KS1 History Lesson Plan: Lives of Significant Individuals in the Past

1. Lesson Overview
- Year group: KS1 (Year 1/2)
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Topic: Significant individuals in the past
- Example focus: Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale (you can swap for other pairs such as Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, or Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong)

2. Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, pupils will:
- Know that Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale lived a long time ago.
- Describe who they were and why they are remembered.
- Use simple time words (past, long ago, then, now, before, after).
- Identify at least one similarity and one difference between their lives and ours today.
- Ask and answer simple questions about their lives using pictures and stories.

3. Key Vocabulary
past, long ago, nurse, hospital, soldier, war, help, brave, kind, medicine, travel, before, after, timeline, important, achievement

4. Resources Needed
- Simple storybooks or child-friendly videos about Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale
- Portraits/pictures of both women
- Simple map showing where they lived/travelled
- Picture cards showing key moments from their lives
- Large class timeline (with “long ago” and “today”)
- Venn diagram or two-circle comparison chart (Mary / Florence)
- Paper, crayons, pencils

5. Starter Activity (10 minutes)
- Show two portraits: Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.
- Ask: “What do you notice? How are they the same? How are they different?”
- Explain that they both lived a long time ago and helped people who were sick.

6. Main Teaching Input (10–15 minutes)
- Tell a short, simple story about each woman (who they were, what they did, why they are remembered).
- Place 3–4 key events from each life on the class timeline.
- Model using time words: “First… then… after that… long ago… now…”
- Briefly show how we know about them (pictures, books, statues, memorials).

7. Pupil Activities (25–30 minutes)
Activity 1: Who Am I?
- In small groups, children match picture cards and short captions to either Mary Seacole or Florence Nightingale.
- They say: “This is Mary/Florence. She…”

Activity 2: Similarities and Differences
- As a class or in pairs, fill in a simple Venn diagram (Mary / Florence / Both).
- Children suggest ways they are similar (both nurses, both helped soldiers) and different (where they were from, how they helped).

Challenge
- Higher-attaining pupils write one or two simple sentences comparing life then and now (e.g. “In the past nurses did not have the same equipment. Now hospitals are cleaner and safer.”).

8. Plenary (5–10 minutes)
- Ask a few pupils to share one thing they learned about each woman.
- Revisit objectives: Can we say why they are important? Can we say one similarity and one difference?
- Add new words or ideas to the class word bank.

9. Homework
- Homework sheet: draw Mary Seacole on one side and Florence Nightingale on the other.
- Write or dictate one simple sentence about each (e.g. “Mary Seacole helped soldiers with medicine.” “Florence Nightingale helped make hospitals cleaner.”).

10. Assessment Notes
- Look for pupils using time words correctly.
- Check if they can say who each woman was and why she is remembered.
- Note who can identify at least one similarity and one difference between the two and between life then and now.