Year 1, Local History

As part of our local history topic, Year 1 explored how our local area has changed over time. Following our exciting trip to the Gateshead and Newcastle Quayside, the children reflected on the different structures they had seen. Back in the classroom, we looked closely at photographs of these landmarks and sorted them into two categories: those from the recent past and those that are over 100 years old. This helped us to begin understanding how our local area has developed.

The children were especially interested in the many bridges we saw, particularly after our workshop at the Baltic. We explored some of the bridges that cross the River Tyne and we worked together to place them in chronological order, thinking carefully about when each one was built. This helped us to see how bridge design has changed over time and why more bridges were needed.

We also examined maps of the Quayside from different periods. The children noticed that, over time, the number of bridges increased. This led to great discussions about why more bridges were needed and how they help people travel across the river.

It has been a fantastic topic, helping us to connect our learning to real places in our local area.