Seaside Holidays Past & Present

Overview

A 60-minute engaging history lesson for Year 2 students exploring how seaside holidays have changed from the past to the present. Linked to the National Curriculum for England, this lesson develops pupils’ understanding of chronological knowledge and historical vocabulary through images, storytelling, and comparison activities.

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National Curriculum Links

History Key Stage 1

• Pupils should be taught to:
  • Develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time
  • Know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework
  • Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods
  • Use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms

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Learning Objectives

• To understand what seaside holidays were like in the past compared to today
• To sequence simple historical events and use historical vocabulary
• To identify similarities and differences between past and present seaside holidays

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Success Criteria

• I can use words like “then”, “now”, “old” and “new” when talking about seaside holidays
• I can spot at least three ways seaside holidays were different in the past
• I can share what I have learned using pictures and historical words

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Resources

• Vocabulary mat widget with key terms (past, present, old, new, same, different, timeline, holiday, seaside)
• Picture cards/images: Victorian seaside scenes, 1950s seaside, modern-day seaside
• Storybook or short video story about a child’s seaside holiday in the past
• Timeline strip (for sequencing events visually)
• Worksheet for sorting pictures / drawing comparisons
• Whiteboard & markers

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Hook: Show the children two contrasting pictures of seaside holidays (one old black & white Victorian image and one modern colourful one).
• Discussion: Ask, “What do you notice? How are these holidays different or similar?”
• Introduce vocabulary mat on screen or print for each table, focusing on key terms to use during the lesson. Highlight words like past, present, old, new, same, and different.

Differentiation:

• Provide word mats with pictures to EAL/students with SEND.
• Use clear, simple language and repeat key vocabulary.

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2. Story Time & Exploration (15 minutes)

• Read aloud a short story or present a storytelling video of a child’s trip to the seaside 100 years ago (Victorian/early 20th century).
• Pause to discuss elements of the story: What did the child see? What did they do? What was different from holidays today?
• Show images to support story understanding.

Differentiation:

• Support lower ability children by using picture prompts and retelling
• Challenge higher ability pupils to identify more differences or explain why things were that way

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3. Group Activity: Sorting Past and Present (20 minutes)

• Divide children into small groups (5-6 pupils). Provide sets of picture cards showing seaside activities and features from the past and present.
• Children discuss and sort pictures into two columns: Past and Present.
• Ask pupils to complete a simple worksheet where they draw lines to match pictures or write one sentence about differences or similarities.
• Introduce a simple timeline strip to place pictures/events in order, reinforcing sequencing and vocabulary about time.

Differentiation:

• Scaffold writing tasks with sentence starters (e.g. “In the past, people ___.”)
• Provide labelled sorting mats for EAL or lower ability pupils
• Extension: Pupils write or orally share reasons for the differences using historical vocabulary

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4. Reflection and Assessment (10 minutes)

• Class discussion: Invite children to share what they found interesting.
• Ask: “What is one thing you learned about seaside holidays long ago?” and “What is one thing about seaside holidays today?”
• Children complete a short exit task: draw a picture of their favourite seaside activity, past or present, and write a sentence using vocabulary mat words.

Assessment:

• Observe use of historical vocabulary in discussion and writing
• Review sorting activity worksheet to check understanding of past/present differences and sequencing

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5. Plenary & Review (5 minutes)

• Recap key vocabulary with the class, pointing to the vocabulary mat widget displayed
• Praise efforts and correct gently any misconceptions about the passage of time or vocabulary
• Introduce a question for pupils to think about for next lesson: “How do seaside holidays teach us about people’s lives in the past?”

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Vocabulary Mat Widget

Word	Definition	Visual Cue
Past	A long time ago, before now	Old clock/timeline
Present	Now, at this time	Sun shining on beach today
Old	Something from a long time ago	Black and white photo
New	Something recent or modern	Colourful, modern ice cream
Same	Not different	Two identical beach buckets
Different	Not the same	Shoes – trainers and sandals
Timeline	Order of events in time	A line with dates and pictures
Holiday	Time away for fun and rest	Beach ball or bucket
Seaside	The area by the sea	Wave or shell

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Differentiation Summary

Learner Type	Strategies
EAL	Picture-supported vocabulary mat, simple sentences
SEND (Cognition)	One-to-one support, simplified language, concrete examples
Higher Ability	Extension activities, explain reasoning, more vocabulary use
All learners	Use of multi-sensory resources (story, images, discussion)

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This lesson plan provides a rich mix of discussion, storytelling, image analysis, and practical sorting tasks to meet the Year 2 History curriculum requirements. It uses historical vocabulary and engages pupils in understanding changes over time, with careful adaptations to support all learners.