History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Toy Repair and Sustainability

Hands-on repair work gives children immediate, tangible feedback that builds both practical skills and environmental awareness. By physically fixing broken toys, students connect abstract ideas about sustainability to real-world actions they can take today.

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

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Repair Stations

Prepare stations with broken toy models (e.g., dolls with loose limbs, cars with missing wheels) and child-safe tools like tape, glue sticks, and fabric scraps. Groups rotate every 10 minutes, attempting repairs and noting steps. End with sharing successful fixes.

Why do you think people in the past fixed their broken toys instead of buying new ones?

Facilitation Tip

At Repair Stations, model naming each tool as you pass it and invite students to echo the name while they work.

What to look for

Give each student a picture of a broken toy. Ask them to draw or write one way they could repair it and one reason why repairing is a good idea.

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

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Pairs

Pairs: Past vs Present Interviews

Pairs role-play interviews: one as a grandparent describing toy repairs from the past, the other as a child today. Switch roles and draw pictures of the stories shared. Compile drawings into a class display.

What is good about looking after and repairing your toys?

Facilitation Tip

For Past vs Present Interviews, provide sentence stems on cards to help pairs structure their conversation clearly.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine your favourite toy broke. What would you do first? Why do you think people long ago might have fixed their toys instead of buying new ones?' Record key ideas on a class chart.

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

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Toy Lifespan Timeline

As a class, create a timeline on the board with past and present toy examples. Children add sticky notes with repair ideas or reasons for fixing. Discuss key questions to fill gaps.

Can you think of a way to help your favourite toy last longer?

Facilitation Tip

During the Toy Lifespan Timeline, ask students to place their toy cards next to the year they think the repair happened, prompting reasoning out loud.

What to look for

Show students pictures of different toys. Ask them to point to or name toys that they think would be easy to repair and explain why. Then, ask them to identify toys that might be difficult to repair.

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

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 25 min · Individual

Individual: My Toy Repair Plan

Each child selects a favourite toy, draws it broken, then sketches a repair plan with labels. Share plans in a circle to vote on creative ideas.

Why do you think people in the past fixed their broken toys instead of buying new ones?

Facilitation Tip

For My Toy Repair Plan, give a simple template with three clear sections: ‘What broke,’ ‘How I’ll fix it,’ and ‘How I’ll keep it safe.’

What to look for

Give each student a picture of a broken toy. Ask them to draw or write one way they could repair it and one reason why repairing is a good idea.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with children’s lived experience—ask who has seen a grown-up repair something at home. Use this to frame repair as a family practice, not just a school task. Avoid over-explaining; let the tools and materials do the teaching. Research shows concrete actions build stronger memory than abstract talks, so let mistakes happen and guide students to try again.

Successful learning looks like confident tool use, clear explanations of why repair matters, and thoughtful connections between past practices and present choices. Students should articulate at least one benefit of repair and one strategy to extend a toy’s life.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Past vs Present Interviews, watch for students assuming past lives lacked any broken toys.

  Use the interview cards with prompts like ‘Did you ever see a family member mend something?’ and invite pairs to share a family story about repair.

• During Station Rotation: Repair Stations, watch for students thinking repair is too hard for children.

  Position older student mentors at stations to model each step and cheer small successes, showing that children can fix toys independently.

• During Whole Class: Toy Lifespan Timeline, watch for students linking toy disposal only to space in the home, not to waste.

  Hand out simple ‘waste footprint’ shapes to place next to broken toys on the timeline, prompting students to name the environmental impact.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Outdoor Investigation Session