History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Toy Storytelling: Imagining the Past

Active handling of historical toys grounds abstract past lives in concrete, sensory experiences. When children feel the weight of a wooden top or thread a cup-and-ball string, they form lasting memories that simple images or stories cannot match. This tactile connection makes emotional and historical thinking possible for young learners.

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

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 45 min · Pairs

Role-Play Corners: Toy Tales

Set up corners with 3-4 historical toys and simple props like aprons or hats. Pairs select a toy, discuss a child's day using it, then act out a 2-minute scene. Rotate toys after 10 minutes and share one highlight with the class.

What might it have felt like to play with a toy from a long time ago?

Facilitation Tip

In Role-Play Corners, position yourself as the ‘toy guardian’ who only speaks about the toy’s history, guiding children to use evidence from handling it.

What to look for

Provide each child with a picture of a historical toy. Ask them to write or draw one sentence answering: 'What story could this toy tell about a child's day long ago?'

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

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 30 min · Whole Class

Story Chain: Building Narratives

In a circle, start with one child describing a toy and its owner. Each adds a sentence to build a group story about a past playtime. Record the story on chart paper, then illustrate key moments.

Can you tell a story about a child playing with an old toy?

Facilitation Tip

For Story Chain, model the first link with a sentence starter like ‘I picked up the cup-and-ball and heard…’ to keep narratives flowing.

What to look for

Hold up a historical toy and ask: 'If you could ask the child who played with this toy one question, what would it be and why?' Listen for children considering the child's perspective and experiences.

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

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 35 min · Pairs

Toy Diary Entries

Children pick a toy, draw it, and dictate or write a short diary entry from the toy's or child's perspective. Pairs share entries, noting similarities in past and present play.

What can toys tell us about how children lived in the past?

Facilitation Tip

When children write Toy Diary Entries, provide sentence frames on cards so they focus on sensory details rather than spelling alone.

What to look for

Observe children during role-play. Note if they are incorporating details about the toy into their dialogue or actions, demonstrating an understanding of how the toy might have been used in the past.

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

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 40 min · Small Groups

Toy Interview Skits

Small groups create interviews between a modern child and a past child using a toy. Practice questions like 'What do you play after school?' Perform for the class.

What might it have felt like to play with a toy from a long time ago?

Facilitation Tip

During Toy Interview Skits, give each child a toy prop card with 2–3 facts to prompt questions, preventing vague responses.

What to look for

Provide each child with a picture of a historical toy. Ask them to write or draw one sentence answering: 'What story could this toy tell about a child's day long ago?'

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with the physical: let children explore toys for 3–4 minutes before any talk. Research shows this ‘quiet handling’ builds stronger memories than immediate questioning. Avoid over-explaining; let their curiosity drive the narrative. Use open questions like ‘What might this toy have taught the child who played with it?’ rather than leading ones like ‘Was this toy fun?’ to preserve their historical thinking. Model curiosity yourself by wondering aloud about the toy’s journey to the classroom.

Children will move from guessing about the past to explaining it by using toy details to describe feelings, routines, and possibilities. Their narratives should show they see toys as clues to real lives, not just old objects. You will notice this in their talk, writing, and role-play where past and present feelings connect.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play Corners, children may say, ‘Children in the past had no fun because toys were simple.’

  Redirect by asking them to try the toy themselves and describe the skill or laughter it brought, then prompt them to share their own feelings during the play to build appreciation.

• During Story Chain, children might treat toys as complete evidence of past life, saying, ‘This toy shows everything about Victorian children.’

  Pause the chain to hold up a photo of a Victorian wash tub alongside the toy, asking, ‘What else would this child need that we can’t see from the toy alone?’

• During Toy Diary Entries, children may write that the past feels too different to relate to, saying, ‘No one felt happy like us back then.’

  Have them reread their diary entry aloud and circle any feeling words, then ask, ‘Can you find a way this feeling is the same as something we feel now when we play?’

---

Methods used in this brief

• Role Play