Toys Past and Present Lessons and Resources EYFS / KS1
Explore toys through time
Compare familiar toys with those played with by earlier generations. Handling objects and studying photographs helps children work out how toys changed and how we know they are old.
Explore teaching resources
Everything for this history topic in one place
The enquiry sequence
Key questions and activities to develop pupils’ historical understanding
6 lessons
Toys; old and new – assessment task
Focus concept: Making deductions/ similarity and difference This task is designed to be non-threatening and to be carried out in small groups when the pupils have just been taught the…
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Toys old and new knowledge organiser – KS1
You are learning about old toys to help you to understand the difference between toys people played with in the past and the ones you enjoy playing with today. It…
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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…
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KS1 Medium term planner: Toys through time (Term 1 or 2 of Y1)
This is one of the earliest topics to be taught at EYFS/KS1 following on from Myself. As we know this topic (preferably after Christmas) can engage children’s senses, fire their…
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Toys – KQ1 – What are our toys like today?
Because the topic is aimed at children beginning key stage 1, it is a good idea to spend more time covering this key question in order to establish a sound…
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Toys – KQ2 – What are other people’s toys like?
This session comprises two very simple tasks: matching objects to the young children who would usually play with them, followed by a follow-up task, this time on the theme of…
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Toys – KQ3 – How can we tell these toys are old?
This smart task complements the existing lesson on the site using ICT . Rather than re-write the whole lesson this is added as an extra task. Using slides 2-5 show…
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Toys – KQ4 – What sorts of toys did our grandparents play with and how do we know?
Optional question: What toys did our grandparents get as Christmas presents when they were your age? Start with a discussion about how we can begin to investigate what toys were…
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Toys – KQ5 – Who played with these toys in the past? and how can we know?
This is particularly suitable as an extension question for the older/ higher attaining pupils in KS1 if you are teaching this topic to a mixed-age class. Important note: Before starting…
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Toys – KQ6 – How can we set up our own toy museum?
This final KS1 lesson on the Toys topic cements children’s understanding of old and new in an interesting way. Activity 1 Use the book Lost in a Toy Museum as…
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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…
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OFSTED’s report on teaching of Toys-outstanding lesson
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…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.