What's included in the Technology Through Time History Stem Sentences resource and why is it useful?

KS1 Technology Through Time History Stem Sentences is a set of sentence stems that give children a clear starting point for discussion and written answers about the topic. The content includes 28 stem sentences across 7 pages, covering what technology is, technology in the home, entertainment, communication, travel, school then and now and technology in the future.

Each stem gives children the first part of a sentence, so they can focus on the history rather than how to begin. Children practise using topic vocabulary, explaining causes and consequences, and giving reasons with "because". This builds the oracy and extended writing skills they need to show what they know.

Technology at Home and Play

Stems that help children compare household and entertainment technology from the past and today, such as "My grandparents might remember using..."

Communication and Travel

Stems about how people sent messages and travelled in the past, such as "Alexander Graham Bell changed the world because..."

School and the Future

Stems that compare school 70 years ago with today and invite predictions, such as "I think robots and AI will be important in the future because..."

How do our history stem sentences work?

Our stem sentences sit alongside our history scheme. Display a stem on the board or print the pages for tables, and children finish the sentence aloud or in writing. You can also use them:

• as a lesson starter to recap learning from the previous lesson
• with talk partners, who finish a stem together and then share their answer
• as a writing frame for extended answers in books
• on a working wall, so children can refer back to them across the topic
• at the end of the unit, to see what children can explain on their own

Stretch confident learners by asking them to add a second reason or a piece of evidence. Support others by modelling a complete sentence first.

Teach the full unit with our six Technology Through Time lessons.

Supporting Children with EAL and SEND

Stem sentences reduce the language load of a task, so every child can take part in the discussion. Read stems aloud together, point to the photo on each strip and give a word bank of key vocabulary from the topic. Children can answer with a single word or a drawing before building to a full sentence.