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Unit 2: What were homes like a long time ago?

Audience: Key Stage 1

Year Group: 1

This unit looks at similarities and differences between homes today and homes in the past. Features of buildings, household objects and stories about home life are used to enable children to develop criteria to distinguish old from new, and to learn about life at a time beyond living memory.

Scheme of work

Download the Scheme of work from the DfES Standards Site.

Lesson plans

Lesson plan 1: All kinds of homes

Children will learn that people today live in different types of homes and consider why this is. Children will learn to recognise and name different types of homes and talk about them using the appropriate vocabulary as a basis of knowledge for comparison with the past in later lessons.

Lesson plan 2: Homes and their exteriors

Children will observe and identify the external features common to all homes. Children will discuss the different features seen and record them appropriately. Children will be able to compare photographs of their village, town or city today to those taken in the past and look for evidence, on a visit around their area, of how houses may have changed over the years.

Lesson plan 3: Homes through time

Children will learn why everyone needs a home in which to live. Children will know how to find out about the past by using books, pictures and photographs in order to see how homes have changed over the years. Children will empathise with people who lived in these homes and compare them to life today.

Lesson plan 4: Inside homes long ago

Children will describe rooms in their own homes and allocate objects to their correct room. Children will recognise different rooms and describe, using appropriate vocabulary, the characteristics of household objects from long ago.

Lesson plan 5: Washday

Children will describe how clothes are washed in their own homes and compare the activity to washday in the past. Children will be able to answer questions about household objects used a long time ago and use clues to infer the use of an object. Children will experience washing clothes using old fashioned methods and empathise with people who had to do these chores in the past.

Lesson plan 6: How household objects have changed

Children will look at a range of household objects used in cleaning, cooking and communication over the past 150 years. Children will know how to answer questions about household objects used a long time ago and use clues to infer the use of an object. Children will understand how materials and design can give us clues to the age of an object. Children will know the names of some famous people who invented things.

Lesson plan 7: Making the home corner into an old fashioned kitchen

Children will apply their knowledge and understanding of home life long ago by deciding which objects they would need to turn the home corner into an old fashioned kitchen. Children will communicate through role play what they have learnt about home life.

Teacher fact files

Teacher fact file 1: Castles

Find out all about Castles.

Teacher fact file 2: Inventors and inventions

Worksheets

PDF: All kinds of homes

A worksheet of pictures of different types of houses to generate discussion and introduce the unit. Children can make comparisons, think about their own houses, and label the houses to show knowledge.

PDF: Old and New house

A worksheet depicting an old and new house for children to make comparisons. A wordbank is provided to help children with labelling. Useful for talking about change.

PDF: Old or New Houses?

Four different houses allow for discussion on features that make them new or old. Children can sort and order them, placing them on the 'House timeline' (below) and consolidating understanding of terminology of time.

PDF: House timeline

A simple timeline labelled oldest to newest is provided for children to place houses in order of age. Use in conjunction with 'Old or New Houses?' (above) or with photographs provided by the children. Best enlarged onto A3 paper.

PDF: Castles (Lower Ability)

An outline castle for children to label, showing knowledge of the terms for different parts of a castle. A wordbank is provided.

PDF: Castles (Higher Ability)

An outline castle for very able Key Stage 1 children or older children to complete. Demonstrates a high level of knowledge of castle parts.

PDF: Foldable House (Front)

Staple along the edges of the 'front' of the house, on top of the 'inside' of the house, cut along the dotted line and fold the flaps outwards. Children can use the folded house to draw objects and scenes for each room. Can be made to look like an old or new house. Less able drawers could cut and stick appropriate catalogue pictures, or use the 'Furniture and objects from the past pictures' sheet (below).

PDF: Foldable House (Inside)

PDF: Furniture and objects from the past pictures

A sheet of pictures of furniture and objects from the past and present. Useful for sorting activities, and could be glued to the chart (below). Children could use the pictures to create a book on daily living then and now.

PDF: Furniture and objects from the past chart

A simple chart that enables children to record items we use now and those that were used in the past. Can be used for written recording, or in conjunction with the 'Furniture and objects from the past pictures' sheet (below).

PDF: Washday object pictures

A sheet of pictures of washday objects from then and now. Use in discussion of life then and now, and changes that have taken place. Useful for sorting activities and to illustrate children's work.

PDF: Washday object worksheet

A simple chart that enables children to record washday items we use now and those that were used in the past. Can be used for written recording, or in conjunction with the 'Washday object pictures' sheet (above).

PDF: Cleaning then and now pictures

A sheet of pictures of cleaning objects from then and now. Use in discussion of life then and now, and changes that have taken place. Useful for sorting activities and to illustrate children's work.

PDF: Cooking then and now pictures

A sheet of pictures of cooking objects from then and now. Use in discussion of life then and now, and changes that have taken place. Useful for sorting activities and to illustrate children's work. Could be photocopied onto acetate and projected enlarged, for use for a home corner 'Kitchen of the past' setting.

PDF: Communications then and now pictures

A sheet of pictures of communications objects from then and now. Use in discussion of life then and now, and changes that have taken place. Useful for sorting activities and to illustrate children's work.

Useful resources (books, videos, etc)

Anna Then, Anna Now

Cleaning

Doing the washing

Fifty years ago: At home

Houses and Homes

Stephen Then, Stephen Now

Websites

What Where When Why

A great site to complement an Infant study of Homes. Match animals to their homes, create your own house, treehouse or castle, learn about the order of building a home, and read about Bertie the Boa Constrictor building a home. A bright and colourful site that is fun and easy to use, with spoken help throughout enabling the youngest of children to use it. Add interactive computer work to the Geographical and Historical study of homes with this lovely site.

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