London's Burning

This term’s theme of the Great Fire of London has really grabbed the children’s attention. We have emerged ourselves into the events of 1666 discovering the 4 days of devastation through historical sources including Samuel Pepys diary. We put out fires on the playground using buckets of water from the river Thames and enjoyed a visit from the fire service to learn about how the fire service started after the events of the great fire. We discovered why the fire spread so quickly and made our own cramped Tudor houses. We have compared London in 1666 to 2023 with the help of maps and drawings discussing all geographical changes, tube lines, roads, skyscrapers, and houses being built from bricks.  

Using all this knowledge about the Great Fire of London and some fantastic drama of re-enactment the children completed an amazing recount using full stops, capital letters and conjunctions (and/ because) all in the past tense. Some of these our displayed in our classroom.  

In Maths we have been practising lots of addition and subtraction, using number bonds to help. We discovered fact families with 8 facts and how to find a part.  

RE we discovered that the symbol of light is important in lots of religions. We found out about the Menorah in Hanukkah, the lights of Diwali and the Christingle at Christmas. Light offers us a symbol of guidance, strength, and support especially in times of darkness.  

PSHE we have had lots of fun finding out about each other’s similarities but most importantly our differences. We have talked about these differences and agreed that everyone is different, and this is what makes us so special.