In this remote learning activity, the shopkeeper explains that some of his best toys have gone missing! The shopkeeper will list and describe the toys for the children, showing them the parts of The 1900s Town where they think the toys may have gone missing. This includes the garage, the Co-op, and the 1900s Town street itself. 

During this remote learning activity, the children will learn: 

• What toys were like for children in the past and how to play with them. 
• See how shops, garages and other parts of everyday life were different or similar in the past. 

Please note that this is a remote learning activity, the supervisor with the children will have an active role to play to support them as they visit different parts of The 1900s Town remotely. 

Guidelines for teachers: 

Preparing for the remote activity: In our experience, Zoom works best but we are able to use a variety of video conferencing software such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet etc. It is strongly recommended that supervising staff should test the connection between the museum and classroom before the session. Contact Simon Woolley, Head of Learning via email simonwoolley@beamish.org.uk to make arrangements for this. The presenter only needs to be able to hear the children in order to make the activity work. Some classes have used the chat facility to instruct the presenter as to where to go and what to do, which can be typed in by the teacher as the activity progresses.  

Practicalities: 

• Use of an effective microphone has been beneficial but not essential to the success of the Zoom activity, otherwise children can come up to the laptop to ask a question or make a suggestion as to what to do, or the chat facility can be used. The supervising adult can communicate on the children’s behalf.  
• The presenter will set the scene at the beginning of the activity – the toys have been mislaid round some of the shops and places in The 1900s Town area, everyone then needs to work together to get the toys back. The presenter will visit parts of The Town, following the instructions of the children to find the toys, they will show the students how to play with the different toys, collect them in a sack and then move on. The presenter will be aware of the concentration levels of the children and will adapt the delivery accordingly. It may not be possible to find all ten toys during the session. The length of the session can be agreed with the presenter beforehand; it may be possible break the session into shorter lengths. 
• There may be localised school rules that the presenter may not be aware of regarding online activities for the children, it is important that these are discussed beforehand so everybody is clear about how the session will be delivered. 

Objectives of the activity: 

• To encourage the children to use their observation skills to find the toys and to make associations with the present. 
• To understand the similarities and differences between various aspects of the past and the present. 
• To be able to solve problems with the presenter. 

Ideas for pre and post visit: 

• Pre: Prior to the experience students should be told a little about what they will be doing. It might be useful to have the children in the room when the connection is tested prior to the actual session. 
  • It may be useful if the supervisors could explore some of the toys before the session starts so the children are already familiar with them. 
• Post: Possible follow up activities could be: 
  • For the children to make their own period toy in class. 
  • Complete the follow-up worksheets on offer.