In Reception, children learn about the past in contexts that are meaningful to them and are linked to the topics and texts used in our curriculum. Through all topics, opportunities are taken to observe how buildings, clothing and customs have changed over time, by looking at photographs and illustrations in books. Children are taught to understand and use vocabulary to show the passing of time. 

In the autumn term, children consider how they have changed over time, from being a baby to now, in 'Me and my community'. They also have opportunities to see how the local area has changed over the past 50 –100 years, by looking at photographs of familiar buildings and landmarks. In the spring term, Once Upon a Time provides lots of opportunities to observe how life, clothing, traditions and buildings differed in the past. In the summer term, Dangerous Dinosaurs enables children to compare extinct animals from prehistoric times to the Ice Age and modern-day humans and animals. 

These contexts enable children to develop the skills to be able to: 

• Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.   

• Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past