Year 1 - History
A family portrait from 140 years ago
Photographs from history: what can they tell us about Britain's recent past?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores photography as a recent invention that records history, highlighting early photos of lost ways of life and the challenges of early 20th-century photography. Students learn about changes in recent history, including food, clothing, and more, through photos from the past century.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe some of the things that we can learn from a family portrait photograph from 140 years ago.
Key Notes
- Looking at a family portrait from 140 years ago can tell us a lot about that time.
- The number of children can tell us about the size of families.
- The clothes they are wearing can tell us about what was fashionable at the time.
- The objects in the photograph can tell us about their interests and pastimes.
Vocabulary To Learn
- portrait: a portrait is a painting or photograph of a person or people
- wealthy: people with lots of money or land are described as wealthy
- fashionable: something that is popular to wear can be described as fashionable
- pastimes: a pastime is a hobby that people enjoy doing outside of work or school
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- That all families were the same 140 years ago and life was the same for everyone.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.
Looking at a family portrait from 140 years ago can tell us a lot about that time. The number of children can tell us about the size of families.
2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'portrait'
a portrait is a painting or photograph of a person or people.
3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.
Mistake: That all families were the same 140 years ago and life was the same for everyone. Correction: Explain that while the photograph gives us some clues to life in the past, just like now, all families were different.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 1 History guide library.