The Great Fire of London Lessons and Resources KS1
Outstanding KS1 lessons the Great Fire of London
Our exciting brand-new outstanding Medium term planner on the Great Fire of London comes with a clear rationale and 6 enquiry-led fully resourced lessons.
The new approach looks at a very familiar topic in a completely new way, including three completely new enquiries which set it apart from the plethora of worksheets that have flooded the market. In particular, the opening session is heavily investigative and sets the tone for pupils working at history detectives throughout. Two new enquiries, which form key questions 4 and 5, look at the human impact of the event, an aspect often ignored.
Great Fire of London KS1 Scheme of Work, Knowledge Organiser, Assessment & Quiz
| The Great Fire Of London Key Questions | Historical focus |
|---|---|
| KQ1 – How can we work out why the Great Fire started? | Evidence, enquiry and causation |
| KQ2 – What happened during the Great Fire and how do we know? | Chronology and historical evidence |
| KQ3 – Why did the Great Fire burn down so many houses? | Causation and explanation |
| KQ4 – Could more have been done to slow the spread of the fire? | Causation and historical judgement |
| KQ5 – How did people manage to live through the Great Fire? | Historical experience and consequences |
| KQ6 – How shall we rebuild London after the Great Fire? | Consequences, change and continuity |
Great Fire of London end of unit quiz – KS1
In this quiz, you’ll test your knowledge about one of the most famous events in British history — the Great Fire of London in 1666. You’ll need to recall what…
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Great Fire of London knowledge organiser – KS1
The Great Fire of 1666 is an event that most people know about today not least because it changed the face of London as we know it today. It provides…
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The Great Fire – KQ1 – How can we work out why the Great Fire started?
This innovative session places pupils right from the start of the enquiry in the role of detectives to discover when, where and why the Great Fire of London broke out….
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The Great Fire – KQ2 – What happened during the Great Fire and how do we know?
This lesson focuses on the idea of evidence and proof. Can pupils find evidence to back up statements made in books? Can they tell which is the strongest piece of…
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The Great Fire – KQ3 – Why did the Great Fire burn down so many houses?
This Great Fire lesson focuses on developing children’s powers of explanations. They will already have looked at the sequence of events and will be able to offer a few simple…
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The Great Fire – KQ4 – Could more have been done to slow the spread of the fire?
This session comprises three distinct phases. The first is mime-based, looking at the firefighting methods used and discussing their disadvantages. The second looks at what action was taken to stop…
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The Great Fire – KQ5 – How did people manage to live through the Great Fire?
Miraculously for a city that was the third largest in the world, consumed by a fire that lasted for days, very few people died, as far as we know. There…
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The Great Fire – KQ5 Additional Resource – Crowdfunding is nothing new
Extra information to support your teaching of Key Question 5 – Crowdfunding is nothing new As we stress in this KQ5 enquiry, it is important that you focus on the…
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The Great Fire – KQ6 – How shall we rebuild London after the Great Fire?
This lesson gives full rein to children’s creative flair, disciplined by evidence. The City of London is offering a prize for the best design for a rebuilt London after the…
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Help Tom to fight the Great Fire. Smart Task
This ICT based activity draws heavily on the superb new website created as a joint enterprise by the National Archives, National Portrait Gallery, Museum of London and London Fire Brigade…
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KS1 Star Lesson on The Great Fire
Why did the Great Fire of 1666 burn down so many more houses than other fires in London at that time? In this exceptional lesson, pupils adopt the role of…
Read More6 top history ideas to cover in your Great Fire topic
Many of you will be starting your Great Fire topic this term. Naturally you will want this to be exciting as well as challenging and you will want to focus…
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Keeping up-to-date with your teaching of the Great Fire at KS1
If you get the chance, between the end of term and April, to visit the Museum of London’s exhibition Fire! Fire! don’t hesitate. There are some extraordinary exhibits and it…
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What’s in the bag and who does it belong to? Great Fire Smart Task
An object-based problem-solving approach to learning about life during the Great Fire This Smart Task is just part of a lesson and uses the power of concealed objects to fire…
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KS1 | Great Fire interactive resource
Just thought I’d bring to the attention of those who haven’t yet seen it the interesting resource put together by the Museum of London and other agencies a year or…
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Using De Bono’s Thinking Hats to develop thinking skills at Key Stage 1 via the topic the Great Fire of London. Smart Task
Two infant teachers from southern Hampshire, Julie Syms from Crofton Hammond Infants and Nicola Beazley from Sarisbury Green Infants, have created a composite description of their experience of using de…
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Great Fire Smart Task – What’s going on in our mystery picture?
This simple starter activity uses a large, coloured, artist’s reconstruction of Pepys burying his possessions when he knows it is time to finally flee his home. Children will be familiar…
Read MoreExcellent resource on Great Fire of London for KS1
The Museum of London has a wonderful selection of teaching resources on its website including an interactive story and perhaps best of all a Minecraft version of 1666’s tragic tale. Find all of…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.