London’s Burning

On Wednesday, Year 2 took part in a Great Fire of London workshop.

This involved completing various challenges and activities starting with a fun quiz as they competed in teams within their Houses. Next, they arranged the events of the Great Fire of London in chronological order by acting out the key moments in small groups and taking a freeze-frame of each and sequencing them on a Thinking Frame. This metacognitive visual tool encourages the transfer of thinking skills and provides a visual record. It was fascinating to see how creative the children were.

After break the year group enjoyed a carousel activity where they rotated around three exciting tasks:

• Quill Writing – The children used quills to write in the style of “Samuel Pepys”.
• Samuel’s Stash – At the end of a treasure hunt around the school, the children discovered the cheese and ‘grape juice’ that Samuel Pepys famously buried in his garden to protect them from the fire!
• Painting – Creating a background for a Great Fire of London collage.

During the afternoon everyone came back together and made colourful collages of the buildings in London in 1666 complete with dramatic flames! Then it was outside to experience chain-ganging where the children used buckets and practiced passing them and using a large container as a reservoir to see if they would make brave firefighters.

The day finished with everyone singing London’s Burning in canon (rounds). Everyone had such a great day and now know all about the Great Fire of London.