Year 1 Photographs from history: what can they tell us about Britain's recent past? worksheet

“The first photographs” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 1 history unit “Photographs from history: what can they tell us about Britain's recent past?”, for children aged 5 to 6, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 13 to 18 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

The first photographs

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 1 · History · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can say when photography began and why it helps historians.

A Look back3 min

1.
Look at the line. Which end shows the past, left or right?
leftright
2.
Which season goes in the empty box? It comes after summer.
autumnwinterspring
3.
Which word goes in the empty box? It is the day before today.
yesterdaytomorrowlast week

B Watch me, then you4 min

Long ago, a painter had to make every picture by hand. Look at how pictures changed over time.

Watch me

Long ago, people only drew or painted pictures.

About 200 years ago, photography began.

Today, many phones can take photographs too.

Now you

1.
Look at the boxes. Which kind of picture came after drawing by hand and before phone photos?
photographpaintingsketch

C Your turn7 min

Look at the picture, then answer each question.

An old painting of a horse in a gold frame on a plain wall

1.
Long ago, a painter made a picture of a horse. Is it a photograph? Write yes or no.
yesno
2.
Sam uses his phone to take a picture of his dog. Is it a photograph? Write yes or no.
yesno
3.
Long ago, pictures were made on cave walls. Who made them: a camera or a person?
cameraperson
4.
Write each card in the right column.
a painting of a horsea photo of Zara's cata drawing of a castlea photo of a busy street
Made by hand Made by a camera

Say it out loud: What changed between the first picture and the last one? Why did it change?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Pyramids standing in a sandy desert under a blue sky

Kit says: “People in Ancient Egypt took photographs of the pyramids.”

1.
Could people in Ancient Egypt take photographs of the pyramids? Write yes or no.
yesno

E Think deeper4 min

A simple box camera beside a neat stack of photos lying face down.

1.
Find one photo at home with a grown-up. Why might a historian like an old photo? Tell your grown-up. Write one reason here.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

The first photographs · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. left your child may think the right end is the past. Ask which end shows the older time. Then point to the left end together.

2. autumn your child may have picked winter. Ask your child to say the seasons in order, starting at spring, and stop at the empty box.

3. yesterday your child may have picked tomorrow. Ask whether that day has already happened or is still to come.

B

1. photograph your child may have picked painting. Paintings were made before photography began. Ask which picture came after the drawing and before the phone photo.

C

1. no your child may think every picture is a photograph. Ask how the painter made the picture: by hand or with a camera?

2. yes

3. person

4. Made by hand: a painting of a horse, a drawing of a castle · Made by a camera: a photo of Zara's cat, a photo of a busy street

D

1. no your child may think photos have always been possible. Photography began only about 200 years ago. Ask what people used to make pictures in Ancient Egypt.

E

1. Look for: A reason that says an old photo shows how things looked long ago, so people can compare then and now.

Words to use

Say“Which came first, the drawing or the photo? How do you know?”

Instead of“Photos have always been around, haven't they?”

After the sheet

Look at one printed photo together. Ask three questions: who is in it, where might it be, and what are they wearing?

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Early photos, then and now(with a plan)
Clues in an Old Photo(with a plan)
Seaside Then and Now(with a plan)
Britain in the 1940s and 50s(with a plan)
Looking at old photographs(with a plan)

Every Year 1 history worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

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