Great Fire Exploration

Learning Focus (WALT)

We Are Learning To:

• Understand what happened during the Great Fire of London
• Recognise key elements of the fire through sensory and visual experiences
• Communicate ideas about the event using simple words, pictures, and sentence grids

(National Curriculum Focus: History – Understanding Changes Within Living Memory – EYFS Development Matters linked to ‘Understanding the World’ and Early Years statutory framework: “Talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members.”)

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Success Criteria

• I can say or show one word or picture about fire or London
• I can join or point to pictures in the sentence grid to describe the fire
• I can listen and watch carefully to a story about the Great Fire of London

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Lesson Outline (15 minutes for 6 students, Reception)

1. Introduction (3 minutes)

• Begin with a colourful, tactile picture book or large visual card of London in 1666 showing houses and fire.
• Use a simple and clear sentence grid on the table with images/words: "Fire," "London," "Big," "Hot," "Run."
• For preverbal children: offer large picture cards they can hold or point to.
• Say clearly: "Long ago, there was a big fire in London."

2. Storytime with Sensory Engagement (5 minutes)

• Read a simple narrated story using symbols and sparse language explaining the Great Fire – emphasising "Fire! Fire! Run!"
• Use a small toy fire engine or a soft flame toy to help visualise the fire.
• Allow children to interact: point to sentence cards matching nouns or actions (like “fire” and “run”).
• For SEND/preverbal children, support pointing with a model or hand-under-hand technique.

3. Interactive Story Sequencing (5 minutes)

• Using a visual grid (widget board) with 4-5 sequential images:
  1. Houses in London
  2. Fire starts
  3. Fire spreads
  4. People running
  5. Firefighters/today’s fire engine
• Children place or point to pictures in order.
• Higher-attaining learners can create a simple sentence using the grid: e.g. “Fire is big.”
• Encourage discussion: "What is this? What are people doing?"

4. Reflection and Communication (2 minutes)

• Invite children to show one picture or say one word about the Great Fire.
• Offer sentence starters on the grid for children who can speak: “Fire is...” or “People run…”
• Use lots of praise for attempts, emphasising communication in any form.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Preverbal/SEND pupils: Use tactile picture cards, model gestures, hand-under-hand support, single words or signs. Limit sentence grid options to 2-3 choices.
• Visual learners: Utilise highly visual grids and real objects (toys/fire engine).
• Higher attainers: Challenge to form simple sentences using widgets; ask “Why was fire dangerous?” (with visual support).
• Dyslexia-friendly: Use bold, sans-serif fonts on sentence grids (e.g. Comic Sans or Arial). Use coloured backgrounds (soft pastel) behind texts to reduce visual stress.

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Extension Activities for Advanced Learners

• Draw or paint their version of a fire scene.
• Sequence written words together with pictures to write a simple sentence about the fire.
• Discuss briefly modern fire safety and firefighter roles, linking past and present.

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Resources Needed

• Large laminated visual sentence grid cards (fire, London, houses, run, hot/fire engine).
• Picture book or story cards about the Great Fire of London simplified for EYFS.
• Small toy fire engine or safe flame prop.
• Visual sequence widget board (large cards with simple images).
• Dyslexia-friendly fonts and coloured overlays if needed.

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Curriculum Links Summary

• EYFS Understanding the World: Past and present: Talk about past and present events in their own and others’ lives, supported by familiar sensory cues.
• History Early Learning Goals: Children know about their own past through stories and images and begin to understand changes over time, here represented by London then and now.
• Communication links with Speaking and Listening, supporting sentence building via visual grids.

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This adaptable, multisensory lesson plan meets the needs of diverse learners during the 15-minute history exploration on the Great Fire, engaging preverbal and verbal children closely aligned with the UK National Curriculum for EYFS.