The Great Fire

Lesson Overview

• Duration: 60 minutes
• Year Group: Year 7 (working at Year 2-3 ability) in a special school
• Class Size: 9 students
• Primary Needs: Cognition and learning, attention, and concentration
• Curriculum Link: KS1 History (adapted for Year 7) → Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally
• Learning Objective (LO): To explore how the Great Fire of London affected the city and the lives of those who experienced it.
• Teaching Approach: Fun, engaging, and practical activities to maintain focus and enhance understanding.

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Lesson Structure

Starter (10 minutes) – Sensory Hook

💡 Activity: "What’s That Smell?"

• Use small scent jars with smells from the time of the Great Fire: smoke (burnt wood), bread (bakery), and leather (common materials in 1666).
• Pass around jars and discuss: "What do you think this smell is from? How do you feel about it?"
• Show a picture of Pudding Lane and explain how the fire started in a bakery.

Why? Engages the senses and sparks curiosity before introducing the main topic.

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Main Activity 1 (15 minutes) – Drama & Role-Play

👔 Activity: "Escape from the Fire!"

• Students take on roles such as a baker, a child, a firefighter, and a shop owner.
• Provide simple costume props (hats, aprons, buckets).
• Play fire background sounds while students act out escaping from the fire – teachers guide them with prompts:
  • "What would you grab?"
  • "Where would you run?"
  • "Think about how fast the fire is spreading!"
• Teacher freezes the scene and asks students to describe how they feel in that moment.

Why? Encourages empathy and visualisation while supporting focus through active learning.

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Main Activity 2 (15 minutes) – Hands-on Experiment

🔥 Activity: "How Did The Fire Spread So Fast?"

• Create three simple mini-house structures using different materials (paper, wood, and Lego bricks).
• Use a fan (to represent wind) and red and orange scarves or tissue paper to show how the fire moves faster between certain materials.
• Students predict which house will be most affected before testing the fan’s impact.
• Discuss: "Why did the fire spread so quickly in 1666 but wouldn’t today?"
  • Link to modern fire safety & materials.

Why? This visual and practical demonstration builds understanding of historical cause and effect.

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Main Activity 3 (10 minutes) – Creative Reflection

📝 Activity: "Message in the Ashes"

• Imagine they lived in 1666 and just escaped the fire.
• Each student writes or draws a message to King Charles II about what they lost and what they need to rebuild their lives (e.g., "I lost my house and my shop – I need wood and bricks!").
• Simplified sentence starters used for support:
  • "Dear King Charles II, the fire took my ____. I need ____ to help me."
• Teacher collects these and reads a few examples aloud.

Why? Encourages reflection and reinforces learning through emotional connection.

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Plenary (10 minutes) – Interactive Quiz

🎤 Activity: "Fire or Fact?"

• Teacher reads out statements and students vote whether they are FACT🔥 or FALSE❄️ using cards.

  • "The fire started in a bakery on Pudding Lane." (True)
  • "They put out the fire with fire extinguishers." (False)
  • "The houses were close together, which helped the fire spread." (True)

• End with a surprise water spray (using a spray bottle) over the class when discussing how they finally put out the fire!

Why? A lively, fun recap to reinforce key facts.

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Resources Needed

✔️ Scent jars (burnt wood, bread, leather)
✔️ Simple props (hats, aprons, buckets)
✔️ Mini-house models (paper, wood, and Lego bricks)
✔️ Fan and red/orange scarves for fire demo
✔️ Sentence starter worksheets for creative writing
✔️ Quiz cards for plenary

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Assessment Opportunities

• Observation in role-play & discussion – Are students engaging and understanding how the fire affected people?
• Prediction in the fire spread experiment – Can they explain why some materials burn faster?
• Creative writing task – Are they using appropriate historical details?
• Participation in quiz – How well do they recall key facts?

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Differentiation & Support

🔹 For students needing extra support:

• Use visual cards with key answers during the quiz.
• Provide word banks for written tasks.
  🔹 For students who need more challenge:
• Ask them to think of solutions for preventing fires (like designing stronger buildings).

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Reflection

• What went well?
• Would students benefit from more hands-on activities next time?
• Did students engage well with role-play or need more structure?

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🚀 Takeaway for next lesson: Students will explore how London was rebuilt after the fire and how it changed fire safety laws.