London Then and Now
This term we will dive head first into the glorious city that we all call home, London! Here the theme of “London Then and Now” will inform our learning across a variety of subjects and topics.
The central focus of the theme will be the Great Fire of London. We chose the Great Fire because this unfortunate event came to have an ever lasting impact on the city that we know today. On that faithful night of September 2nd in 1666 a forgetful baker’s shop caught fire and the following days would wreak havoc and destruction on the old City of London. The fire caught on quickly and spread far and wide and burned for several days. In the end, the people were left with a burnt out shell of a city, but don’t despair, out of the ashes arose something glorious. King Charles II, with the help of the famous architect Christopher Wren, set about rebuilding London on a grand scale and worked tirelessly to create the city that we know today, with wider streets, stone houses and glorious churches and monuments. London truly became the envy of the entire world.
The theme of “London Then and Now” will flow through many of our subjects this term. In History class we will learn all about how the Great Fire changed the face of the city forever. We will make comparisons between the buildings built before the fire and the ones built afterword’s, with St. Paul’s cathedral being a central discussion point. Here we are basing much of our discussion around the text “The Great Fire of London” by Emma Adams.
In English class, we will look at the version of London in which we currently live and we’ll discover more about the fabulous monuments dotted around our city, all with the help of our text “Katie in London” by James Mayhew. We’ll use this as inspiration for many a writing piece. If you have visited any of the monuments discussed in class, please feel free to share photos with the class.
In art, we are learning all about primary and secondary colours. Here we are discussing warm and cool colours too. Here we are using our new understanding of warm colours in creating a scene from the great fire of London.
Our first school trip of the year will too be based upon the history of this great city. Here we will take a step back in time by vising the Tower of London, the solid stone structure that has been around for over a thousand years and has survived even the Great Fire. We can’t wait to meet the ravens. Do you know the legend associated with the ravens? Comment below!
Challenge:
We have already covered so much on this topic. Can you comment below with your favourite fact?
Can you list some reasons why the Great Fire of London spread so quickly? Comment below!
Challenge 1.
I learnt that people escaped by boat and took as many belonings as they could.
Challenge 2.
The fire spread so quickly because :
.It was windy
.It was hot
.The buildings were close together
.The buildings were made from wood and straw
.There was no rain
My favorite fact is if you fall off the monument you will land in pudding lane. The great fire of London started at Thomas Farriners bakery.
The fire spread so fast due to heat being so boiling hot. The buildings were close together and it was windy. There was no rain which didnt help putting the fire out.
I really loved learning about this topic.