We are becoming historians this term and stepping back in time to 1666, using a range of sources and texts to investigate the events of the Great Fire of London. We will be looking at how it started, why it spread so quickly and how it was stopped. Along the way, we will learn of individuals that played a significant role at the time, such as King Charles II and Samuel Pepys, and those who have shaped the rebuild of London, into the city we know today.
As part of our history lessons, we are using an educational game developed by the Museum of London and partner organisations, to follow the story of the Great Fire and view primary evidence and artefacts from the time. If you would like to explore further at home, it can be found at The Great Fire Of London - The Great Fire of London
Linking to our history topic, we will be using fiction and non-fiction narratives to inform and inspire our writing of poetry describing the fire, and then a news report, retelling the events of the four days as they developed.
In design and technology, we will be using our knowledge from our Fire of London research and Camo day last year, when we got to climb on a real fire engine, to design and build a fire vehicle of our own. Some clean junk modelling will be needed for this! (small boxes, cotton reels, straws, small yoghurt pots, cardboard tubes). Thank you in advance for your donations!
Finally in science, we will be looking at uses of everyday materials, and how some solids can be manipulated. We will be applying our knowledge of the features of different materials, to compare their suitability for building houses and making firefighting equipment.
At the end of term, we will be presenting an assembly on our topic and would love to invite parents to attend, so that we can share some of what we have learnt about the Great Fire of London. This will be on Wednesday, 22nd May, with more details to follow nearer the time. We hope you can make it, the children are going to have a lot to share!