Year 2 – History

Year 2 – History

Project Overview

This half term the children have studied the Great Fire of London. 

They developed an understanding of where London was in the world, the children know that London is the capital city of England. 

They have started to develop their understanding of chronology by using our history timeline to plot the Great Fire of London. The children know that this happened in 1666 which is over 350 years ago. 

The children have looked at what houses in 1666 were made from and have thought about how this would have impacted on the fire spreading. 

We have learnt about some key figures from 1666, including; Thomas Farriner, Samuel Pepys and King Charles II. 

To conclude our topic we travelled back in time to 1666 and spent a day there. We made bread and cooked it on the campfire, just like Thomas Farriner. We practised our weaving and tried to create structures from wattle and daub – this took a very long time! We made tudor houses and played some lovely games such as, fire fire and London’s burning. To finish the day we burnt a couple of our tudor houses and watched to see how the fire spread and how the wind direction impacted this.

What The Student Says

“I enjoyed learning about the Great Fire of London because we got to do lots of fun activities.” 2LJ student. 

“I like learning about the Great Fire of London, it is very interesting!” 2LS student.

“I like doing the outdoor learning and learning about Thomas Farriner.” 2LJ student. 

“Our Great Fire of London day was the best day ever!” 2LS student.

What skills were developed?

The children have:

• developed an understanding of the past
• compared life in 1666 to the present day
• asked questions about the Great Fire of London
• learnt about the Great fire of London
• learnt about significant individuals, including, Samuel Pepys, Thomas Farriner and King Charles II
• looked at a variety of historical sources and discussed whether they are reliable or not

What The Teacher Says

“I have loved teaching the children about the Great Fire of London. The children have been so keen to learn about the topic, it has made teaching it an absolute joy! The children have asked lots of questions and have really been keen to deepen their knowledge and understanding. I have been so impressed at how much information they have been able to retain and it has been lovely to see them applying their learning whilst they have been engaged in provision. Our Great Fire of London was definitely a highlight, the children approached all the activities with a fantastic attitude and we were so proud of their behaviour on that fantastic day.”

Miss Sunderland and Mrs Lawton