Our new topic for the Autumn term is ‘London: Then and Now‘!
We are really lucky because this means that we will be doing both history and geography within our wider curriculum lessons. We will start in Autumn 1 by focusing on the history of London, especially the Great Fire of London! We will learn all about how and why the fire first started, and we will discover what was done to try and stop the fire from spreading, and what the King declared as law to stop it from happening in the future. In our lessons, we will create a timeline of the events and we will begin to use sources of information to find out more about the past. Can you think of a primary source of information we might be able to use?
We will then move on to look at the geography of this fantastic city. We will study some of the famous landmarks that we can find here. Once we know all about them, we will develop our map skills and be able to accurately locate them on a map of London. We will also use aerial photographs to be able to identify some of the landmarks that we have studied. We have actually use an aerial photograph already this year. Can you remember what an aerial photograph is?
Alongside our weekly homework, I would like you to have a think about what you are most looking forward to learning about during this fascinating topic. Read the questions below and post your answers on the blog. I look forward to reading your thoughts and ideas!
- Which famous landmarks have you visited in London?
- What would you like to find out during this topic?
- Do you know any interesting facts about the Great Fire of London, or any London landmarks?
I like the great fire of London. In my topic I have learnt that the houses were too close together, there was no toilet inside, they had to use a bucket!!! I also know that the great fire of London got rid of a nasty disease called the plague. The fire started in pudding lane, September 1666.
I visited as famous landmarks : the London Eye, the natural history museum, the science museum, Kew gardens and Hampton Palace.
I really want to learn all about London and all the places in London.
Regarding the fire of London, I know that the fire started in a bakery oven and spread for 4 days. I know that we can do sleepovers in the Natural History Museum and I would love to do that one day.
The landmark I visited is the river Thmes
In this topic I would like to know how much people survived
I think it was dangerous and I like learning about it, and I enjoy learning in year 2.
The facts i know a the great Fire london is Six people died.
The fire started in Pudding Lane, in a bakery , during a very windy night .
I learnt that all the houses were built in wood, which made it easy for the fire to expand.
After the fire , King Charles III, decided to rebuild the houses in London only with bricks.
I have visited Tower of London, I went to the Parliament. I would like to find more about how did it stop.
Fact:London is very windy.
Landmarks:Buckingham palace, London eye and the Shard.
I have visited the tower of London ,the parliament , Big Ben , London eye and Buckingham palace.
How did the fire stop and who stoped it ?
Big Ben , London Eye , Buckingham Palace , Westminster Abbey , Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
The fire started with a spark falling out the oven of king Charles III’s baker.
I know that Samuel Peyps buried his wheel of parmesan cheese in a hole underground to save it from the fire!
I am enjoying this topic and I’m excited to learn more.
I visited The Monument and Pudding Lane with my family. And I saw many landmarks when I was on the top of The Monument. I could even see the BT Tower and Tower of London! It was one of the best trips I’ve had.
I visited London Bridge and Tower Bridge.
I hope you enjoy this topic as much as I did !
I like learning about the great fire of London
I loved learning about the great fire of London especially to see how it spread!
We visited Monument near Pudding Lane and we climbed the 311 steps up to the very top and saw the amazing views north, south, east and west. We spotted lots of impressive landmarks including:-
The Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Pudding Lane
The Shard
The River Thames
St Paul’s Cathedral
The Gherkin
The Walkie Talkie
The staff at the Monument also showed us where Robert Hooke’s telescope used to be housed under a wooden trap door right by their till where they sit. This early telescope is now in a museum and could never be used as the ground always shook too much with horses and carts clip clopping by.
Then we passed Pudding Lane where Thomas Farriner lived and worked and we counted that it was only 177 of my steps from there to the River Thames but it is down hill………we thought it would have been very difficult to bring water (which is challenging to carry) up the hill to extinguish the fire even though it is a very short distance.
Next we walked the short distance to Seething Lane and we found an information plaque which showed us the actual area where Samuel Pepys lived, worked and buried his parmesan cheese and wine (no sign of that! We did look as we were hungry!) We had no idea Seething Lane was so close to where the fire first ignited. The bust of Samuel Pepys’s head in Seething Lane gardens had lots of musical notes on it and this told us that he absolutely ADORED music which we did not know before. We also found the very old church called St Olave’s where he and his wife Elisabeth are buried under the altar. This is a few short steps across the road from where his home had been. I bet Samuel was never ever late for church! This stone church very nearly burned down in 1666 which tells us that Samuel’s home and workplace just about escaped the great fire by a whisker too! Sadly, some 275 years later, it was bombed in World War 2 and partly destroyed. So much incredible history on our doorsteps.
We are so lucky to live in London!
I love your topic.
thank you Jael I like our topic too.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON YEAR 2
I love learning about the Great Fire of London.
Learning all about the great fire was brilliant.
I love learning about the great fire.
I loved learning about the Great Fire of London too!
The great fire of London looked scary in september 1666.
Good work year 2
Thank you Miss Forster Adams for teaching me this