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.
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.
Teacher video: Adventures through time
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.
Choose your activity
Activity 1: Family tree
Activity 2: My achievements
Activity 3: Wearing the crown
Activity 4: Picture detective
Activity 5: Transport through time
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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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.
Knowledge and skills progression 
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