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Generating knowledge about The Great Fire of London

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can gain knowledge about The Great Fire of London.

Key learning points

  1. The Great Fire of London happened in the past.
  2. The fire started on Sunday 2nd September 1666.
  3. The fire started in Pudding Lane in Thomas Farriner’s bakery.
  4. The fire spread quickly due to the houses being made of wood, being close together and the windy conditions.
  5. The fire lasted for four days before it was stopped.

Keywords

  • Knowledge - Facts, information and skills acquired through experience or education.

  • History - Things that happened in the past.

Common misconception

Pupils might think that the fire happened in the more recent past.

London was a very different city to what it is now and the buildings were entirely different, which played a key part in the fire spreading

Teacher tip

To develop a greater depth of knowledge among your pupils, teach this unit immediately after learning The Great Fire of London in history lessons. Allow children to conduct research and set pupils a homework task to make research posters.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these are types of fiction text?

Correct answer: stories
Correct answer: poems
newspapers
Correct answer: plays
reports

Q2.
Which of these are types of non-fiction text?

Correct answer: reports
stories
plays
Correct answer: instructions
Correct answer: newspapers

Q3.
A non-chronological report is a type of which text type?

fiction
Correct answer: non-fiction
neither

Q4.
Which of these are features of a non-chronological report?

Correct answer: paragraphs
Correct answer: title
Correct answer: subheadings
characters
Correct answer: introduction

Q5.
Put these parts of a non-chronological report in the correct order.

1 - title
2 - introduction
3 - subheading
4 - paragraph 1
5 - subheading
6 - paragraph 2

Q6.
Titles and subheadings are always ...

written in coloured ink.
Correct answer: underlined.
written in all capital letters.

6 Questions

Q1.
What year did The Great Fire of London take place?

666
1660
Correct answer: 1666
1966
2066

Q2.
What day of the week did the fire start?

Monday
Thursday
Saturday
Correct answer: Sunday

Q3.
What sort of shop did the fire start in?

a butchers
Correct answer: a bakery
a supermarket

Q4.
Who owned the bakery where the fire started?

Correct answer: Thomas Farriner
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Baker

Q5.
Where was Thomas Farriner's bakery located?

Dinner Drive
Downing Street
Correct answer: Pudding Lane

Q6.
How many days did the fire burn for?

1 day
2 days
3 days
Correct answer: 4 days
5 days

To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: Generating knowledge about The Great Fire of London, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...