Adventures through time

Comparing and contrasting people from the past and now by looking at photographs, listening to their stories and learning about their achievements.

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EYFS outcomes

Development matters

  • Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.

 

Characteristics of effective teaching and learning

  • Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things and ‘have a go’.
  • Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy their achievements for their own sake.
  • Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.

See Development Matters (non-statutory curriculum guidance).

 

Early learning goals

ELG: Understanding the World – Past and Present

  • Understand the past through settings, characters, and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

See Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage, 2021.

 

Activity 1 provides an opportunity to involve families by asking them in advance to send in photographs of the children, their parents and grandparents to be placed on a simple family tree.

Choose your activity

Activity 1: Family tree

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Activity 2: My achievements

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Activity 3: Wearing the crown

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Activity 4: Picture detective

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Activity 5: Transport through time

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Key skills

  • Recognising that some stories
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Key knowledge

To know:

  • The environment around
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Key vocabulary

achievement

courageous

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Equipment list

Equipment needed across all lessons in this unit.

This list does not include equipment which is usually readily available in the classroom (e.g pencils, A4 paper etc)

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Full equipment list for the subject

Quantities marked × will update. Items without quantities are unaffected

Activity 1: Family tree

  • Scissors right- and left-handed options recommended. ×30

Activity 2: My achievements

  • A table decorated with various medals and trophies

         ×1
  • Pictures of the achievements discussed in the input displayed around the room ×1
  • A creative station with colouring materials, decorative materials and scissors. ×1

Activity 3: Wearing the crown

  • A table covered with a white cloth

         ×1
  • A Wearing the crown (placed in the middle of the table) ×1
  • Gems (scattered around the Wearing the crown) ×1
  • Magnifying glasses 2
  • Items for the Wearing the crown: Crown; A velour cloak; Ball gown/dress; Shield; Pearl necklace; Medal (or rosette); Woolly hat; Baseball cap; Coat or hooded top.

Activity 4: Picture detective

  • Two boxes, one labelled ‘Past’ and one ‘Present’ (use sound buttons underneath each word to enable the children to read independently)
  • The storybook ‘Katie’s Picture Show’ by James Mayhew. ×1
  • The photographs from the story ‘Katie’s Picture Show’ by James Mayhew. ×1

Activity 5: Transport through time

  • A table covered with a white piece of cloth

  • Two boxes or hoops, one labelled with ‘past’ and one labelled with ‘present’
  • ‘Steam Train, Dream Team’ by Sherri Duskey River ×1
  • ‘Mr Grumpy’s Motorcar’ by John Burningham ×1
  • ‘The Runaway Train’ by Benedict Blathwayt ×1
  • Amelia Earhart’ (Little People, BIG DREAMS series) by Isabel Sanchez Vegara ×1
  • ‘Mrs Armitage on Wheels’ by Quentin Blake ×1

The equipment below is optional

Optional

Activity 1: Family tree

  • The storybook ‘My Two Grandads’ by Floella Benjamin ×1
  • Photographs of the children’s family members ×30

Optional

Activity 2: My achievements

  • The book ‘Courageous People Who Changed the World’ by Heidi Poelman ×1
  • A book from the ‘Little People, BIG DREAMS’ series by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara ×1

Optional

Activity 4: Picture detective

  • A loan box of objects from the past and present from a local museum ×1
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Teacher video: Adventures through time

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Teacher guidance

Using the activities

 

The activities are designed to support Reception teachers in targeting Development matters statements and laying the foundations for pupils’ further history learning. In this unit, the Development matters statement ‘Comment on images of familiar situations in the past‘ is broken down into its core skill and knowledge components, linked to the Kapow Primary History curriculum in KS1 and KS2.

 

Refer to the skills and knowledge grid below to choose which activities to use with your class.

 

Activities can be delivered in any order and at any time of the year to suit your curriculum, specific topic, or cohort.

 

 

Activities can be organised to suit your setting. Options include:

  • Using them as a whole-class lesson.
  • Introducing activities to the whole class before setting them up as part of the enhanced provision.
  • Allowing children to access the activities independently as part of the enhanced provision.

Further guidance

Ideas for topic links

 

Traditional/Terrific Tales
Marvellous Me
My Families
The Royals
Past and Present
Transport

 

Recommended texts

 

‘My Two Grandads’ by Floella Benjamin.

‘One Family’ by George Shannon.

‘A Family Is A Family Is A Family’ by Sara O’Leary.

‘We Are Family’ by Patricia Hegarty.

‘Courageous People Who Changed the World’ by Heidi Poelman.

‘Little People, BIG DREAMS’ series by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara.

‘Katie’s Picture Show’ by James Mayhew.

‘The Queen’s Knickers’ by Nicholas Allan.

‘British Kings and Queens’ by Olivia Waller.

The King’s Crown’ by Rose Cobden.

‘Paddington at the Palace’ by Michael Bond.

‘Look Inside a Castle’ Conrad Mason.

‘The Queen’s Hat’ Steve Antony.

‘If I Were King’ by Chelsea O’Byrne.

 

Continuous provision ideas

Role play area: fancy afternoon tea set, crowns and gowns; medals, trophies and a podium; uniforms such as train driver, ticket collector and tram driver, tickets and play money; cameras, photographs and picture frames.

 

Wider experiences

Visitor: Member of the local community who has achieved something of note.

Trip: Local castle tour; visit to a local steam railway or tram museum.

 

Ideas for at home

With parents, encourage the children to look at people from the past, perhaps from the local community or even amongst their own family through photographs. Try to use someone the child has not met before to create excitement.

Related content

    Resources

Unit resources

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History

History: Progression of skills and knowledge

An overview of the skills and knowledge covered in each phase and strand of the History curriculum.

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