When the inspector entered, the pupils were sitting on the carpet around the teacher. She was gently exploring whether they understood the concepts ‘old’ and ‘new’ and the differences between the present and the past. The pupils responded very well to this. Virtually all were...
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Washday and toys
Outstanding KS1 history lessons on Washday and Toys in the past.
Washday is one of the best topics there is for young infants. Whether you teach it as a stand alone topic or as part of a broader theme of homes, you will find that it excites the children and gives them plenty of hands-on experience. Artefacts are cheap and easily obtainable and there are clear modern comparisons to help consolidate the idea of then and now. Pupils’ ability to sequence will be strengthened by excellent lessons such as helping the Hopeless Mr Lather. Pupils of all abilities love the topic and many children with profound special needs respond very well. Many are fascinated as much by the language of dolly or posser, as by the ability to actually do some ‘old fashioned’ washing.
The topic on TOYS has been completely revised for September 2019 with its rationale, own planner and set of new enquiry questions: KQ1 What are our toys like today? KQ2 What are other people’s toys like? KQ3 How can we tell these toys are old? KQ4 What were our grandparents’ toys like and how do we know? KQ5 Who played with these toys a long time ago? KQ6 How can we set up a Toy museum in our school? There is also a great assessment task to diagnose whether the pupils have grasped the slippery concept of ‘old and new’.
Brand new outstanding planner and fully-resourced lessons on Y1 topic TOYS
Coinciding with children returning to school after Christmas , hopefully with a few presents to their name, this brand new planner and full set of fully-resourced lessons will be launched. As already explained on the site there will be 6 enquiry questions each having its...
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Washday in the past; helping the hopeless Mr Lather
The children will be familiar with the range of processes involved in washing clothes in the past. They will have watched programmes such as Magic Grandad and will have explored a range of artefacts such as a mangle and a dolly-stick/posser. The aim of...
Toys old and new: Sorting and setting
This lesson draws on some excellent resources you may not have come across, produced by museums in Bedfordshire and Warwickshire. Not only do they look at old and new and then and now they also offer Venn diagrams which provide that extra challenge. You will...
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Teaching Toys to Key Stage 1
Toys is an obvious topic to select for infants. Not only is it appealing , at least initially, it is also one where you can find a good range of artefacts. Investigating these objects helps not only in Art and Science but also in Design...
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