The Great Fire of London

In Year One, children have learnt about The Great Fire of London as part of our theme, ‘The Big Smoke.’ In our first Outdoor Learning session, we watched a small fire burn and used our senses to discuss what we could smell, hear and see.

In their Design and Technology lessons, children learnt about the features of Tudor houses and the materials they were made from.

Year One discussed the similarities and differences between houses that are built today, and houses built during the Tudor period. Each child designed their own Tudor house and wrote about the materials and equipment needed to make their design. After making their Tudor Houses, the children evaluated their piece of work and reflected upon the challenges they may have faced and what they would change about their design.

Mr Bailey assembled up all the Tudor houses together to make it look like London in 1666 on the playground. Mr Bailey retold us the story of the Great Fire of London as he set alight one house on Puddling Lane. Year One watched the wind blow the fire across the houses until all of the houses were burnt down. As the children were watching they sang the nursery rhyme, ‘London’s burning’ and asked questions about what they saw.

In their Art lessons, each child created their own piece of artwork depicting the Great Fire of London. The children looked at the different effects that can be created using chalk or oil pastels. In the second lesson, the children experimented with layering techniques, using different media to create a skyline of London in 1666.