How have the ways people in Britain spend their leisure time changed over time? Each of the seven lessons in this KS2 History lesson plan pack focuses on a significant period or aspect of leisure and entertainment in the 20th century. The slides and detailed lesson plans include loads of facts, images, descriptions and questions to get your children thinking and talking about how and why changes in leisure occurred.

As well as the detailed plans and slides, each lesson in this series comes with a range of printable resources such as worksheets, fact files, games and activity cards also included. It's all been written and designed by our team of experienced primary teachers to ensure superb coverage of the Key Stage 2 History National Curriculum objectives. They're a fantastic, time-saving tool to help your pupils continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British social history!

The Edwardians

The first lesson in this Complete Series focuses on the state of British leisure and entertainment at the start of the 20th Century. Find out all about how legislation during the Victorian and Edwardian eras effectively created leisure time for working families, and the pastimes that British people enjoyed during this period. The included slides and printable resources challenge children to learn about these leisure activities, and consider how they have changed over time.

Note: A video is included with this lesson for your convenience, but also freely available in the National Archives.

The Second World

How were many popular British pastimes affected by the outbreak of war? The included slides explore this question and include a number of images and descriptions of many of the changes that affected daily life in Britain during the Second World War. Following this, challenge children to engage with one of two included learning activities where they will either: consider the causes and effects of changes to leisure and entertainment, or work in groups to become 'experts' on wartime pastimes.

Boosting Morale

All aspects of everyday life, including leisure and entertainment, were affected by the Second World War, but what happened when the war ended? Via the images, descriptions and questions included in the slides with this lesson, children will find out all about the 'rebuilding' of Britain post-war. Following this, learn all about the 1948 London Olympics and the 1951 Festival of Britain, and consider why these public spectacles were so significant.

Music and Technology

Moving forward to focus on the second half of the 20th century, this lesson explores ways in which trends in popular music have changed over time. As well as this, children will find out how the technology used to produce and listen to music has changed since the 1950s and (depending on which of the two included activities you choose to use) either create their own timelines or prepare presentations to show what they have learned and understood.

Film and Television

How are we influenced by the film and television we watch? In this lesson, explore ways in which the media influences ourselves and others, then go on to consider how our perception of other parts of the world are affected by what we watch (and vice versa). Challenge children to develop their historical enquiry skills as they consider the reliability, influence and bias of the films and television they watch during either of the two included activities.

British Holidays

How have holiday destinations and pastimes in Britain changed over time? During this lesson children will consider the ways in which seaside holidays have changed (and remained the same!) since the Edwardian era. The slides focus on one popular British seaside town and included images, descriptions and questions for children to engage with. Following this, choose from the two included activities, where children will either find out more about seaside holiday pastimes or study archive film footage of holiday destinations around Britain.

What have we learned?

The concluding lesson of this Complete Series briefly recaps prior learning in previous lessons, then challenges children to consider what they have understood, which history skills they have used and how effectively they have used them. A range of printable resources are included which children can use to produce booklets to show their learning, evaluate themselves or even produce a piece of art concerned with an aspect of their learning!