.

Common Misconception

The past happened a very long time ago, so it has nothing to do with us.

What to Teach Instead

Young children see time as distant. Interviews with living community members bridge this gap, showing changes within grandparents' lifetimes. Role-play extends this, making history feel relevant and connected to their lives.

Common Misconception

School changes happened all at once.

What to Teach Instead

Pupils may think transformations are sudden. Building timelines from photos demonstrates slow evolution. Hands-on sequencing with sticky notes reinforces gradual change, with peer teaching clarifying the process.

Active Learning Ideas

Photo Sort: Then and Now Timeline

Gather old school photos and recent ones. In small groups, pupils sort them into a class timeline on the floor, discussing clues like clothing or buildings. Add labels with help from an adult.

30 min·Small Groups

Interview Chain: Community Voices

Prepare simple question cards like 'What did the playground look like?' Pupils interview school staff or visitors in pairs, record answers with drawings, then share in a whole-class chain.

45 min·Pairs

School Walkabout: Spot the Changes

Lead a guided tour of the school grounds. Pupils sketch or note differences between current features and old photos, then discuss in groups what might have caused changes.

25 min·Whole Class

Role-Play: A Day in Old School

Use props from photos for pupils to act out past school routines individually or in pairs. Groups perform and explain one change they learned about.

35 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Local historians and museum curators use old photographs and documents to piece together the history of buildings and towns, much like we are doing with our school.
• Architects and town planners look at how buildings have been used and changed over time to help them design new spaces or renovate old ones, ensuring they meet current needs.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Show students two photographs of the school, one from the past and one current. Ask them to point to one thing that looks different and one thing that looks the same. Record their responses.

Discussion Prompt

Gather students and ask: 'Imagine you are a child attending our school 50 years ago. What is one thing you might do differently during playtime compared to today?' Listen for responses that connect to observed changes.

Exit Ticket

Give each student a piece of paper. Ask them to draw one part of the school building that they think is very old and label it. Alternatively, they can draw one change they learned about.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I source old photographs for the school history topic?

Contact the local history society, school archives, or PTFA for donated photos. Ask current and former staff or alumni via newsletters. Scan and enlarge images for group handling, ensuring duplicates for rotations. This builds community ties and provides authentic resources tailored to your school.

What questions work best for community interviews in Year 1?

Use open prompts like 'What games did you play in our playground?' or 'How did classrooms look when you were here?' Practice with puppets first. Record responses as drawings or voice notes to include shy pupils, then compile into a class book for ongoing reference.

How does this topic link to changes within living memory?

Focus on recent decades through eyewitness accounts and photos from the last 50-100 years. Pupils sequence events like playground rebuilds within grandparents' lifetimes, distinguishing from deeper past. This grounds abstract chronology in relatable, verifiable stories from their community.

Why use active learning for school building history?

Active methods like photo hunts and interviews engage kinesthetic learners, making history tangible beyond books. Pupils construct knowledge through touch and talk, retaining more via multisensory input. Differentiation thrives as groups support each other, boosting confidence and deeper understanding of local changes.