Fire Craft Skills

Session overview

Students will learn essential fire safety and campfire skills outdoors, including fire circle etiquette, methods to safely extinguish a fire, cooking bread over a fire, and creating embers using a parabolic dish. This hands-on session fosters practical survival and teamwork skills within a forest environment.

Learning objectives (WALT)

• WALT demonstrate fire circle etiquette to ensure safety and respect around an open fire (FF1.1).
• WALT understand the importance and techniques of completely extinguishing a fire after use (FF1.2).
• WALT cook simple food, such as bread, over an open fire safely (FF2.4).
• WALT create and manage embers using a parabolic dish to sustain fire heat efficiently (FF2.5).

Success criteria

• Students correctly position themselves and behave safely within the fire circle throughout the session.
• Students explain the steps to fully extinguish a campfire and demonstrate the process confidently.
• Students successfully cook bread over the open fire without injury or waste.
• Students create and maintain embers in a parabolic dish, explaining why embers are useful in fire management.

Transferable skills

• Teamwork: coordinating tasks such as fire tending and cooking.
• Listening and following instructions for fire safety and cooking methods.
• Problem-solving: adjusting the fire or embers to maintain heat.
• Resilience and patience: working safely with fire and cooking over a slow process.

Starter (10 minutes)

• Discussion: Gather the group around a designated safe area (away from the fire). Briefly discuss why fire safety is crucial in outdoor environments, introducing the concept of fire circle etiquette. Use questioning to elicit prior knowledge about fire hazards and responsible behaviour.
• Show visuals (simple, dyslexia-friendly signs/symbols) illustrating fire safety rules and etiquette in the fire circle.

Input/modelling (10 minutes)

• Teacher demonstration: Use the sun and a parabolic dish to create an ember, explaining the science of reflection and heat concentration in simple terms.
• Model lighting a fire using the ember created with the parabolic dish.
• Explain other methods to establish and maintain a fire safely after the initial ember is created.
• Introduce the plan to cook bread over the fire once it is established, with clear safety instructions and visual prompts.

Independent practice (15 minutes)

• Students first use the sun and parabolic dishes to create embers and light their own fires, applying fire circle etiquette.
• Students practice fire safety techniques, including safe handling of materials and maintaining a safe distance.
• Students experiment with different natural materials (e.g., dry leaves, bark, twigs) to start and sustain a fire, observing which materials ignite more easily and why.
• Encourage problem-solving by having students troubleshoot difficulties in fire starting and suggest alternative approaches.
• Once fires are established, students use other methods to maintain and build the fire.
• Under close supervision, students prepare and cook bread dough over the established fire, using sticks or skewers.
• Teacher circulates to provide individual support and safety supervision.

Mini plenary (5 minutes)

• Stop the activities briefly for reflection: ask pupils to share what challenges they encountered, how they followed safety rules, and how the embers behaved compared to the open flames.
• Use thumbs up/down or emoji cards to assess confidence levels in extinguishing fires safely.

Independent practice (10 minutes)

• Students practise completely extinguishing the fire using the teacher-demonstrated methods (e.g., water, digging, soil).
• Each student is given a turn to fully extinguish a part of the campfire with guided feedback.

Plenary (5 minutes)

• Group discussion on the importance of fire circle etiquette and fire extinguishing for personal and environmental safety.
• Recap the benefits of cooking food over an open fire and how embers assist in fire craft.
• Reinforce key learning with the help of visual reminders or word mats focussing on fire safety keywords and techniques.

Exit ticket (5 minutes)

• Each student writes or draws a quick response to one of these prompts:
• "One rule of fire circle etiquette is..."
• "To completely put out a fire, I must..."
• "The best way to cook bread over a fire is..."
• "An ember is useful because..."
• Responses can be verbal for SEN students or those with dyslexia, recorded by staff or peer helpers.

Lower ability

• Use one-on-one adult support during all hands-on activities.
• Provide simplified, symbol-based instructions and step-by-step visual aids.
• Allow extra time for practising extinguishing fire safely with staff guidance.
• Include multisensory approaches (verbal instructions, touch, sight) to reinforce understanding.

Higher ability

• Challenge to experiment with different bread cooking methods (e.g., using foil folds or stone surfaces).
• Explore creating a small reflector to enhance ember heat further, discussing the physics behind it.
• Encourage leadership roles within the group for fire etiquette enforcement and safety responsibility.

Extension activities

• Create a fire safety poster incorporating session learning, aimed at younger pupils or the wider school community.
• Research and present on traditional fire-making and cooking techniques from different cultures.
• Incorporate environmental impact discussion: how to minimise fire scars on woodland floors and benefit local ecology.

Cross curricular links

• Science: Understanding combustion and heat transfer (physics). Exploring materials for cooking and heat reflection.
• PSHE: Building responsibility, managing risk, and safe behaviour outdoors.
• English: Developing communication skills through discussion and reflection exercises; symbolic and visual literacy for safety signs.
• Design and Technology: Using tools and materials (sticks, dough) creatively with consideration to safety.

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This lesson plan is designed to engage secondary pupils, including those with SEND and SEMH needs, using therapeutic, inclusive outdoor learning that builds practical, transferable life skills in line with the National Curriculum’s emphasis on personal development, safety, and scientific understanding for year 8 students.