Why the Fire Spread Matching Activity

Year 2 HistoryThe Great Fire of London3 pages

About this worksheet

A Year 2 history worksheet on why the Great Fire of London spread so fast in 1666, matched to the England National Curriculum for KS1. Page 1 has five words, from Timber houses to Fire hook, for pupils to join to five jumbled pictures. Page 2 holds the main task. Pupils match six causes, such as a long, hot summer and a strong east wind, to six effects lettered A to F. The first match is done for them. Question 7 then asks them to explain why one pair made the fire so hard to stop. A full answer key is on page 3.

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Why the Fire Spread Matching Activity: The Great Fire of London - page 1

Why the Fire Spread Matching Activity: The Great Fire of London - page 2

Why the Fire Spread Matching Activity: The Great Fire of London - page 3

Curriculum objectives covered

Events beyond living memory

“Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]”

The Great Fire of London is the first example in this statement. Every question on pages 1 and 2 deals with how the fire spread in 1666.

What's inside this worksheet

Word and picture matching

Pupils join Timber houses, Thatched roof, Leather bucket, Baker's oven and Fire hook to the correct picture. The bucket picture comes first, so pupils have to look at each image.

Causes and effects

Six causes from 1666 sit on the left, including narrow, crowded streets and warehouses by the river. Pupils write the letter of the matching effect in each box, starting from the worked example 1-C.

Explain one pair

Question 7 gives four lines to explain how one matched pair made it hard for people in 1666 to stop the fire.

Answers

Picture numbers for page 1, the letters 2-F, 3-D, 4-E, 5-B and 6-A, and a model answer about the east wind and small leather buckets.

How teachers use it

Paper houses

Stand a row of paper houses close together and another row far apart. Ask which row the strong east wind in cause 4 would carry flames through faster.

Sentence stem

For question 7, give some pupils the stem 'The fire was hard to stop because...'. Most find the leather bucket pair the easiest one to explain.

Before the eyewitness

Do the cause and effect match before you read an eyewitness account. Pupils then pick out the wind, the dry summer and the timber houses for themselves.

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