History

History

Autumn 1

The Great Fire of London 

This Great Fire of London unit will teach the children about the key events of the Great Fire of London and help them to develop an understanding of the ways in which we can find out about the past. The children will have the opportunity to increase their awareness of the past by learning about what London was like in the 17th century. They compare life in the 17th century to the present day and consider how some problems, such as the lack of an organised fire brigade and the type of buildings, caused the fire to spread. Children then focus on how and why some things changed as a result of the fire, in order to be safer. They begin to learn how historical sources can tell us about what happened in the past and how some
sources are more useful than others.

After learning about how the Great Fire of London started, children can complete this task in which they imagine that they are Thomas Farriner and describe in a diary entry what happened on the morning of the fire. They can explore how he felt and what he could see, hear and smell.