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 outstanding KS1 lessons on the topic Toys try to provide you with some of the best material that has been developed nationally, often by museums and Local Authority projects. I particularly like the work done in Warwickshire and Bedfordshire. Their highly interactive approaches using ICT exemplify best practice very well. There is also a great assessment task to diagnose whether the pupils have grasped the slippery concept of ‘old and new’.
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...
